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Nicolas Anelka
Birthdate: 14.03.1979
Birthplace: Versailles France
Other clubs: PSG, Arsenal, Real Madrid, PSG (2), Man City, Fenerbache, Bolton, Chelsea
Bought from: PSG (loan)
Signed for LFC: 1000000 (on loan) 20.12.2001
International debut: 22.04.1998 vs. Sweden
International caps: 69/14 (1/0 at LFC) - 17.06.2010
Liverpool debut: 26.12.2001
Last appearance: 11.05.2002
Debut goal: 05.01.2002
Last goal: 11.05.2002
Contract expiry: May 2002
LFC league games/goals: 20 / 4
Total LFC games/goals: 22 / 5
Player profile
Who could guess that one of Anelka's many destinations would be Liverpool. His attitude has destroyed lots of golden opportunities in his career. He and his brothers tested Houllier's patience and the boss refused to buy him. A particular night when the lights went out against Newcastle was Nico's golden moment at Liverpool. A superb display from the mercurial Frenchman lit up Anfield.
Many supporters were surprised when Gerard Houllier decided not to make Anelka a permanent addition to his squad at the end of the 2001-02 season. The player's contribution (4 goals from 20 League games plus one goal in the F.A. cup against Birmingham) had helped the club achieve second place in the Premier League behind champions Arsenal. Instead of securing Anelka on a permanent deal, Houllier decided to buy Diouf after the World Cup in the Far East that summer and nobody in their right mind would consider that Diouf was a better permanent signing than Anelka might have been.
It wasn't long before Anelka was back in English football anyway as Kevin Keegan signed him for Manchester City, where he spent three fairly successful years (38 League goals from 89 games) before he was on the move again, this time to Turkish club Fenerbache. He helped them win the championship and thereby qualify for the following season's Champions League where they had a dreadful time, finishing bottom of their group.
During the summer of 2006, Anelka was again linked with English clubs. Portsmouth seemed to be the front-runners but it was Bolton Wanderers who eventually secured his signature on a four-year contract that had cost them a club record £8 million. He hadn't been at Bolton long before he was linked with yet another move. Just over a year after originally signing for Bolton, he signed a new four-year contract which should have kept him at The Reebok until 2011. But when Chelsea came calling in the January transfer-window of 2008, it was hard for the player or his club to say no. The £15 million fee meant that close on £90 million pounds had been spent on Anelka's fees from the time when he had joined Real Madrid from Arsenal in 1999. A Champions League winner with Madrid, he would reach another final with Chelsea but after a tight match that went the full distance it was his penalty-kick, saved by Manchester United 'keeper Edwin van der Sar, that meant that London clubs were still without a European cup win while Manchester and Liverpool's combined total rose to eight. In his second season at Chelsea Anelka finished top-scorer of the Premier League with 19 goals.
What Anelka might have done had he stayed at Anfield in 2002 is only conjecture. But the significant number of goals scored for the clubs he has played for since suggest that he could have become a really important player if he had stayed.
Nicolas continued to help Chelsea to domestic prizes as he was a member of their successful F.A. cup-winning teams in both 2009 and 2010. He also won his second Premier League winners' medal twelve years after winning his first with Arsenal in 1998. Further European success, however, eluded him with the west London club being knocked out of the Champions League by Barcelona in 2009 and Inter-Milan in 2010.
