| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Lionel Letizi | ||
| Date of birth | 28 May 1973 | ||
| Place of birth | Nice, France | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper[1] | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1989–1992 | Nice | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1992–1996 | Nice | 107 | (0) |
| 1996–2000 | Metz | 131 | (0) |
| 2000–2006 | Paris Saint-Germain | 145 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | Rangers | 7 | (0) |
| 2007–2011 | Nice | 30 | (0) |
| Total | 420 | (0) | |
| International career | |||
| 1996 | France Olympic | 4 | (0) |
| 1997–2001 | France | 4 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Lionel Letizi (born 28 May 1973) is a French former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
Early life and club career
France
Lionel Letizi[2] was born on 28 May 1973 in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes.[1] He took his first steps as a professional player with OGC Nice where his team won the French second division in 1994. Upon reaching the French first division he was observed by a number of football clubs before joining FC Metz in 1996. At this new club, he and his team became runner-ups in the French first division in 1998 and finalists of the French League Cup in 1999. The chance to take a step up arrived when he joined Paris Saint-Germain in 2000, which enabled him to play in the UEFA Champions League. He remained first choice at PSG for six years, but the signing of Mickael Landreau instigated his departure.
Move to Scotland
On 16 June 2006, he moved to Rangers on a free transfer.[3] On 13 August, his blunder led directly to a 1–1 draw with Dunfermline.[4] Letizi soon redeemed himself in the next game, which saw Rangers achieve a 2–0 win against the Hearts. Unfortunately for the team, this match resulted in an injury for Letizi. After two months on the sidelines, Letizi controversially made an automatic return to the side despite impressive performances from his replacement Allan McGregor.
Manager Paul Le Guen had made it clear at the start of the season that Letizi was going to be number one, which was not entirely unexpected. But the decision was soon put under dubious light when a fumble on the 14 October 2006 gave Inverness Caledonian Thistle an unforeseen 1–0 win at Ibrox Stadium, and left Rangers 10 points behind Celtic after just ten Scottish Premier League matches.[5]
After the departure of Le Guen, Letizi's future at Rangers was uncertain and he was released from the club on the 30 January 2007 having featured in just eight matches during his six-month stay.[6] He then played for OGC Nice until his retirement in 2011.[7]
International career
While capped four times for the French national team, he never managed to displace Fabien Barthez. He was in France's preliminary squad of 28 players for the 1998 FIFA World Cup in his native country. However, he was one of 6 players removed from the tournament by head coach Aime Jacquet just before the tournament began. France went on to win the World Cup.[8]
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | Cup[lower-alpha 1] | Continental[lower-alpha 2] | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Nice | 1993–94 | Division 2 | 36 | 0 | – | – | 36 | 0 | ||
| 1994–95 | Division 1 | 37 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 38 | 0 | ||
| 1995–96 | Division 1 | 34 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | 37 | 0 | ||
| Total | 107 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 111 | 0 | ||
| Metz | 1996–97 | Division 1 | 32 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 40 | 0 |
| 1997–98 | Division 1 | 34 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 43 | 0 | |
| 1998–99 | Division 1 | 34 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 46 | 0 | |
| 1999–2000 | Division 1 | 31 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 40 | 0 | |
| Total | 131 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 169 | 0 | ||
| Paris Saint-Germain | 2000–01 | Division 1 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 38 | 0 |
| 2001–02 | Division 1 | 28 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 43 | 0 | |
| 2002–03 | Ligue 1 | 26 | 0 | – | 6 | 0 | 32 | 0 | ||
| 2003–04 | Ligue 1 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | – | 12 | 0 | ||
| 2004–05 | Ligue 1 | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 40 | 0 | |
| 2005–06 | Ligue 1 | 27 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | 31 | 0 | ||
| Total | 145 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 196 | 0 | ||
| Rangers | 2006–07 | Scottish Premier League | 7 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| Nice | 2006–07 | Ligue 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2007–08 | Ligue 1 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | 14 | 0 | ||
| 2008–09 | Ligue 1 | 13 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | 17 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | Ligue 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | Ligue 1 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | – | 9 | 0 | ||
| Total | 30 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 420 | 0 | 52 | 0 | 56 | 0 | 528 | 0 | ||
- ↑ Includes Coupe de France, Coupe de la Ligue
- ↑ Includes UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, UEFA Intertoto Cup
Honours
Nice
Metz
- Coupe de la Ligue runner-up: 1998–99
Paris Saint-Germain
References
- 1 2 3 "Lionel Letizi". L'Équipe (in French). Paris. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
- ↑ "LL 06". Verif.com (in French). Retrieved 2 December 2023.
"Lionel Letizi". Verif.com (in French). Retrieved 2 December 2023. - ↑ "Letizi completes move to Rangers". BBC Sport website. 16 June 2006.
- ↑ "Dunfermline Ath 1-1 Rangers". BBC. 13 August 2006. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
- ↑ "Rangers 0–1 Inverness CT". BBC Sport website. 14 October 2006.
- ↑ "Keeper Letizi released by Rangers". BBC Sport website. 30 January 2007.
- ↑ "Lionel LETIZI". Ligue 1. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
- ↑ "FRANCE AXE ANELKA; Gunners kid out of this world". thefreelibrary.com. 24 May 1998. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
- ↑ Lionel Letizi at WorldFootball.net
- ↑ "Brescia, sogno finito il Psg va in Uefa". Repubblica.it. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
- ↑ "Résultat et résumé Paris-SG - Châteauroux, Coupe de France, Finale, Samedi 29 Mai 2004". lequipe.fr. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
- ↑ "Marseille 1-2 Paris SG". leballonrond.fr. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
External links
- Lionel Letizi at the French Football Federation (in French)
- Lionel Letizi – French league stats at LFP – also available in French (archived)
