INFORMATION FOR HIM:
William Gallas
William Gallas, (born August 17, 1977), is a French footballer who plays for Chelsea F.C. in the English Premier League. He wears the number 13 shirt and is a defender who prefers to play in the centre, but he can also play at full-back on either side of the pitch.
He was bought by Claudio Ranieri from Marseille in May 2001 for £6.2 million. Under Ranieri Gallas developed centre back partnerships with Marcel Desailly and later with John Terry and also played at right-back sometimes. William has developed into a fantastic defender, and his partnership with John Terry at the centre of Chelsea's defence is one of the most formidable in the world, they once went an exceptional 16 games together without conceding a single goal. His main attributes are his ability to mark players and read the game, but his most prized asset are is his pace, being able to keep up with the likes of Thierry Henry. This makes William the perfect partner for the more solid and hard tackling Terry but with ability like his, he would fit into any team with ease.
Because of the recent injury to Wayne Bridge, Gallas was forced to play out of position at left back during the later part of the 2004/2005 season, something that he was growing more and more frusterated at as he prefers to play in the centre of defence rather than wide. Because of this he has been linked with clubs such as Arsenal and Barcelona but Jose Mourinho's purchase of Asier Del Horno from Athletic Bilbao for £13 million, Gallas has retaken his role along side John Terry in the centre-back position.
International
Gallas is also a regular member of the French national team, making his full France debut in a 5-0 demolition of Slovenia in a Euro 2004 qualifier in October 2002. He then played for his country in that tournament's finals.