Football Player's Biography 7: Mathieu Flamini

Date of birth	7 March 1984 (1984-03-07) (age 27)
Place of birth	Marseille, France
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position	Midfielder

Mathieu Flamini (born 7 March 1984 Marseille, France) is a French professional footballer of Italian descent^[1] who plays as a midfielder for Serie A club Milan

Club career

Marseille

Flamini was a youth team player for his local professional club Olympique de Marseille. He made his debut for the senior team on 20 December 2003 in the 1–0 victory over Toulouse FC. He impressed the team as a hardworking midfield player and played 14 times for the club. However, it was his performances in Marseille’s UEFA Cup campaign that brought him to the attention of the football world, including the semi-final victory over Newcastle United. He played in the final in Gothenburg which Valencia won 2–0. Due to his age, Marseille was unable to offer him a long term professional contract.

Arsenal

On 23 July 2004, Flamini signed a professional contract for English outfit Arsenal, rejecting Marseille's long-term senior contract offer to which he had already verbally agreed.
Flamini made his Arsenal début in the 4–1 win at Everton on 15 August 2004. He was used as a utility player starting 9 games but being used as a substitute in 12. The following season saw him filling in for a number of injured players, but unable to command a first team place in his favoured position.
While he is naturally a defensive midfielder, Flamini was mainly used as a full back throughout the 2005–06 season after injuries to Ashley Cole, Gaël Clichy, Pascal Cygan, Lauren and Kerrea Gilbert. Despite being right-footed, Flamini performed admirably as a left back in the latter stages of Arsenal's domestic league and Champions League campaign. In May 2006, he came on as a 76th minute substitute in the Champions League Final in Paris, which Arsenal lost 2–1 to Barcelona.
In the 2006–07 season, Flamini scored the winning goal against Dinamo Zagreb in the qualifying stages of the Champions League. He also scored important goals against Chelsea, Blackburn Rovers, and Liverpool in the Premiership. However, despite these important goals, he remained unsatisfied with his "utility player" role at the club and in April 2007, he admitted that he would probably be leaving Arsenal in the summer. However, Flamini turned down a proposed £3m move to Birmingham City after a long talk with manager Arsène Wenger and remained with the team.
Flamini started in central midfield for Arsenal's first match of the 2007–08 Premier League season, due to the absence of Gilberto Silva and Abou Diaby. During Arsenal's 2007–08 campaign, he struck up a strong partnership with Cesc Fàbregas, keeping Gilberto out of the starting XI with displays widely regarded by Arsenal fans as a vast improvement on those during his previous years at the club. Flamini enjoyed a generally good rapport with Arsenal's fans, who provided him with his own song, an adaptation of the theme tune to British television programme The Sweeney. On 29 January 2008, he scored an extraordinary 25-yard (23 m) strike in Arsenal's 3–0 win over Newcastle United in the Premier League. He played on 8 April 2008, a UEFA Champions League match in which Arsenal were knocked out by English rival Liverpool F.C. After the match, he was reported injured and it proved to be his last match for Arsenal.^[4] In April 2009, he stated in an interview that he is still an Arsenal fan and that he has no hard feelings towards the club, "Arsenal are in my heart and they will be in my heart for ever," he said. "I will always be an Arsenal fan and leaving was not easy."^[5]

Milan

Flamini signed a contract with A.C. Milan on 5 May 2008 worth €5.6 million per season over a four year period.^[6] Flamini wore the number 84 on his shirt to represent his year of birth. He made his Serie A debut on 30 August 2008 in a 2–1 loss to Bologna.^[7] Initially, Flamini did not enjoy the number of starts or appearances for the Italian team as he enjoyed in his last season at Arsenal; he was regarded as a utility player at Milan as he was during his first few years at Arsenal. Nevertheless, injuries to other players and his consistent good form helped him to cement a starting place at San Siro. With Milan failing to find a stable defence and a lack of a fit, consistent, and reliable right back, Gianluca Zambrotta was switched to the left flank to help Flamini develop as a tenacious right back. After stating that his preferred position is in the midfield, Milan have since re-deployed him as a defensive midfielder. Flamini saw limited playing time towards the end of the 2009–10 season due to the great form of club captain Massimo Ambrosini. In the following season, Flamini became an important assest of the team that would win the 18th scudetto, playing many games as starter, and scoring two goals, against Bari and Bologna, respectively.

International career

Flamini accepted his first call up to France by coach Raymond Domenech for a friendly against Argentina at the Stade de France on 7 February 2007 after Jérémy Toulalan was ruled out due to injury. He later made his international debut in a friendly against Morocco on 16 November 2007 as a substitute