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Sidney Govou (born 27 July 1979) is a French footballer of Beninese descent,^[1] who plays for Lyon and French national team. Govou is a naturally attacking player but rarely plays as a striker, he is more commonly deployed as a winger. His main attributes are his pace and technique. At the start of the 09/10 season Govou was given the captain's armband of Lyon after the departure of Juninho Pernambucano. However he has since been stripped of captaincy.

Club career

Staying at school to complete his studies to a comparatively late age for a footballer, Govou was a late-comer to the sporting world, joining Olympique Lyon's youth academy at the age of 17 in 1996. Loyal to his first and only club Govou has, up until this point, played at the Stade Gerland for his entire professional career.

Govou has often been criticised for his lack of composure in front of goal, especially in high-pressure situations, which partly explains why he now occupies a deeper role, often in wide positions, rather than playing as the focal point of the team's attack. His offensive role, however, does not prevent him from often playing an important role in recovering possession for his team, due largely to his great athletic capabilities and high levels of fitness. He also has a good heading ability.

During the 2004–05 season, Paul Le Guen handed Govou the captain's armband during the long absence of club captain Claudio Caçapa due to injury. Le Guen's decision was largely motivated by the loyalty displayed towards the club by Govou, in face of much speculation linking him with moves away from the club.^{[citation needed]} Indeed, for the last three seasons Govou has been regularly linked to possible transfers away from Lyon, much helped by Govou's admittance to finding the possibility of playing abroad an attractive one.

International career

Govou has 42 caps with the France national team, with ten goals.

He was not selected initially for the 2006 World Cup, but he joined the French team to replace Djibril Cissé, injured a few days before the start of the competition.

Govou scored two goals in France's 3–1 win over world champions Italy in a Euro 2008 qualifier. The game was the first meeting between the two teams since Italy beat France in the 2006 World Cup final. Govou scored his first goal by heading, just 67 seconds into the game. His second came in the 55th minute.

International goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	12 October 2002	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	Slovenia	5 – 0	5 – 0	UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
2.	20 June 2003	Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Étienne, France	Japan	2 – 1	2 – 1	2003 FIFA Confederations Cup
3.	18 February 2004	King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium	Belgium	1 – 0	2 – 0	Friendly match
4.	6 September 2006	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	Italy	1 – 0	3 – 1	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
5.	6 September 2006	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	Italy	3 – 1	3 – 1	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
6.	16 November 2007	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	Morocco	1 – 1	2 – 2	Friendly match
7.	21 November 2007	Olimpiysky, Kiev, Ukraine	Ukraine	2 – 1	2 – 2	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
8.	20 August 2008	Gamla Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden	Sweden	2 – 1	3 – 2	Friendly match
9.	20 August 2008	Gamla Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden	Sweden	3 – 1	3 – 2	Friendly match
10.	6 September 2008	Ernst Happel Stadion, Vienna, Austria	Austria	1 – 2	1 – 3	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

• French Ligue 1 championship in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 with Lyon.
• Trophée Des Champions in 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2007 with Lyon.
• Coupe de France in 2008 with Lyon.
• Coupe de la Ligue (French League Cup) in 2001 with Lyon
• Confederation Cup in 2003 with France national team
• FIFA World Cup finalist in 2006 with France

Personal life

He and his ex-girlfriend Pascale have a daughter named Naomy (born 11 February 2005).

References

External links

• [1]

France Squad France squad – 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup Winners (2nd Title) 1 Landreau • 2 Mexès • 3 Lizarazu • 4 Boumsong • 5 Gallas • 6 Dacourt • 7 Pirès • 8 Desailly • 9 Cissé • 10 Giuly • 11 Wiltord • 12 Henry • 13 Silvestre • 14 Rothen • 15 Thuram • 16 Barthez • 17 Kapo • 18 Pedretti • 19 Sagnol • 20 Marlet • 21 Dabo • 22 Govou • 23 Coupet • Coach: Santini France squad – UEFA Euro 2004 1 Landreau • 2 Boumsong • 3 Lizarazu • 4 Vieira • 5 Gallas • 6 Makélélé • 7 Pirès • 8 Desailly • 9 Saha • 10 Zidane • 11 Wiltord • 12 Henry • 13 Silvestre • 14 Rothen • 15 Thuram • 16 Barthez • 17 Dacourt • 18 Pedretti • 19 Sagnol • 20 Trezeguet • 21 Marlet • 22 Govou • 23 Coupet • Coach: Santini France squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup Runners-up 1 Landreau • 2 Boumsong • 3 Abidal • 4 Vieira • 5 Gallas • 6 Makélélé • 7 Malouda • 8 Dhorasoo • 9 Govou • 10 Zidane • 11 Wiltord • 12 Henry • 13 Silvestre • 14 Saha • 15 Thuram • 16 Barthez • 17 Givet • 18 Diarra • 19 Sagnol • 20 Trezeguet • 21 Chimbonda • 22 Ribéry • 23 Coupet • Coach: Domenech France squad – UEFA Euro 2008 1 Mandanda • 2 Boumsong • 3 Abidal • 4 Vieira • 5 Gallas • 6 Makélélé • 7 Malouda • 8 Anelka • 9 Benzema • 10 Govou • 11 Nasri • 12 Henry • 13 Evra • 14 Clerc • 15 Thuram • 16 Frey • 17 Squillaci • 18 Gomis • 19 Sagnol • 20 Toulalan • 21 Diarra • 22 Ribéry • 23 Coupet • Coach: Domenech