Barthez - one of the world's best (Allsport).
FABIEN BARTHEZ
Position: Goalkeeper
Born: 28.06.71
Club: Manchester United
Unconventional keeper who was a key member of France's World Cup and European Championship winning side, Barthez is sure to be one of the stand out characters in the Far East.
He has played for Toulouse, Marseille and Monaco, winning the European Cup with OM back in 1993.
Never far from controversy, the shaven-headed Barthez was suspended from football for four months in 1996 for smoking cannabis.
But the man who is romantically linked with supermodel Linda Evangelista completed his rehabilitation from villain to national hero by letting in only two goals in France 98, on the way to World Cup glory.
He joined Manchester United on a six-year deal for £7.8million in May 2000, a British record for a goalkeeper, where he won the FA Barclaycard Premiership title in his first season.
However, his 2001/02 season has been blighted by a series of high-profile errors, both in the Premiership and the Champions League, which have cost United a series of games.
His manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, still has a great deal of faith in his stopper, though, and Barthez has made up for a number of mistakes with some stunning performances behind a somewhat shaky defence this season.
A regular in the French national side for around seven years now, he will again be the number one choice in the Far East this summer.
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