Editing Marcel Desailly (section)

==Club career==
Following Adonkor's lead, Desailly began his career at [[FC Nantes|Nantes]]. There, as part of the famed Nantes youth programme, he played alongside a young [[Didier Deschamps]], who became his closest friend. Desailly turned professional in 1986, two years after his half-brother had died in a car accident. In 1992, he moved to [[Olympique de Marseille|Marseille]], where he reunited with Deschamps, and won the [[UEFA Champions League]] the following year. In 1994, while playing for [[AC Milan]], he again won the Cup (scoring in the [[1994 UEFA Champions League Final|final]] himself), being the first player to win the Cup in consecutive seasons with different clubs. During his time in Milan, he won two Italian league titles, in 1994 and 1996. Although he preferred to be deployed as a [[Sweeper (association football)|sweeper]] or [[centre-back]], roles which he played during his time in France,<ref name="The five players Fabio Capello made superstars">{{cite news | date=16 December 2007| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/england/2328637/The-five-players-Fabio-Capello-made-superstars.html | title=The five players Fabio Capello made superstars |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]| access-date=16 December 2007 }}</ref> he found much success playing as a [[defensive midfielder]] for Milan, alongside [[Demetrio Albertini]], due to the presence of several other established centre-backs at the club, such as [[Franco Baresi]], [[Alessandro Costacurta]] and [[Filippo Galli]].{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

Desailly then moved to the English club [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]] in 1998 for £4.6 million,<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football-desailly-plans-to-join-lazio-next-summer-1133950.html "Desailly plans to join Lazio next summer"]. ''[[The Independent]]''. 21 December 1999.</ref> where he [[Captain (association football)|captained]] the side and played sweeper and centre-back until the end of the [[2003–04 FA Premier League|2003–04 season]]. It was at Chelsea that Desailly formed a formidable partnership with [[Frank Leboeuf]].{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

He picked up one major trophy in his six seasons with [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]], being on the winning side in their [[FA Cup]] triumph over [[Aston Villa F.C.|Aston Villa]] in [[2000 FA Cup Final|2000]].<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sport/football/fa_cup/756784.stm |work=[[BBC News]] | title=Chelsea claim FA Cup glory | date=20 May 2000}}</ref>

Desailly was snapped up by Qatari outfit [[Al-Gharafa]] in 2004. He was appointed as the club captain and under the French coach [[Bruno Metsu]] they won the [[Qatar League]] in 2005. He then joined [[Qatar S.C.]], leading them to second place in the league before retiring from professional football.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

In 2014, Desailly had met the [[Football Association of Malaysia]] and said he was ready and willing to coach the [[Malaysia national football team|Malaysia national team]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thestar.com.my/Sport/Football/2014/02/26/Desailly-eager-to-coach-Malaysia/|title=Desailly eager to coach Malaysia|work=[[The Star (Malaysia)|The Star]]|date=26 February 2014|access-date=27 February 2014}}</ref> He also pointed that it was up to the football association whether to hire him or not.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v7/sp/newssports.php?id=1017711|title=Desailly Ready To Take Up Job of National Coach in Malaysia|publisher=[[Bernama]]|date=26 February 2014|access-date=27 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140226164006/http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v7/sp/newssports.php?id=1017711|archive-date=26 February 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>