Steve Marlet

Steve Marlet
	Marlet in 2024
Personal information
Full name	Steve Marlet
Date of birth	10 January 1974 (age 50)
Place of birth	Pithiviers, Loiret, France
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Forward, winger
Senior career*
Years	Team
1991–1996	Red Star
1996–2000	Auxerre
2000–2001	Lyon
2001–2005	Fulham
2003–2005	→ Marseille (loan)
2005–2006	VfL Wolfsburg
2006–2007	Lorient
2009–2011	Aubervilliers
2011–2012	Red Star
Total
International career
2000–2004	France
Medal record
Men's football
Representing France
FIFA Confederations Cup
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Steve Marlet (born 10 January 1974) is a French former professional footballer who played as a forward. He was capped 23 times and scored six goals for the France national team, winning the Confederations Cup in 2001 and 2003 and featuring at Euro 2004.

Early life

Marlet was born in Pithiviers, Loiret.^[4]

Club career

Early career

Marlet began his professional career with Red Star.^[5]

Fulham

Marlet held the record for Fulham's biggest transfer fee until July 2008, as the newly promoted Premier League team paid £11.5 million to sign him in August 2001 from Lyon.^[6]^[7] His expectations was well received by France national team coach Roger Lemerre, suggesting: "He will progress at Fulham".^[8] However, he only managed eleven goals in 54 league games, as then-manager Jean Tigana was dismissed during the season. He played just one game in the 2003–04 season for Fulham, in which he scored.^[9] He was then loaned out to Marseille on 27 August, with an option to sign permanently.^[10]

While on loan, Marlet partnered Didier Drogba up front as Marseille advanced through the 2003-04 UEFA Cup, before losing the final to Valencia.^[11]

Marlet's poor performances for Fulham led to chairman Mohamed Al-Fayed taking Tigana to the Court of Arbitration for Sport for the high transfer fee. Tigana, who had ties to Lyon and had briefly been Marlet's agent, was accused of signing him for an exorbitant fee and taking a cut of the fee for himself. The charges were quickly dropped.^[12]

Wolfsburg and Lorient

On 21 August 2005, after his release from Fulham, Marlet signed a one-year deal with the option for a second year, at VfL Wolfsburg of the German Bundesliga. On his arrival, manager Thomas Strunz said: "Steve Marlet is very well-known in international football, a player who is fast and versatile".^[13]

Marlet only scored one Bundesliga goal and was not given the second year of his contract. He trained for two weeks with Paris St. Germain before signing a one-year deal at Lorient, newly promoted to Ligue 1. He was attracted by the attacking style of manager Christian Gourcuff.^[14]

Later career

After being released by Lorient, he went on trial with Ipswich Town from 6 to 30 October 2007,^[15] Chicago Fire and Reims.^[12]

In July 2011, he joined Red Star in the third tier of French football, the Championnat National, where he spent the last season of his career.^{[citation needed]}

Career statistics

Club

Source:^{[citation needed]}

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	Apps	Goals
Red Star	1990–91	0	0
	1991–92	7	1
	1992–93	31	5
	1993–94	40	9
	1994–95	24	11
	1995–96	35	16
	Total	137	42
Auxerre	1996–97	24	3
	1997–98	18	6
	1998–99	32	7
	1999–2000	33	9
	Total	106	25
Lyon	2000–01	31	12
	2001–02	5	1
	Total	36	13
Fulham	2001–02	25	6
	2002–03	28	4
	2003–04	1	1
	Total	54	11
Marseille	2003–04	23	9
	2004–05	31	7
	Total	54	16
VfL Wolfsburg	2005–06	21	1
Lorient	2006–07	22	1
Career total		430	109

International goals

Scores and results list France's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Marlet goal.^{[citation needed]}

List of international goals scored by Steve Marlet
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	30 May 2001	Daegu World Cup Stadium, Daegu, South Korea	South Korea	1–0	5–0	2001 FIFA Confederations Cup
2.	22 March 2002	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	Scotland	5–0	5–0	Friendly match
3.	12 October 2002	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	Slovenia	2–0	5–0	UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
4.	12 October 2002	Stade de France, Saint-Denis,, France	Slovenia	3–0	5–0	UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
5.	20 August 2003	Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland	Switzerland	2–0	2–0	Friendly match
6.	24 May 2004	Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier, France	Andorra	4–0	4–0	Friendly match