Happy Birthday, Louis Saha!
Before making a name for himself in the Premier League with Newcastle, Fulham, Manchester United, and Everton, Louis Saha began his life at FC Metz at the turn of the century. On his 47th Birthday, we take a look at Saha’s impact in Ligue 1 McDonald's before becoming an influential player in England.
Saha was a young academy product from Clairefontaine in the early 2000s, before moving to FC Metz at the age of 15 and signing his first professional contract with the Lorraine club. At just the age of 17, he made his debut and scored his first-ever goal with Les Grenats in a 4-1 win over Bordeaux. That lit the touch paper for his first season, where he made 25 appearances in all competitions as Metz finished second to Lens. He would go on loan in the 1998-99 season to Newcastle United scoring once in the league and on the Magpies' run to the 1999 FA Cup Final.
The next season Saha returned to Metz and finally made a bigger impact on the first team, scoring seven goals in the UEFA Intertoto Cup, MSK Zilinia, Lokerren, Polonia Warsaw, and West Ham United. By the end of the season he would end up scoring 11 times in all competitions over 33 appearances, before leaving the club at the turn of the century.
Afterwards, Saha went on to return to England, and signed for Fulham under manager Jean Tigana who is a former player of Marseille and Bordeaux. He made an instant impact in West London, scoring 53 goals in 117 appearances before making a record-breaking move to Manchester United where he went on to win two Premier League titles. Saha then went on to represent Les Bleus in 20 caps, featuring at EURO 2004 and 2006 FIFA World Cup.
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