Lionel Letizi

Lionel Letizi

Personal information
Full name	Lionel Letizi
Date of birth	(1973-05-28) 28 May 1973 (age 52)
Place of birth	Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) [1]
Position(s)	Goalkeeper [1]
Youth career
1989–1992	Nice
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1992–1996	Nice	107	(0)
1996–2000	Metz	131	(0)
2000–2006	Paris Saint-Germain	145	(0)
2006–2007	Rangers	7	(0)
2007–2011	Nice	30	(0)
Total		420	(0)
International career
1996	France Olympic	4	(0)
1997–2001	France	4	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Lionel Letizi (born 28 May 1973) is a French former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

Early life and club career

France

Lionel Letizi ^[2] was born on 28 May 1973 in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes. ^[1] He took his first steps as a professional player with OGC Nice where his team won the French second division in 1994. Upon reaching the French first division he was observed by a number of football clubs before joining FC Metz in 1996. At this new club, he and his team became runner-ups in the French first division in 1998 and finalists of the French League Cup in 1999. The chance to take a step up arrived when he joined Paris Saint-Germain in 2000, which enabled him to play in the UEFA Champions League. He remained first choice at PSG for six years, but the signing of Mickael Landreau instigated his departure.^{[ citation needed ]}

Move to Scotland

On 16 June 2006, he moved to Rangers on a free transfer. ^[3] On 13 August, his blunder led directly to a 1–1 draw with Dunfermline. ^[4] Letizi soon redeemed himself in the next game, which saw Rangers achieve a 2–0 win against the Hearts. Unfortunately for the team, this match resulted in an injury for Letizi. After two months on the sidelines, Letizi controversially made an automatic return to the side despite impressive performances from his replacement Allan McGregor.^{[ citation needed ]}

Manager Paul Le Guen had made it clear at the start of the season that Letizi was going to be number one, which was not entirely unexpected. But the decision was soon put under dubious light when a fumble on 14 October 2006 gave Inverness Caledonian Thistle an unforeseen 1–0 win at Ibrox Stadium, and left Rangers 10 points behind Celtic after just ten Scottish Premier League matches. ^[5]

After the departure of Le Guen, Letizi's future at Rangers was uncertain and he was released from the club on 30 January 2007 having featured in just eight matches during his six-month stay. ^[6] He then played for OGC Nice until his retirement in 2011. ^[7]

International career

Despite having been capped four times for the France national team, he never managed to displace Fabien Barthez. He was in France's preliminary squad of 28 players for the 1998 FIFA World Cup on home soil, but was left out by head coach Aimé Jacquet just before the tournament began. France went on to win. ^[8]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition ^[9]

Club	Season	League			Cup [a]		Continental [b]		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Nice	1993–94	Division 2	36	0	–		–		36	0
	1994–95	Division 1	37	0	1	0	–		38	0
	1995–96	Division 1	34	0	3	0	–		37	0
	Total		107	0	4	0	0	0	111	0
Metz	1996–97	Division 1	32	0	3	0	5	0	40	0
	1997–98	Division 1	34	0	5	0	4	0	43	0
	1998–99	Division 1	34	0	8	0	4	0	46	0
	1999–2000	Division 1	31	0	3	0	6	0	40	0
	Total		131	0	19	0	19	0	169	0
Paris Saint-Germain	2000–01	Division 1	25	0	1	0	12	0	38	0
	2001–02	Division 1	28	0	3	0	12	0	43	0
	2002–03	Ligue 1	26	0	–		6	0	32	0
	2003–04	Ligue 1	6	0	6	0	–		12	0
	2004–05	Ligue 1	33	0	1	0	6	0	40	0
	2005–06	Ligue 1	27	0	4	0	–		31	0
	Total		145	0	15	0	36	0	196	0
Rangers	2006–07	Scottish Premier League	7	0	–		1	0	8	0
Nice	2006–07	Ligue 1	1	0	–		–		1	0
	2007–08	Ligue 1	10	0	4	0	–		14	0
	2008–09	Ligue 1	13	0	4	0	–		17	0
	2009–10	Ligue 1	2	0	1	0	–		3	0
	2010–11	Ligue 1	4	0	5	0	–		9	0
	Total		30	0	14	0	0	0	44	0
Career total			420	0	52	0	56	0	528	0

1. Includes Coupe de France, Coupe de la Ligue
2. Includes UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, UEFA Intertoto Cup

Honours

Nice

• Division 2: 1993–94 ^{[ citation needed ]}

Metz

• Coupe de la Ligue runner-up: 1998–99 ^{[ citation needed ]}

Paris Saint-Germain

• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2001 ^[10]
• Coupe de France: 2003–04, ^[11] 2005–06 ^{[ citation needed ]}

References

1. "Lionel Letizi". L'Équipe (in French). Paris. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
2. "Lionel Letizi". Verif. Altares-D&B. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
3. "Letizi completes move to Rangers". BBC Sport website. 16 June 2006.
4. "Dunfermline Ath 1-1 Rangers". BBC. 13 August 2006. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
5. "Rangers 0–1 Inverness CT". BBC Sport website. 14 October 2006.
6. "Keeper Letizi released by Rangers". BBC Sport website. 30 January 2007.
7. "Lionel LETIZI". Ligue 1. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
8. "FRANCE AXE ANELKA; Gunners kid out of this world". thefreelibrary.com. 24 May 1998. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
9. Lionel Letizi at WorldFootball.net
10. "Brescia, sogno finito il Psg va in Uefa". Repubblica.it. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
11. "Résultat et résumé Paris-SG - Châteauroux, Coupe de France, Finale, Samedi 29 Mai 2004". lequipe.fr. Retrieved 26 February 2021.

External links

• Lionel Letizi at the French Football Federation (in French)
• Lionel Letizi – French league stats at LFP – also available in French (archived)