Louis Saha

Louis Saha (born August 8, 1978 in Paris, France)
is a French international footballer who plays for
Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United.

He made his English football debut on loan at
Newcastle United F.C.|Newcastle United on January
9 1999, but made the greatest impact of his career
when, during 2000, he was  transferred to Fulham
F.C.|Fulham. During the spell of nearly four years
at the club, he scored 63 goals in total.

In January 2004 he transferred to Manchester
United for £12.8million, and wore the number 9
shirt which had been vacant since the departure of
Andy Cole two years earlier. Saha scored 7 goals
in 13 Premiership appearances before the end of
the season, although it was not enough to prevent
the title from slipping away to Arsenal. It
appeared that Saha was the ideal partner for Ruud
van Nistelrooy.

However, the arrival of Alan Smith (from Leeds
United F.C.|Leeds United for £6million) and then
Wayne Rooney (from Everton F.C.|Everton for
£20million) pushed Saha down the pecking order
and he was linked with a move away from the club
less than a year after arriving.  In addition his
2004/05 season was badly hit by a succession of
injuries and 2005/06 has begun with Saha again
unavailable for selection due to minor knocks.

An up-and-coming member of the France national
football team|French national team, Saha was a
part of the squad at the 2004 European Football
Championship. He is a friend of national teammate
Thierry Henry.