HUGO LLORIS. Captain of the Blues, winner of the World Cup in 2018, Hugo Lloris officially equals Lilian Thuram during the match against Poland.
Like Olivier Giroud and Thierry Henry’s record for becoming the Blues’ top scorer in the France team, Hugo Lloris could also beat a very old record, that of the number of selections for the France team, held by a certain Lilian Thuram. With 141 selections after the match against Denmark on Saturday November 26, the captain of the Blues is one selection away from this record. As the Blues are through to the knockout stages, Tottenham’s Spurs keeper will be level with legendary Lilian Thuram.
“It’s not nothing! I am very honored, very proud”, commented Hugo Lloris in a press conference the day before the match. “Even if at the dawn of a round of 16 of the World Cup, it remains secondary. The competition comes first. I want to keep all my energy for tomorrow’s match. I will appreciate it more once the competition is over”.
Hugo Lloris made his debut for the France team in November 2008 before establishing himself as the number 1 goalkeeper for the 2010 World Cup, marked by the fiasco and the Knysna bus strike. The goalkeeper will not lose his place there and even becomes captain in November 2010 before Euro 2012 where the Blues reach the quarter-finals. Same thing at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil where the adventure ends at the same stage against Germany. Lloris and the Blues get their revenge two years later at the Euro in France but the victory in the semi against these same Germans is followed by a frustrating defeat in the final against Portugal. Reappointed by Didier Deschamps as captain for the 2018 World Cup, he succeeds his coach and former captain of the Blues when lifting the World Cup after the final in Moscow. Hugo Lloris also won the 2021 Nations League with the Blues.
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Born on December 26, 1986 in Nice, Hugo Lloris started playing football at the age of 6 at CEDAC, a football club in the Nice district of Cimiez. Already a goalkeeper, he was spotted by former international Dominique Baratelli and joined OGC Nice when he was 10 years old. Doing all his classes in the professional club of the city, Hugo Lloris was selected in the French youth teams from 2003 and won the Euro under 19 in 2005. On his return to the club, he became a substitute goalkeeper du Gym for the 2005-2006 season, behind Damien Grégorini. As goalkeeper No. 2, he competes in national cups and participates in Nice’s good run in the Coupe de la Ligue. He started throughout the competition (1st professional match against Châteauroux on October 26, 2005) and lost in the final against AS Nancy-Lorraine (1-2). Goalkeeper of OGC Nice for the next two seasons, Hugo Lloris achieved very good performances which allowed him to be chosen by Olympique Lyonnais, then at the top of French football (7 consecutive titles of French champions from 2002 to 2008 ), to replace Grégory Coupet.
He had a good first season in 2008-2009 in the OL jersey and was voted best goalkeeper in Ligue 1 by the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP). He honors his first selection for the France A team on November 19, 2008 during a friendly match against Uruguay (0-0). Then n°2 of the French goalkeepers behind Steve Mandanda, he became n°1 with the Blues in the summer of 2009. During the 2009-2010 season, he played a decisive role in the good progress of his club in the Champions League (the OL lost in the semi-finals of the competition after having eliminated Real Madrid in particular) and competed in the 2010 World Cup. After the defeat of France in the first round in South Africa, he was named captain of the Blues by new coach Laurent Blanc.
In the summer of 2012, Hugo Lloris left Lyon after managing to win his only two titles with OL that same year (Trophée des Champions and Coupe de France) for English club Tottenham Hotspur. Substitute on his debut in London, he became Tottenham’s starting goalkeeper after a few days. After two seasons without much flavor, he was named captain in 2015 and made a series of high-class stops with his club, which once again became a great player in England (3rd in the Premier League in 2016 and 2018, vice-champion of England in 2017, finalist of the Champions League in 2019). These years were marked by his exceptional performances in the French team, rewarded by a title of vice-champion of Europe 2016 and world champion 2018. Considered one of the very best goalkeepers in the world, Hugo Lloris is once again the captain of the Blues at Euro 2021, finished in the round of 16 against Switzerland and is reappointed for the 2022 World Cup.
Hugo Lloris has been married to his childhood sweetheart Marine Lloris since July 6, 2012, the date of the religious and civil ceremony. The couple, who met in 2005 at the Thierry Maulnier high school in Nice, have 3 children together (2 daughters and 1 son): Anna-Rose born in 2010, Giuliana born in 2014 and Léandro born in 2019. Born by Luc Lloris , a banker father, and Christine Lloris, lawyer mother who died in 2008 from cancer, Hugo Lloris has a little brother. Born in 1995, Gautier Lloris currently plays for AJ Auxerre, in Ligue 2, after being trained in Nice like his big brother.