Top scorer in the history of the France team, Olivier Giroud is living a World Cup where his duo with Kylian Mbappé in attack allows him to shine.
The photo made the rounds of the football planet. Kylian Mbappé in the arms of Olivier Giroud, to celebrate the 52e goal of the latter in the France team, against Poland (3-1), thus becoming the top scorer in the history of the France team. A photo of particularly symbolic significance, as the two players have been the engine of the tricolor attack since the start of the World Cup. By opening the scoring in the round of 16, Olivier Giroud achieved his goal of overtaking Thierry Henry. But above all, he asserted himself as the real number 9 of these Blues in Qatar, decisive in a knockout match, making people forget Karim Benzema’s package.
Gone are the days of “balls that don’t arrive” as the AC Milan striker had railed at Euro 2021, aiming, without naming him, at the one who gave him the decisive pass to make history bruises. In Qatar, Giroud scored three times, including two on a serve from the Parisian (Australia and Poland). With Mbappé, tensions have eased and the Giroud-Mbappé duo is proving effective. “My relationship with him is very good. For me, it has always been. It can be seen today on the pitch,” commented Olivier Giroud at a press conference this week before England – France in the quarter-finals. Will the duo carry the Blues to the semi-finals and defeat England?
A framework, here is in a word how one can summarize the career of Olivier Giroud in the France team. With 114 selections including 76 as a starter before the start of the World Cup, the French striker is also on the way to becoming the top scorer in the history of the Blues (49 goals before the World Cup against 51 for Thierry Henry).
In detail, the former Montpellier player was launched with the Blues, when he was already over 25 years old, by a certain Laurent Blanc against the United States, on November 11, 2011 (1-0). But it was only when Didier Deschamps took over and from 2016, especially for Euro 2016 in France, that the striker was the indisputable holder at the forefront of the Blues attack. Often decried, the player lost his starting place in 2021 during the Euro football championship and the return of Karim Benzema to the France team. After the competition, he was no longer called up by coach Didier Deschamps until March 2022 and his big comeback against Côte d’Ivoire and South Africa, punctuated by two new goals.
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Born on September 30, 1986 in Chambéry, Olivier Giroud began his professional career in 2005 under the colors of the Grenoble Foot 38 club, where he was trained. Then passed by Istres then by Tours between 2007 and 2010, the tricolor striker discovered Ligue 1 in 2010 after being the top scorer in Ligue 2 that same year. In his new Montpellier jersey, Olivier Giroud continues to perform well, and multiplies the goals. The French won the title of top scorer in 2011-2012.
Having just been crowned French champion with the Montpellier club, Olivier Giroud decided to go to England in the summer of 2012 where he joined the English championship. Under the orders of Arsène Wenger, the striker participated two years later in the victory of Arsenal in the FA Cup. Regularly starting in club, Olivier Giroud undergoes in team of France the competition of Karim Benzema, which is often preferred to him with the post of striker of point. Substitute luxury, Olivier Giroud is nevertheless part of the adventure of the Blues at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. In this competition, Olivier Giroud scored the hundredth goal for the French team in the final phase of an international competition. A left foot injury during the resumption of the 2014-2015 English championship keeps the player away from the football fields and the French team for four months.
Once back on his feet, Olivier Giroud continued his professional career with brilliance, with Arsenal FC, winning the Puskàs Prize in 2017, which rewards players who scored the best goal of the season following an acrobatic recovery against Crystal Palace. In 2018, he joined neighboring London club Chelsea FC. He stands out thanks to his 1.93m as an effective scorer in one of the most difficult championships in the world, even if his place as holder is regularly called into question. In 2021, he won the Champions League for the first time with the English.
Since the 2021 season, Olivier Giroud has gone to Italy, to the prestigious AC Milan. If it is always very difficult to win in the Italian club, the Frenchman quickly made his place and greatly contributed to the title of Italian champion of the Italian club in 2021.
When he is not on the lawns of major European stadiums, Olivier Giroud devotes himself to his beautiful family. He has been married since 2011 to Jennifer Giroud, a devoted wife who put her professional career aside to support her husband. Before Olivier became a personality in the world of football, Jennifer Giroud worked in the field of beauty salons. The couple had four children: Jade and Aria, born in June 2013 and November 2020 respectively, but also Evan and Aaron, born in March 2016 and early 2018 respectively. Olivier Giroud, whose family has Italian origins , has a sister and two brothers.