Florent Laville

Florent Laville

Personal information
Full name	Florent Laville
Date of birth	7 August 1973
Place of birth	Valence, Drôme, France
Height	185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Defender
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
1993–2003	Lyon	204	(2)
2003	→ Bolton Wanderers (loan)	10	(0)
2003–2005	Bolton Wanderers	5	(0)
2004	→ Coventry City (loan)	6	(0)
2005–2007	Bastia	37	(1)
Total		262	(3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 27 September 2006. † Appearances (goals)

Florent Laville (born 7 August 1973 in Valence, Drôme) is a retired French football defender.

Club career

Laville spent the first 10 years of his career with Olympique Lyonnais, and helped them win the Ligue 1 in 2002 and 2003 as well as the Trophée des Champions in 2002. Laville signed with Premier League club Bolton Wanderers in 2003^[1] and instantly slotted into the first team, forming a successful defensive partnership with Guðni Bergsson, despite a sending off in a memorable game against Arsenal.^[2] He later signed permanently for Bolton, but a serious leg injury suffered several games into the 2003–04 season, against Middlesbrough,^[3] put him out of action for over a year and effectively ended his top-level playing career as he struggled to regain fitness.

After leaving Bolton at the end of the 2004–05 season, Laville eventually returned to fitness and briefly played for Coventry City before returning to France, reuniting with former Bolton teammate, Pierre-Yves André at SC Bastia. His contract expired at the end of the 2006–07 season and he subsequently retired.

International career

Laville represented France at the 1996 Summer Olympics

References

1. "Bolton snap up French duo". BBC Sport. 1 February 2003. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
2. "Bolton dent Arsenal hopes". BBC. 26 April 2003. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
3. "Bolton seal first win". BBC. 13 September 2003. Retrieved 29 April 2013.

External links

• Florent Laville – French League Stats at LFP.fr (French)