Valérien Ismaël
Ismaël had two really strong seasons with Werder Bremen — playing 32 matches and scoring 4 goals in each of his two seasons at the club. He was a part of Bremen’s German double in his first season on loan which prompted the club to purchase him from Strasbourg for roughly €750k in 2004. Bayern bought the French defender from Werder Bremen in 2005 for €8.5 million at the age of 29 and he signed a 3 year deal. Ismaël was the club’s main summer target to replace Robert Kovac who moved to Juventus on a free transfer. To get the deal done, Bayern sold Torsten Frings to Bremen for €5 million. Frings had a disappointing season and failed to earn regular team action with Bayern after leaving Dortmund. Ismaël was sent off against Gladbach on Matchday 1 after he received two yellow cards. He started 30 matches for Bayern, and played a full 90 minutes in every single one except the season opener. Ismaël helped Bayern win the league and Pokal in 05/06. In August of 2006, Ismaël broke his shine bone in training and was sidelined for over 6 months. Bayern were not left scrambling though as they had just purchased Daniel Van Buyten from Hamburg a month prior. Ismaël only featured in one match in his second season before being sold to Hannover for €200k in the winter of 2008, where he also struggled with injuries before retiring in 2009.
After retiring, Ismaël became an executive assistant at Hannover before becoming their manager in 2011. He is currently in charge of Watford in the Second Tier of English football.
The picture is from the 05/06 Pokal final where Bayern beat Frankfurt. They won 1-0 and Ismaël played a full 90 minutes.
by Jahblessnoob