Christian Karembeu is the first ultramarin to write two champions leagues to his record. The Caledonian raised the European Cup with Real Madrid before winning the World Cup in France. The defensive midfielder of the Blues is one of the rare tricolors to have succeeded in the double in 1998.
Christian Karembeu is the first ultramarin to win 2 champions leagues
•
© Overseas La1ere
The Dreadlocks and the powerful physique of Christian Karembeu have conquered supporters of football stadiums in Europe and around the world, for 15 years. Caledonian won two major titles with the French team: the World Cup in 1998 and the European Championship in 2000.
Christian’s private life with Adriana Sklenarikova has often made the headlines of the sensation press. Call him Lali, his first name Kanak, in the Nang tribe on the island of Lifou. He is the fifth child of a family of 18 brothers and sisters. Nicknamed “the crazy horse” on the football fields, in Xârâcùù, one of the 28 Kanak languages, Karembeu means “the angry man”. He nevertheless embodies the “Pacific attitude”. From his Gaïtcha club via FC Nantes, to Real Madrid and Olympiakos, Lali remains the ambassador of Oceanian football.
1998 will remain an exceptional year in the list of Lali. In one season, the Caledonian won the Champions League (C1) with Real Madrid and the World Cup with the Blues. For 32 years, Real has been waiting for this trophy. It is the first major consecration of the defensive midfielder. Lifou’s child becomes the second ultramarin to win the C1.
After a title of champion of France in 1995 conquered with FC Nantes et two promising seasons in the soccer (Italian football, editor’s note) under the colors of the Sampdoria of Genoa, Lali arrives in the club of his dreams.
At Euro 1996 with the French team, Aimé Jacquet, the national coach, summons him in his room to answer a telephone call. At the end of the line, Lorenzo Sanz, the president of Real Madrid, offered to sign a contract with “La Maison Blanche”. Lali first thinks that it is a joke. Kanak responds favorably and will last.
The leaders of the Sampdoria opted for the Catalan club unlike Lali. Sanctioned, he is isolated and dismissed from the team, for six months. He wins the showdown. The midfielder signed in the winter transfer window in December 1997, with the Spanish capital’s club for an amount of around three million euros.
Defensive midfielder, right environment, central and lateral defender, his versatility allows him to become an indisputable holder within the group of Jupp Heynckes. During the European campaign, against Bayer Leverkusen in the quarterfinals, he scored a goal on the outward journey and in the return match. Real wins 3-0. In the semi-finals, against Borussia Dortmund, he makes the powder speak. The Madrilenians tear off the victory and spin in the final.
On May 20, 1998, at Amsterdam Arena, in the Netherlands, in front of 48,500 spectators, the Merengue Won in Final 1 to 0 against Juventus Turin in Zidane and Deschamps. Barely five months after his transfer, Christian Karembeu raises the Champions League trophy, the first since 1966 for Real, the seventh (seventh in Spanish). The Caledonian becomes the second ultramarin victorious of the C1, after the Guadeloupean Jocelyn Angloma.
“It was a pride! Here is a guy from the islands that works in the footsteps of Zimako, Kanyan, and so many others like Marius Trésor, Gérard Janvion and so on. The islands are never easy. But now, with envy, we adapt to all situations and the environment. This is how we can reach the Grail. So, for me, it’s a big pride, especially with regard to my career. Because from New Caledonia at 17 and join an already established professional group, I had to adapt. I had to work more than the others.“
Almost two months later, he won with the Blues the first World Cup. He plays four matches as a holder. Two trophies in the two main competitions, it ends 98 in the most beautiful way.
But the seasons follow each other and are not alike. The club of the Spanish capital eliminated in the quarterfinals of the C1, it saw a white year in 1999. Decreased by an ankle injury, it only played 15 league games. He is not among the holders on the match sheet of the Champions League final at the Stade de France, on May 24, 2000, against FC Valence. Real prevails 3-0 and records an eighth European Cup on its record. Without participating in the meeting, Lali obtains her second continental title.
He took the direction of Middleborough in England in the summer of 2000. After two seasons in England, he was recruited at Olympiakos Le Piraeus. The midfielder was elected best player in Greece in 2002. Then he joined the Geneva Servette a year before ending his career in Bastia.
A real link will be created between the Kanak and the Greek club. First observer for the Premier League clubs such as Arsenal and former FIFA ambassador to Oceania, the 98 world champion is now the sports director of Olympiakos Le Piraeus.
Find the interview with Christian Karembeu:
The interview with the Caledonian Christian Karembeu
•
© Overseas La1ere
