William Eric Gallas (French pronunciation: [wiljam ɡalas]; born 17 August 1977) is a French football coach and former professional footballer who played as a defender. He played most of his footballing career in France and England before finishing his career in Australia with A-League club Perth Glory. Gallas is currently a youth team coach at Hungarian club Zalaegerszegi TE.
Gallas began his playing career in France, before being signed by English club Chelsea in 2001. He transferred to Arsenal as part of an exchange deal in 2006. He then signed for rivals Tottenham Hotspur in 2010. He retired from professional football on 16 October 2014.
William Eric Gallas was born on 17 August 1977 in Asnières-sur-Seine, a commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department which lies in the northwestern suburbs of Paris. He is the cousin of the deceased former footballer Ludovic Quistin and of Mathieu Bastareaud, a French rugby union centre playing for Lyon.
A graduate of the French football academy at Clairefontaine, Gallas started his professional career at second division Caen, helping them to promotion as champions in 1996. He subsequently transferred to Marseille in 1997, where he played for four seasons. He made his debut in the UEFA Champions League for Marseille, scoring his first goal in European competition in a 1–0 win over then European champions Manchester United at the Stade Vélodrome in October 1999.
Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri bought Gallas from Marseille in 2001 for £6.2 million. He chose the number 13 shirt because it was his postcode back where he lived in Marseille. Under Ranieri, Gallas developed centre-back partnerships with Marcel Desailly and later with John Terry. His partnership with Terry included a run of 16 games without conceding a goal. He also played as a left-back at times. It was with Chelsea and under Ranieri where Gallas obtained his first international cap for France. Gallas made his debut as a substitute for John Terry against Newcastle United in August 2001. His first goal followed in the FA Cup against Tottenham Hotspur. Chelsea ended up reaching the 2002 FA Cup Final in which Gallas started, however they were defeated by Arsenal.
Gallas was part of the Chelsea squad which won back-to-back Premier League titles and a League Cup under Ranieri's successor José Mourinho. The Blues also made the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League that year, but were knocked out by Liverpool 1–0 in controversial circumstances—Gallas cleared the ball, after it was adjudged to have crossed the line.
Due to a serious injury to left-back Wayne Bridge in 2004–05, Gallas was forced to play out of position, and despite the purchase of Asier del Horno from Athletic Bilbao for £8 million in the 2005 close season, Gallas found himself often playing on the left, a situation he grew increasingly frustrated with, although it did showcase his versatility, being able to play anywhere in the backline. Gallas scored some vital goals against Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United as Chelsea retained their title in the 2005–06 Premier League season.
Gallas' contract with Chelsea was due to expire in May 2007. He refused to sign a new contract with Chelsea on improved terms after saying the club did not offer him enough money and expressed a wish to play in the Italian Serie A, with Juventus and Milan both interested. Chelsea, however, did not agree to a transfer request by the player in May 2006, as they considered Gallas an important first-team member. After the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Gallas refused to turn up at Chelsea's crowded ranks of defenders at Stamford Bridge, so Chelsea signed Dutch international centre back Khalid Boulahrouz, though in his single season at Chelsea, Boulahrouz would play almost exclusively as a fullback.
On 1 September 2006, Gallas transferred to Arsenal as part of a deal that brought Ashley Cole to Chelsea, in addition to Arsenal receiving £5 million. After the transfer, Chelsea issued a statement that Gallas threatened to deliberately score own goals if he was not allowed to leave Chelsea. Gallas rejected Chelsea's claim and accused the West Londoners of "lacking class" and "hiding behind false accusations." Claudio Ranieri, the former Chelsea manager who signed Gallas from Marseille, said of the allegations, "I cannot believe these stories. It is absolutely incredible. I signed William and he was always a good professional on the pitch. Of course, I don't know what has happened in the last two years." PFA Chief Executive Gordon Taylor declared that the whole episode has left a "bad taste in the mouth" and that Chelsea's statement should be taken "with a large pinch of salt."
Gallas signed a four-year contract with Arsenal, where he took the number 10 shirt vacated by the recently retired Dennis Bergkamp. In an October 2006 interview with the official team magazine, Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger explained his decision to hand him the squad number 10 (traditionally a forward's or a midfielder's number): "Number three was uncomfortable for him and I had given the rest of the numbers out. In the end I thought it might be a good idea to give the number ten to a defender, because a striker would suffer a lot with the comparison with Dennis. At first I was reluctant to give Dennis's number out, and especially to a defender, but overall I think it's better that way."
Gallas made his full debut for the Gunners at left-back in the team's 1–1 draw against Middlesbrough at the Emirates Stadium on 9 September 2006 and scored his first goal against Sheffield United on 23 September 2006.
Gallas was confirmed as Arsenal captain on 9 August 2007, with Kolo Touré serving as vice-captain. This caused some controversy, however, as Gilberto Silva was expected to receive the captain's armband. His first competitive game as Arsenal captain was on 12 August 2007 against Fulham, which ended in a 2–1 victory for Arsenal. Gallas suffered a groin injury in the game against Blackburn Rovers on 19 August, but returned to play for Arsenal in their 2–0 victory over Bolton Wanderers on 20 October. On 3 November, at home to Manchester United, Gallas scored an own goal which initially gave United the lead, but made up for it by scoring an injury-time equaliser to give the Gunners a 2–2 draw.
On 24 November 2007, Gallas scored against Wigan Athletic, heading past goalkeeper Mike Pollitt from Bacary Sagna's cross. On 16 December, Gallas scored against his old club Chelsea, which was to be the only goal in the match to secure three points for Arsenal.
Gallas drew some criticism as a result of his actions in a 2–2 draw against Birmingham City at St. Andrew's on 23 February 2008, a game that saw Eduardo's leg broken following a challenge by Martin Taylor (who was subsequently sent off). With Arsenal leading 2–1 in injury time at the end of the second half, Gaël Clichy conceded a penalty; Gallas walked into the Birmingham half, apparently in protest, where he watched as Birmingham striker James McFadden converted the penalty. He then had to be restrained as he appeared to confront the crowd in fury. After the final whistle, Gallas sat down on the pitch as the rest of the players left the field before being consoled by manager Arsène Wenger.
Gallas scored for Arsenal against Bolton at Reebok Stadium in a 2–3 win on 29 March 2008, starting the comeback which ten-man Arsenal ultimately completed. Amid speculation that Gallas would be replaced as club captain following his behaviour during the Birmingham game, Wenger said that he would consider the matter at the end of the season.
In August 2008, it was announced that Gallas would remain the club's captain for the 2008–09 season. In the 2008–09 season, Gallas proved prolific in the Champions League. He scored six goals in Arsenal's campaign, including two against Dutch side Twente and an equaliser against Dynamo Kyiv, as well as a header against Spurs. On 29 October 2008, he scored his first league goal of the season against Tottenham at the Emirates, scoring Arsenal's second goal in a 4–4 draw. On 8 November 2008, in a 2–1 victory over Manchester United, he received praise for his display whilst playing alongside former United defender Mikaël Silvestre. It was claimed he outshone United defenders Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidić.