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Unknown to many that exclusively follow the big leagues, Sylvain Marveaux has recently drawn interest from several big clubs after impressive performances in Ligue 1. His hard work attitude combined with his impressive skills make him a desirable target for any club and he should find a top tier team soon.

DATE OF BIRTH: 15th April, 1986 (24)
PLACE OF BIRTH: Vannes, France
NATIONALITY: French, Martinique
HEIGHT: 1.72 m / 5'6"
WEIGHT: 66 kg / 145 lbs
MAIN POSITION: Left Midfielder
SECONDARY POSITIONS: Left Wing, Right Midfielder
MARKET VALUE: 8,000,000,000 Euros

Meet Sylvain Marveaux, a dedicated youth who is currently owns the streak for longest active time at French club Stade Rennes. His older borther, Joris, has already become a star at Montpellier drawing interest himself. He prides himself on his teamwork and dedication (as evidenced by the extent of his tenure with Rennes), his crafty ball skills, and the ease at which he motions through defenses.

History: His youth career began full of promise when he played for the little town of Menimur from the age of 6 to the age of 13. He was scouted at a local tournament by Ligue 2 side Vannes OC, who immediately noticed his work ethic and capabilities as a winger. Even though he started as a holding (and occasional center midfielder), he would soon become more comfortable on the wings.

In 2001 he was picked up to join the youth team of Stade Rennes after some impressive performances in Vannes' A-team landed him in the French U16 national team.

He quickly became a steadfast member of Stade Rennes' B-Team that hoped to vie for a slot on the main team. After a slew of injuries hit Rennes, Marveaux was called up and quickly filled the starting role. He continued to rack up impressive performances on the under17, -18, -19, and -21 teams for France but has yet to be called up for the true national team.

Stade Rennes is known for producing promising players and have come out with quite a few in a short period of time, very unusual for such a small club. If Marveaux were to move to Liverpool and secure a starting role he would join the ranks of Petr Cech, Sylvain Wiltord, Alexander Frei, Kim Kallstrom, and Shabani Nonda as famous Rennes alumni.


Attributes: Sylvain Marveaux is French born and bred and plays the same style of football known from the French. He is systematic yet plays a smooth style, quite representative of a cross between the "joga bonita" style of Brazilian play and the hardy tactical German style.

His goal scoring capabilities may have been lost recently, but he sure has not let his team down in any way. 3 Assists in 10 Games may not sound a lot, but for a team like Rennes these came at profitable times and helped secure big points against the French title contenders. He caused problems against both Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique Lyon and attained the highest match grades in each for his team en route manifesting Rennes as a fearful opponent.

Marveaux can be classified as a power workhouse that will run up and down the left line to provide a single star forward with tens of crosses in a half. While his fitness currently lacks (he has been substituted in all but one of his games this season) he should be able to get it under control when his adductor problems are resolved (see injury report below).

Injury Report: Although Sylvain currently has some Adductor problems and will be out for a few more weeks he is known for being fairly hardy and suffering few injuries in the course of his (already) long career. He should be a perennial "fresh spring" should he chose to sign with Liverpool that can carry a team even in extended seasons through many cups and championships.

Hopefully this young talent can make it to the big stage soon and then quickly break out, the French National Team is wasted on lacking such a fresh, new talent, especially with the recent World Cup fiasco and turmoil. Don't be surprised to see Marveaux fill some big shoes soon.

~Andrew Ryan