Former French professional footballer, Marcel Desailly is a skilled centre back and defensive midfielder who played for the French international team along with domestic teams including AC Milan and Chelsea. Able to speak fluently in French and English, Desailly is quickly becoming a favourite in the after-dinner speaking circuit for his tips and tricks on achieving peak performance and working effectively as part of a team.
Born in Ghana, Desailly moved to France in 1992 where he began playing for FC Nantes. Having established himself with an incredible skillset from a young age, he turned professional in 1986. By 1992, Marcel was playing for Olympique de Marseille and helped them towards their victory in the UEFA Championships League. Success followed him when he moved to AC Milan and managed to score in their winning Championship final game making him the first player to win the tournament twice consecutively with two different teams. Throughout his domestic career, Marcel won two Italian League titles, won the FA Cup with Chelsea in 2000 and captained AI-Gharafa to win the Qarar League in 2005.
With his strength, tackling style and consistency earning him the nickname of The Rock, there’s no questioning that Marcel’s international career was just as successful as his domestic. As part of the squad that won the 1998 FIFA World Cup, he received the highest French order of merit, Chevalier of the Legion d’honneur. He was also part of the team to win the Euro in 2000 where his performance led him to be named the captain of the international team. During his captaincy, he oversaw France winning the Confederations Cup.
After making a record-breaking number of appearances for the French national team, Marcel announced his retirement from football in 2004. Having now ventured into the media career, he often appears as a pundit for BBC Sport. He featured in Match of the Day to comment on the 2006 World Cup and also gave commentary for the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations and Euro 2008.
A skilful, charismatic and lively after-dinner speaker, Marcel Desailly is guaranteed to inspire and entertain audiences of corporate events or school assemblies. His clear delivery of teamwork and leadership skills and reflections on how he maximised his success as a footballer add up to create the most motivating and empowering speech.
How to hire Marcel Desailly
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Marcel Desailly for your next event, today. To get in touch, simply call an official booking agent on 0207 1010 553 or email us at [email protected] for more information.
** We do not accept requests for autographs, signed merchandise, fan mail, birthday messages or any other non-commercial contact with the speakers or acts. Each speaker on the website may not have necessarily worked with Champions in the past but are known to perform such engagements within the industry.
When he's at corporate events, Marcel is known to discuss the following topics:
- Professional Football
- Mental Resilience
- Drive & Determination
- International Football
- Peak Performance
- Teamwork & Leadership
"I personally want to say a warm thank you to Marcel. It was an absolute pleasure to speak with him and gain his insight into it all." - Lizzie, Kingfisher
