Mikael Silvestre experienced many a big occasion during a career which saw him win multiple Premier League titles with Manchester United and reach the World Cup final with France.
But, for him, there few bigger than his senior international debut against Germany at the Stade de France in 2001.
The former centre-back recalls five of his most significant games to FourFourTwo in our latest issue.
"I’ll pick yet another debut," Silvestre says, "for France in front of 80,000 fans at the Stade de France. I came on for Marcel Desailly after 75 minutes and before I knew it, the match was over! I don’t remember much about the game itself, other than just being there and pinching myself, thinking, ‘I’m playing for the national team now, wow!’.
"At the time, France were the World Cup holders and had also won Euro 2000 a year earlier. Only Didier Deschamps and Laurent Blanc had retired from the side at that point, so the rest of the squad was the same. When I got the call, my emotions were similar to when I signed for [Manchester] United. The team felt untouchable and was playing wonderful football. I was pleased with how I performed and later received the pendant from the game as a souvenir."
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Silvestre went on to win 40 caps for Les Bleus, featuring at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, and Euro 2004.
He spent the vast majority of his career with Man United, winning every piece of major silverware available during a nine-year spell at the club under Sir Alex Ferguson.
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