Lionel Létizi

Lionel Letizi (born May 28, 1973 in Nice, France) is a France professional football (soccer) goalkeeper currently with OGC Nice, joining the club in the January 2007 transfer window after being released by Scottish Premier League club Rangers F.C..

Career

France

He took his first steps as a professional player with OGC Nice where he won the Ligue 2 in 1994. Upon reaching the Ligue 1 he was spotted by a number of clubs before joining FC Metz in 1996. At Metz he was a runner-up in the Ligue 1 in 1998 and finalist of the Coupe de la Ligue in 1999. The chance to take a step up arrived when he joined Paris Saint-Germain F.C. in 2000 in order to be able to play in the UEFA Champions League. Although capped 4 times for the French national team he never managed to displace Fabien Barthez. He remained first choice at PSG for 6 years, but the signing of Mickael Landreau led him to seek a move.

Move to Scotland

On 16 June 2006 he completed a move to Rangers on a free transfer (soccer). In his first three games for the Glasgow club he failed to keep a clean sheet or particularly catch the eye. Since then he has become more prominent for making costly errors. On 13 August 2006 his blunder led directly to Dunfermline Athletic F.C.'s equaliser in a stale 1-1 draw. Letizi recovered in the next game and helped Rangers to a 2-0 win over Heart of Midlothian F.C. before succumbing to injury. After 2 months on the sidelines, Letizi controversially made an automatic return to the side despite impressive performances from his replacement Allan McGregor.

Manager Paul Le Guen had made it clear at the start of the season that Letizi was going to be number one and, as such, this was not entirely unexpected. But the decision was questioned when another fumble on 14 October 2006 gave Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C. a shock 1-0 win at Ibrox Stadium and left Rangers trailing Celtic by 10 points after just ten SPL games. Letizi was heavily booed in some quarters by the fans but defended by others.

After the departure of Le Guen, Letizi's future at Rangers appeared uncertain and he was released from his contract with the club on January 30 2007. Letizi had not played since October 2006 and featured in just eight matches in his six month stay, keeping only one clean sheet in that time. He subsequently joined his first club, OGC Nice.

Trivia

- His father Alain Letizi was also a goalkeeper and played for AS Cannes.

Honours

- Coupe de France : 2004, 2006 Paris Saint-Germain
- Ligue 2 champion: 1994, OGC Nice
- Finalist of the Coupe de la Ligue: 1999, FC Metz
- 4 selections with the France national football team (debut on October 11 1997 against South Africa national football team in a 2-1 win)