Ruddy Lilian Thuram-Ulien (; born 1 January 1972), known as
Lilian Thuram, is a French retired professional
football defender and the most
capped player in the history of the
France national team. He played at the top flight in
France,
Italy and
Spain for over 15 seasons, including ten in the
Serie A with both
Parma and
Juventus. With
France, Thuram won the
1998 World Cup and
Euro 2000, and was in the runner-up squad for the
2006 FIFA World Cup. Thuram was an extremely dominant, consistent, attentive, and versatile player throughout his career. He was known for his strength, pace, stamina and his outstanding physical and technical attributes, his ability to read the game, and his marking and tackling. Primarily a defender, he was equally competent offensively as he was defensively, and could play on either flank, often alternating between playing as a right back or as a centreback, and even being deployed in midfield on occasion. Despite his powerful, aggressive style of play, he was also known to be a classy, studious figure off the pitch. In 2010, Thuram became a
UNICEF ambassador.