Pierre-Alain Frau
Pierre-Alain Frau | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 15, 1980 Montbéliard, France |
| Occupation | Professional footballer (retired) |
| Years active | – |
| Known for | Playing as striker or winger for Sochaux, Lyon, Lens, Paris Saint-Germain, Lille, Caen, and Al-Wakrah |
Pierre-Alain Frau (born 15 April 1980) is a retired French professional footballer who operated primarily as a striker or winger. Throughout his career, he represented several clubs, including two separate periods at Sochaux, as well as Lyon, Lens, Paris Saint-Germain, Lille, Caen, and Al-Wakrah.
Career
Known by the nickname PAF, Frau was born in Montbéliard, France, and launched his professional journey with his hometown team Sochaux, making his debut in France's national league.
In 2004, he moved to Lyon but found first-team opportunities limited due to competition from established forwards such as Sylvain Wiltord, Nilmar, and John Carew. With the 2006 FIFA World Cup on the horizon and facing slim chances of national team inclusion, Frau arranged a loan move for half a season to RC Lens. Although he received a call-up to the senior French squad from coach Raymond Domenech in August 2004, he did not participate in any matches and was eventually omitted from the World Cup roster. While Lens showed interest in extending his stay, Frau opted to transfer to Paris Saint-Germain, with Lyon placing his valuation around £4 million.
On 1 January 2008, Frau committed to a three-and-a-half-year deal with Lille OSC, where he was assigned the number 17 jersey.
Frau remains widely regarded as one of the most prominent figures linked to FC Sochaux-Montbéliard, his hometown club.
Honors
Sochaux
Lyon
- Ligue 1: 2004–05
- Trophée des Champions: 2004, 2005
Lille
- Ligue 1: 2010–11
- Coupe de France: 2010–11
External links
- Pages with script errors
- Articles with short description
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- 1980 births
- Living people
- Sportspeople from Montbéliard
- Footballers from Doubs
- French men's footballers
- Men's association football forwards
- France men's under-21 international footballers
- France men's youth international footballers
- Ligue 1 players
- Ligue 2 players
- Qatar Stars League players
- FC Sochaux-Montbéliard players
- Olympique Lyonnais players
- RC Lens players
- Paris Saint-Germain FC players
- Lille OSC players
- Stade Malherbe Caen players
- Al-Wakrah SC players
- French expatriate men's footballers
- French expatriate sportspeople in Qatar
- Expatriate men's footballers in Qatar
- 21st-century French sportsmen
- French people of Sardinian descent