PLAYER PROFILE

Sylvain Distin

Position: Defence

Height: 6'4

Weight: 14st 0lbs

Date of Birth: 1977-12-16 Bagnolet, France

Sylvain Distin

Sylvain Distin joined City on May 20 2002 in a £4million deal that the Maine Road club had originally wanted to complete in the summer of 2001 but with the player wanting to join a Barclaycard Premiership team, the defender opted to sign for Newcastle United on a loan deal from Paris St Germain.

When he did eventually join City, Distin signed after turning down the chance to become a Newcastle United player on a permanent basis. The decision to join City came when Newcastle were guaranteed a shot at the UEFA Champions League after finishing fourth in the Barclaycard Premiership but Distin still opted to join the Maine Road club, guaranteeing him instant popularity with the fans.

Sylvain operates down the left side of defence and was brought to City mainly to compensate for the retirement of Stuart Pearce. The club's Director of Football, Dennis Tueart, said: "We looked closely at bringing Sylvain to Maine Road before he went to Newcastle before Christmas but at that stage we were in the First Division and he was understandably looking for a Premiership deal.

"What is vitally important, too, in the strategy for team building, is that he is a left-sided central defender. When it became clear that Newcastle were not going to take up their option on the player, Kevin moved very quickly and we are delighted to have Sylvain on board. He is a powerful, quick athlete who has already proved himself at the highest level."

Distin played a total of 28 games for Newcastle in the 2001/2002 season after turning down a move to Bolton Wanderers a few weeks before he joined Newcastle. Measuring 6'4", the defender started his career with FC Gueugnon and joined Paris St Germain in the summer of 2000 after having won the French League Cup with Gueugnon at the end of the 1999/2000 season.

He soon made an impact on the City side, and became a regular in their defence. An early performance even inspired one of Kevin Keegan's most memorable quotes: "Sylvain is a wonderful player. I am so pleased with him, not just the way he is playing but the way he is around the place and the way he trains. He trains like he plays. When cars are designed they feed the information into a computer and it throws out this aerodynamic design with the hatchback and all the trimmings.

"If you put the details for a centre-half into a computer, especially a left-sided one, and you said he needs to be 6ft 3in, he needs to be quick, he needs to be strong, and he needs to be able to use the ball, then it would be him. He has not put a foot wrong since he came to the club, he has been outstanding both on and off the field, and you can build things around players like that."

Things didn't change for the 2003/04 season. Distin had taken the captain's armband in the absence of Steve Howey and Ali Benarbia, and following the summer departure of those players, Distin was then made up to full-time skipper.

Ever-present in the side throughout last season, played mainly in the centre of defence in Keegan's three man system, although filled in at left-back for the injured Michael Tarnat.

The second of his three goals of the campaign sparked one of the greatest comebacks in footballing history. Distin headed home Tarnat's cross when City were losing 3-0 in their FA Cup tie with Spurs, and thanks to Distin's goal, went on to win 4-3.

His 2004/05 season saw such success continue. He played 41 games and scored once - the first in a 2-0 home victory against Portsmouth. His partnership with Richard Dunne proved to be crucial for the City defence.

That continued in 2005/06, although the campaign was slightly overshadowed by persistent rumours linking the Ciy defender with a move away from Eastlands, and his reluctance to sign a new contract meant that this carried on into the summer of 2006.

He played throughout 2006/07 and continued to be part of a resolute City back four, but without a new deal, he left the club in May 2007 to join Portsmouth on a free transfer.