On this day in 2014, Anthony Reveillere made his debut for SAFC against Crystal Palace. The French fullback signed for Sunderland in 2014, where he played for a year before retiring.
Reveillere began his career at Stade Rennais, making his debut in 1998 in a 0-0 draw with Bastia. He spent six years at Rennes, staying in the French top-flight throughout his time there. During his six-year stint, he went on loan to Spanish side Villareal in January 2003.
Following a six-month loan in Spain, Reveillere joined Lyon. He scored one goal in his debut season, coming in a 4-0 win over Lens. He won an impressive seven league titles consecutively with Lyon, and was crucial in five of those seasons where he made almost 400 appearances at the club.
He is one of the most decorated individuals in Lyon’s history, meaning Reveillere is hugely adored by Lyon fans. However, he left the club in 2013 when his contract came to an end and joined Italian side Napoli.
He was signed as an emergency right-back, covering for Christian Maggio. Despite signing in November, the Frenchman’s debut didn’t come until January when he played in a 2-2 draw with Bologna. He finished his single season in Italy with 18 appearances in all competitions.
Gus Poyet allowed Reveillere to train with the Lads over the summer of 2014, and he signed a one-year deal on deadline day to no fanfare. It reminded fans of another ageing Napoli defender, Andrea Dossena. However, Reveillere made his debut against Crystal Palace, in our first away game since the 8-0 hammering at Southampton. He proved his worth, handing the tricky Wilfried Zaha extremely well.
It was a very entertaining match, with a 3-1 SAFC win. This was the first time we'd won on a Monday since April 2002 (failing to win in our last 20 Monday fixtures), and lifted us out of the relegation zone. Steven Fletcher opened the scoring before Wes Brown's own goal made it 1-1. The OG was our tenth own goal since August 2013 - more than any of our players had scored in the right end during that period. Jordi Gomez put us ahead, and Mile Jedinak was sent off before Fletcher scored the final goal in injury time to make it 3-1.
In limited appearances, Reveillere showed his class and experience, putting in dependable defensive performances as a utility man. The timing of his tackles, ability to man-mark and concentration when tracking back were all excellent and showed why he’d seen such European success throughout the years.
At the end of the season, when Sunderland had staved off relegation for another year under Dick Advocaat, Reveillere announced his retirement from the game, walking out with his head held high after a lengthy and illustrious career.
