François Clerc (born 18 April 1983 in Bourg-en-Bresse) is a French footballer who plays right back for Olympique Lyonnais.

He joined the reigning Ligue 1 titleholders as a youth player, but spent the 2004-05 season on loan at Toulouse FC before playing a league game for Lyon. Upon his return in 2005, Clerc broke into the first team and made 19 appearances in the domestic league and in Europe.

He was a member of the France U-21 team that participated in the European Under-21 Football Championship finals in 2006, making two appearances.

He received a shock call-up (although he would not feature in the match) to the French national team for their March friendly against Slovenia. He earned his first cap for France in the 5-0 win against Faroe Islands on 11 October 2006. He then went on to take part in several matches as a substitute for Willy Sagnol, and was a starter in several games after Sagnol injured his knee in 2007. France coach Raymond Domenech seems undecided about who will succeed Sagnol at the right-back position, and he has also started Bacary Sagna and Lassana Diarra. Sagnol is expected to start through the Euro 2008 competition. If Clerc participates, it will likely be as a substitute.

Clerc now battles with Anthony Réveillère for the right-back spot at Lyon, although Clerc has also filled in on occasion as a right sided midfielder/winger in the team's 4-3-3 formation, with limited success.

He scored his first Ligue 1 goal for Lyon on December 2, 2007 against Strasbourg.

He was banned for 4 matches because of an improper transfer agreement to Olympique de Marseille.^[1]

References