Julien Escudé

Julien Escudé (born 17 August 1979) is a French retired footballer who played mainly as a central defender but also as a full back.
After making a name for himself with Rennes, he went on to play abroad with Ajax and Sevilla, being an important part of the latter team as it won six major titles, including two UEFA Cups (he appeared in 237 official games for the club).

France / Ajax

Born in Chartres, Escudé began his professional career at AS Cannes, playing one season in the second division. On 26 July 1999, after some solid performances, the 20-year-old joined Ligue 1 club Stade Rennais FC, managed by young Paul Le Guen, where he gradually developed into a first division player, amassing nearly 150 official appearances.

In the 2003 summer, Escudé signed with Dutch club AFC Ajax, scoring six goals in his first two seasons combined for the Amsterdam Arena side and winning the Eredivisie title in his first year. In August 2005, after a defeat against Feyenoord, he fell out of favour with manager Danny Blind, and never played a match afterwards.

Sevilla

In January 2006, Escudé signed for Sevilla FC from Spain for €1.5 million. His La Liga debut came on 11 February as he featured nine minutes in a 4–0 win at Andalusia neighbours Cádiz CF; in the following round, he played the entire 1–0 home success against Celta de Vigo.

Escudé became an essential defensive unit in the following years for the Spaniards, helping them conquer a total of five titles (he played in the 2005–06 final of the UEFA Cup, a 4–0 win against England's Middlesbrough). His importance grew after the long injury layoff which bothered the captain of the club Javi Navarro, but he would also be sidelined for a long part of the 2007–08 season with a groin problem– the team finished fifth, missing on qualification to the UEFA Champions League.

In March 2005, Escudé was called to the French national team for two qualifiers for the 2006 FIFA World Cup against Switzerland and Israel, but eventually did not make his debut. His first game was on 11 October 2006, playing as left back against Faroe Islands for the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying campaign– he was not picked for the final stage.

On 18 November 2009, in the tenth minute of the second leg of the 2010 World Cup qualification playoffs against the Republic of Ireland, Escudé broke his nose and had to be stretchered off. He was also not selected for the squad of 23 which appeared in South Africa.

Escudé's older brother, Nicolas, played tennis professionally, reaching the top 20 in 2000. His father Paul was also a footballer, representing mainly Pau FC.

During his spell with Sevilla, Escudé played several matches with "SQD" on the back of his shirt, it being the phonetic spelling of his surname.

Ajax

• Eredivisie: 2003–04
• Johan Cruijff Shield: 2005

Sevilla

• UEFA Cup: 2005–06, 2006–07
• UEFA Super Cup: 2006; Runner-up 2007
• Copa del Rey: 2006–07, 2009–10
• Supercopa de España: 2007; Runner-up 2010