Tottenham Signing Louis Saha's Career in 11 Easy Slides

Louis Saha is wasting no time trying to make friends at White Hart Lane, saying his new club Tottenham is "the most dynamic and exciting team in the country."

I'm sure if Arsenal signed Saha he'd be saying the same thing about them, but even if it's just empty words from the new guy, he's right. Tottenham is dynamic, they're exciting and they've built a squad that can—and probably will—win next year's title.

Tottenham signed the former French international to an 18-month contract, so he could potentially be a member of the club's first Premier League title. But 33-year-old strikers only have so long on the pitch before the tires are too worn to go on.

But here's hoping that Saha has 18 months worth of gas in the tank. Tottenham will mark the sixth stop in a career that started in 1998 with French club Metz FC.

It's been a long and winding road for Saha and White Hart Lane may be his last stop. What better time than now to show off Tottenham's newest striker and celebrate the club's biggest signing this winter.

That said, I give you Louis Saha's career in 11 easy slides.

1998, Starts with FC Metz

Saha began his career during the 1997-98 season at FC Metz, a French Ligue 1 team that was pretty good in the late 1990s.

The club finished second in the league behind RC Lens in 1998 (the first year Saha was on the senior squad) and were runners-up in the Coupe de la Ligue (think England's Carling Cup) in 1999.

In 1998, Saha made 21 league appearances (and three additional European appearances) with FC Metz. This was enough to grab the attention of a Newcastle United team that was finishing up an impressive FA Cup campaign in which they lost to Arsenal in the finals.

1999, Visits Newcastle on Loan

After impressing managers and scouts enough to get a trial, Newcastle United took a bite and sampled the young French striker.

Although Saha was rarely used during the 1999-2000 season (he only made 11 appearances, scoring one goal), he was a changed man when he went back to FC Metz after his loan was up.

2000, Returns to FC Metz

After a year in England, Saha returned to FC Metz but this time he was a changed man. He made 23 league appearances, scoring four goals.

However, in European tournaments, Saha began to show the world just how good he was. He scored eight goals in eight appearances and set the stage for what has been a permanent move to England's Premier League.

2000-04, Transfers to Fulham

If you know even the slightest bit about Saha's career, you know that it was his switch to then second-division side Fulham that made him a star.

In his debut season at Craven Cottage (and Fulham's promotion campaign) the striker scored 27 goals in 43 league appearances. Add to that five goals in four League Cup appearances and you've got the reason why Fulham made it into the Premier League.

His next three years at Fulham never matched his first one (probably because he was playing against England's best defenders rather than their second-best), but they were still solid as the soon-to-be French international netted 26 more goals in the Premiership and added another in European competition.

January 2004, Presses for Manchester United

After an impressive number of seasons for Fulham, Saha was a growing fish in a small pond. He pushed for a deal to the biggest pond in England—Manchester United.

He had scored 15 goals so far during the 2003-04 season and that was enough to impress manager Sir Alex Ferguson to snatch him up during the January transfer window.

Saha, however, struggled with injuries, making 30 or more appearances only twice in his five years at Old Trafford. Despite his troubles with fitness, he scored 42 goals in 124 total appearances.

February 2004, Scores First Senior International Goal

After over five years of professional football in France's Ligue 1 and England's Premiership, Saha finally earned his first international cap with France.

He made the most of it, scoring in his first appearance—an international friendly against Belgium on February 18, 2004.

June 2004, Earns Spot on France's Euro 2004 Squad

Just a few months later, Saha was selected to be a part of France's Euro 2004 squad.

After winning a difficult Group B over England, Croatia and Switzerland, the French lost in the quarterfinals to eventual the winners, Greece.

The only time Saha got on to the pitch during the Euro 2004 tournament was in the last 15 minutes of a group match against Switzerland and in the last 18 minutes of the loss to Greece. He nearly scored in the waning minutes of the match as he made several runs at goal, but his lone shot went wide of the net.

June 2006, Represents France at World Cup

This was Saha's crowning achievement—travelling to Germany to represent his country in the 2006 World Cup.

He played just over 20 minutes in France's first group match against Switzerland and even a handful of minutes in both the quarterfinals against Brazil and the semifinals against Portugal, but was suspended for the final against Italy for receiving yellow cards in the two previous matches.

October 2006, Helps France Qualify for Euro 2008

In the fall of 2006, France was looking to avenge what many thought was too early an exit from their previous UEFA Euro Finals tournament.

After a successful qualifying campaign (in which Saha scored twice—once against Georgia and once against Faroe Islands), a draw against Romania was France's only point in the finals.

Saha was not a part of the squad that made the trip to Switzerland for the Euro 2008 Finals.

2008, Presses on at Everton

Everton took a chance on the beleaguered striker, signing Saha to a two-year "pay-as-you-play" deal due to the fact he wasn't match fit at the time of signing.

Saha paid dividends for his new club, appearing in 29 games during the 2008-09 season—half a dozen more than the previous season with Manchester United.

He went on to appear in a total of 115 games for Everton, scoring 35 goals in his time at Goodison Park.

2012, Comes to Tottenham

Saha started the 2011-12 season well below expectation, scoring only two goals in 20 appearances for Everton and prompting his former team to leave him vulnerable during the transfer window.

Tottenham took advantage, signing him to an 18-month contract.

Will Saha be the kind of transfer who doesn't even complete the time he's signed on for? The striker is, after all, 33 years old and has dealt with a rash of injuries during his career.

Or will Saha make the most of his time, settling into more of a supporting role than he's known since his days at Old Trafford? For the first time since 2008 he's one of a solid cast of characters who are poised to make a lot of noise in the next year-and-a-half.

Luckily, nothing much is invested in the former Everton man, but Spurs fans will be hoping that Louis Saha has a little more to squeeze out of a career that's already seen 459 appearances, two league titles, a League Cup victory, a Champions League title and an FA Cup victory.