Patrice Evra and contributed to the club that won the Coupe de la Ligue in 2003. He also featured in European competition for the first time in his career and, in the 2003–04 season, was the starting left-back on the Monaco team that reached the 2004 UEFA Champions League Final. In that same season domestically, Evra was named the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year. He was also named to the organisation's Ligue 1 Team of the Year. Evra's performances with Monaco culminated into a move to English club Manchester United in January 2006. While
Patrice Evra the team. To mitigate his absence, Domenech moved Abidal into the centre-back position, allowing Evra to take over as starting left-back. In the team's first competitive match since Euro 2008, against Austria, Evra provided the assist for France's only goal scored by Sidney Govou in a surprising 3–1 defeat. During the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign, Evra participated in ten of the team's 12 matches, which included both legs in the team's playoff round win over the Republic of Ireland. On 26 May 2010, Evra captained the national team for the first time in a friendly match against Costa