Patrice Evra Evra was named to the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) Ligue 2 Team of the Year in the left-back position. Following the season, Evra was recruited by Nice's Derby de la Côte d'Azur rivals Monaco. Despite wanting to play as a left winger again, Evra was advised by manager Didier Deschamps he would only play as a left-back. Evra has since credited Deschamps for allowing him to become a better defender after initially describing the role as being not fun. Evra was inserted into a back four that consisted of centre-backs Rafael Márquez and Sébastien Squillaci and right-back Franck
Patrice Evra senior international debut in the match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. He started on the left wing before being substituted out in the 75th minute for Robert Pires. The match ended in a 1–1 draw. Due to an injury to starter Éric Abidal, Evra supplanted him and appeared as the starting left-back in France's first two 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification matches. After being called-up for the team's March 2005 friendly against Switzerland, Evra was forced to withdraw from the team due to injury. As a result, William Gallas was inserted in the role as a makeshift left-back. Following Abidal's return