Fabien Barthez or stepovers. He was also very quick off his line, and often acted as a sweeper-keeper, thus contributing to the evolution of the role. While he received plaudits for his goalkeeping ability in the media, throughout his career Barthez also frequently came under criticism from pundits for his stubbornness, and his aggressive, unorthodox, and eccentric style of play, as well as for taking unnecessary risks, and was also deemed to be inconsistent, unreliable, and prone to errors and lapses in concentration. Through his career, Barthez was known for his active romantic life, and dated Canadian model Linda Evangelista. She became
Fabien Barthez first division debut for Toulouse on 21 September 1991, against Nancy. He joined Marseille in 1992, and won both the French championship and the Champions League at the end of his first season in Marseille, keeping a clean sheet in a 1–0 victory over A.C. Milan in final of the latter competition. The 1993 victory made him the youngest goalkeeper to win a Champions League title until Iker Casillas did so in 2000. Marseille, however, would be stripped of their domestic title, though not of the Champions League crown, due to their involvement in a domestic match fixing scandal, and