The 2008/09 campaign was Florent's second season at Chelsea, and the one where he really began to make his mark after a low-key first campaign.

Signed on a three-year contract in the summer of 2007, an undisclosed fee was paid to Lyon for the then 27-year-old French international winger.

Lyon was his third club. He began his career in Paris with lower league Châteauroux where he played two seasons before moving up the ladder to Guingamp.

In Brittany he teamed up with Didier Drogba and his impressive form over three seasons attracted the attention of Lyon.

Arriving at his new club the same season as Michael Essien, the two shared in championship success, Florent staying at the Stade Gerland long enough to win a hat-trick of league titles while starring in Champions League displays.

Having moved clubs in 2003, he made his debut for France in November 2004 and was a regular by the time of the 2006 World Cup where France made the final.

Florent played wide left of the attack and won the penalty that was converted by Zinedine Zidane to open the scoring, although his side would ultimately lose on a shoot-out.

He has remained a fixture in and around the French XI, and was a key member of the Euro 2008 qualification campaign although in common with most of his compatriots, endured a disappointing tournament, losing his place for the final group game as the team ended bottom.

At Chelsea, the first year started brightly with an excellently-taken Community Shield goal at Wembley and another strike in the first league game. He won a controversially-awarded penalty for an important point at Anfield and opened his Champions League account at home to Schalke.

However a two-month absence in mid-winter due to persistent knee injury took its toll on Florent's form, although he did hit one of the passes of the season for Joe Cole's winner at Goodison Park in the Carling Cup semi-final.

Following the grim FA Cup exit at Barnsley, there was a month in the wilderness but Avram Grant issued a recall for the Champions League quarter-finals, the then manager frequently choosing the more cautious Malouda rather than Salomon Kalou in European away games. The policy was retained in the Final in Moscow where Florent played the first 92 minutes.

He completed his first Chelsea campaign with four goals from 29+9 games, before Luiz Felipe Scolari arrived in the summer announcing he wanted to see the same Malouda at Chelsea he had seen at Lyon, with direct running and a stronger eye for goal.

The winger responded, but began the season on the bench. It took just 38 minutes before he was introduced in place of an injured Michael Ballack, helping the side to a 4-0 win against Portsmouth.

A run of four goals in 10 games followed before injury setback at the end of November kept him out until Boxing Day, when he returned for the 2-0 win over West Brom. With his natural left-footedness, Malouda provided balance and width that prevented the Drogba - Nicolas Anelka partnership from seeing too much game time, before he began to link up with them both in a three-pronged attack.

Under Guus Hiddink, Malouda started to show a consistency to his game that had been missing. Assists, running and goals began to become regular facets of the winger's game as he played a key role in FA Cup semi-final success, while denying Lionel Messi the space he needed in the Camp Nou to hurt the Blues in Ashley Cole's absence.

His best Chelsea performance to date came against Fulham, where for 90 minutes he, along with Anelka and Drogba, terrorised the home defence, grabbing a goal apiece while each claiming an assist.

Prior to that his equaliser against Arsenal at Wembley had set us on the road to the FA Cup Final, and he added another against the Gunners at the Emirates in a 4-1 win, followed by a superb header against Blackburn before the season's end.

It was also the Frenchman's cross that set up Drogba's equaliser in the Cup Final against Everton, as he spent the first half tormenting Everton full-back Tony Hibbert with the sort of direct running not usually seen in his patient game.

Now with Carlo Ancelotti at the helm, and an ever-changing hairstyle, the French Guyana-born wide man looks more settled than ever, and with plenty to offer in an alternative diamond formation.