Valérien Alexandre Ismaël (born 28 September 1975) is a professional football coach and a former professional player who most recently managed Turkish club Beşiktaş. During his playing career, Ismaël played for Racing Strasbourg, Crystal Palace, RC Lens, Werder Bremen, Bayern Munich, and Hannover 96. As a player, he won the Coupe de France, the Coupe de la Ligue twice, the Bundesliga twice, as well as the DFB-Pokal on two occasions. Following his retirement, he moved into management, first as a reserve coach for a number of clubs before moving into senior management at 1. FC Nürnberg, then with VfL Wolfsburg before a notable spell with LASK of the Austrian Bundesliga and spells with Barnsley and West Bromwich Albion of the English Championship. Early years Ismaël was born to a Guadeloupean father and an Alsatian mother, growing up in Strasbourg on the border with Germany. Ismaël's grandfather is German. Playing career Strasbourg Ismaël made his debut for Strasbourg against Cannes on 15 January 1994. He went on to make 77 league appearances in his first spell with the club. Additionally, he appeared in five UEFA Cup matches, scoring once. Crystal Palace Ismaël was signed by Crystal Palace for £2.75 million from Strasbourg in January 1998, making him the most expensive player in the club's history. Despite this, he only played 13 games for the London club and was only there for ten months from January to October 1998, before moving back to his native France to sign for Lens in October 1998. Lens Ismaël's time at Lens saw him regain his form after his brief and expensive spell in England. He played 83 times, scoring five goals. He also had a short loan spell at his old club Strasbourg during the 2000–01 Division 1 season but could not help them avoid relegation. He did however play for Strasbourg in the 2001 Coupe de France Final, in which they beat Amiens on penalties. He returned to Lens for the 2001–02 Division 1 season where he was in particularly good form, playing 33 times and scoring on four occasions. However, he was sold back to Strasbourg for the following season following their promotion back to the top tier. Back to Strasbourg On moving back to his former club for a third spell, Ismaël was appointed captain. He led the club to a respectable 13th position and attracted interest from Europe because of his