William Gallas has retired, and I'll remember him fondly

Following a short stint with Perth Glory in Australia, former Tottenham Hotspur defender William Gallas has decided to retire from football. The 37-year-old earned 84 caps for France during his career and played in nearly 700 competitive professional games.

Gallas arrived at White Hart Lane in 2010, and he was a wildly unpopular signing. He'd captained Arsenal, and terrorized us plenty with Chelsea before that. For a decade, Gallas was a key player for two of our most hated rivals, and not always an entirely clean one. He was good at working refs and making very physical challenges. Fans were pretty horrified at the prospect of seeing him in white.

He was a bit past his prime when he joined up, so Gallas was never a star for Spurs, but he put in three very solid seasons for the club. Even in his final season, which featured a couple of very poor performances and some injuries, Gallas had his fair share of excellent outings and was a positive contributor to Spurs' top-five finish.

While with us, Gallas was a model pro, and he was a big part of three of the best seasons in the club's recent history. I'll remember him more for that than anything he did in a Chelsea or Arsenal shirt.