Born in Paris, Silvestre began his professional career at
FC Sochaux-Montbéliard in 1985. An undisputed first-choice when he was just 18, he saw the club be relegated into the
French second division in 1987, but it
immediately gained promotion to the
top level, also reaching the
French Cup final the next year,
lost against FC Metz. The player topped a great 1988 winning the
UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship with
France U21s. In 1989 Silvestre, who did not play for a big team, received his first
senior callup from national team boss
Michel Platini, making his international debut against the
Republic of Ireland; he was also selected for
UEFA Euro 1992, but remained on the bench as the national side exited on the group stage – he gained a total of 11
caps, the last coming in 1992 with his final call-up as an unused substitute the following year. Silvestre signed in the 1993 summer for
Guy Roux's
AJ Auxerre, making up for
William Prunier's departure. During his years in the team, which featured Dutch
Frank Verlaat,
Laurent Blanc and
Frédéric Danjou, he won two domestic cups and one league, including the historic
1995–96 double, also appearing in the
UEFA Champions League. In 1998, Silvestre moved to
Montpellier HSC, where he again was an undisputed starter, also eventually becoming
team captain. In
his third year, he helped the side return to the top division, after netting a career-best nine goals (in 33 matches); eventually, in January 2003, he left for
SC Bastia, contributing to a comfortable
escape from relegation. Aged already 36, Silvestre had his first abroad experience, joining
SK Sturm Graz in Austria, where he continued to appear regularly, albeit without no silverware conquered. In January 2006, he signed for his last club, second division
FC Sète, not managing to help the club maintain its league status, and retiring with a total of 638 league matches played. ==Honours==