Born in Abbeville, Debève began his career at Toulouse; after a slow start - only four first-team appearances in three seasons, he became a main squad member.

[2] After totalling more than 400 official matches in his country, Debève moved to England with Middlesbrough in February 2002, arriving for free and rejoining former Lens mate Franck Queudrue.

[4] He was then thrust into the starting line up for the semi-final against Arsenal due to various injuries, making only his second Boro appearance against the team he had knocked out of the UEFA Champions League four years earlier.

Debève was named manager of Toulouse, the club where he started his playing career, on 23 January 2018, replacing Pascal Dupraz.

Upon his appointment, Toulouse was 19th in Ligue 1 on 20 points from 22 matches (five wins, five draws, twelve losses), and facing relegation.