Frédéric Piquionne

Frédéric Piquionne

Piquionne in 2009
Personal information
Full name Frédéric Piquionne
Date of birth (1978-12-08) 8 December 1978
Place of birth Nouméa, New Caledonia
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current team
 Mumbai City
Number 9
Youth career
1996–1999 Golden Star
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2000–2001 Nîmes Olympique 8 (3)
2001–2004 Stade Rennais 83 (18)
2004–2007 Saint-Étienne 89 (23)
2007–2008 Monaco 46 (12)
2008–2010 Lyon 19 (2)
2009–2010 → Portsmouth (loan) 34 (5)
2010–2013 West Ham United 54 (8)
2012 → Doncaster Rovers (loan) 8 (2)
2013–2014 Portland Timbers 24 (1)
2014–2015 US Creteil 29 (8)
2015– Mumbai City 11 (2)
National team‡
2002– Martinique 9 (2)
2007 France B 1 (0)
2007 France 1 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 October 2014.
† Appearances (goals)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 7 July 2013

Frédéric Piquionne (French pronunciation: ​[pikjon]; born 8 December 1978) is a French footballer who currently plays as a forward for Mumbai City FC in Indian Super League. His former clubs are Golden Star of Martinique, Nîmes Olympique, Rennes, AS Saint-Etienne, AS Monaco, Lyon, Portsmouth, West Ham United, Doncaster Rovers and Portland Timbers.

He plays for Martinique at the international level and represented them in the run up to the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup and he was named in the 2012 Caribbean Cup squad. He also played once for France in a friendly against Austria in 2007.

Club career

Early career

At the age of 17, in 1995, Piquionne played in the youth teams of Paris FC at Charenton. Not really convincing, he left the city to settle in Martinique, in Fort-de-France. There, he played football in the Division d'Honneur for amateur club Golden Star and then joined JS Morne Blanc. For three years he worked as a shoe salesman in a store located in downtown Fort-de-France.

However, his its good performances encouraged his coach, Jules Eustache (former intern at the National Institute of Football and professional football player) to direct him towards Nîmes Olympique. The club recruited him during the summer of 2000 and offered him his first professional contract. During the following summer and after an excellent season in Ligue 2 with Nîmes, he caught the eye of Ligue 1 Stade Rennais.

The first time he played in the French first division was 28 July 2001 against Auxerre (0–5). In his first season in the first division, Piquionne scored 3 goals in 20 matches. In his second season (2002–03), he scored 10 goals under the coaching of Vahid Halilhodzic. New coach Laszlo Bölöni, arrived, and the rapport between them was not good, nor with his fellow-team-member Alexander Frei, ending the 2003–04 season less than satisfactorily.

Saint-Étienne

Piquionne during the 2004-05 season

Newly promoted side Saint-Étienne were interested in him, and he did not have any hesitation accepting the chance to play for this new team. In the summer of 2004, Élie Baup was hired as manager and brought in Piquionne on a five-year deal. He wore the number 9, "a number that gives responsibilities" according to his coach. Immediately, Piquionne was appreciated by the club's supporters, and finished the season with 11 goals, the highest total of his career and the club finished in 6th place.

The 2005-06 season was much more difficult. Piquionne remained as an undisputed starter but his performance in front of goal was lacking. He scored only 6 goals in 34 games and the club finished in the lower half of the table. After this second season, he had a more productive 2006-07 season, scoring 6 goals and 6 assists in the first half of the season. He also received two more red cards and missed a total of four games in 19 days. He partnered the Brazilian Ilan up front.

Piquionne (right) playing for Saint-Étienne in 2007

Piquionne was under contract with Saint-Étienne until June 2009. However, following his excellent performance, many European clubs were on alert, including Olympique Lyonnais, who allegedly promised to triple his salary at that time. An offer of €5.5 million by the club Lyon bid to sign him was considered "ridiculous" by Bernard Caiazzo. Caiazzo refused to let the player depart to a local rival. Piquionne then declared that he was being "treated like a slave" by Caiazzo. Eventually, Lyon signed Milan Baros instead, but after all that was said, Piquionne said that he was ready to retire if the club refused to transfer him.

His time at Saint-Étienne ended with an altercation with a supporter who criticised him for attending a Lyon match. Piquionne assaulted him, leaving him with a broken nose. Piquionne was sentenced to a €1,500 and also ordered to pay the same to the victim.[2] Despite being hated by fans, coach Ivan Hašek admitted that his side missed the striker.[3]

Monaco and Lyon

On 31 January 2007, he moved to AS Monaco on loan. The contract included an option to purchase, valued at €6 million. On 3 February 2007 he played his first Ligue 1 match for Monaco against Auxerre.[4]

At the end of the season, Monaco remained in Ligue 1. Despite his disappointing performance, they bought him. On 10 November 2007, he played his 200th match in Ligue 1, against Strasbourg at the Stade Louis-II (3-0).

On 29 July 2008, after a friendly match at Annecy, Piquionne signed a four-year deal for €4.5 million[5] with Olympique Lyonnais.[6] He wore the number 39 shirt and scored his first goal in the Champions League against Fiorentina.

Portsmouth

On 5 August 2009 it was confirmed that Piquionne would join Portsmouth on a season long loan.[7] On his Pompey debut against Rangers at Fratton Park in a friendly, he scored two goals in a 2–0 win.[8] Piquionne made his first Premier League start for Portsmouth on 15 August 2009, a 0–1 loss to Fulham on the first day of the season. His first competitive goal for Portsmouth came in a 4–1 League Cup win against Hereford United on 25 August 2009.[9] He scored his first Premier League goal four days later in another 4–0 win; this time at home to Wigan Athletic.[10] Piquionne scored 11 goals in all competitions during his stint at Portsmouth, including scoring two goals against Birmingham City in the FA Cup to ensure Portsmouth progressed to the FA Cup semi-finals.[11] On 11 April 2010, Piquionne scored the first goal in a 2–0 win over Tottenham, to send Portsmouth into the FA Cup Final for the second time in three seasons.[12] His goalscoring form at Portsmouth led Piquionne to feel as though he had finally found his feet in English football despite enduring a patchy start to his Premier League career.[13]

West Ham United

Piquionne with West Ham United in 2011

On 16 July 2010 Piquionne joined West Ham United, managed by his former manager at Portsmouth, Avram Grant, for €1.2 million and €450,000 bonus.[14] He signed a three-year contract, becoming West Ham's third summer signing.[15] He made his Premier League debut, on 14 August, in a 3-0 loss to Aston Villa, coming on as a second-half substitute for Radoslav Kováč.[16] He scored his first goal for West Ham in a 2-1 win against Sunderland in the third round of the League Cup at the Stadium of Light on 21 September 2010.[17] He scored his first Premier League goal for West Ham in a 1-0 win against local rivals Tottenham Hotspur on 25 September 2010.[18] This goal was also the 10,000th goal scored in the Premier League with a Nike football.[18] Piquionne was sent off in a vital league game against Everton for taking his shirt off after scoring to put the Hammers 2-1 up in the 86th minute. Everton scored to draw the match 2-2 and West Ham were relegated at the end of the season.

Doncaster Rovers

On 6 March 2012, Piquionne was loaned to fellow Football League Championship side Doncaster Rovers on an initial one-month loan.<ref name=West Ham's Frederic Piquionne joins Doncaster Rovers on loan>"West Ham's Frederic Piquionne joins Doncaster Rovers on loan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 March 2012. </ref> On the same day he made his debut in a 2–1 away win against Nottingham Forest, scoring his first goal with a 30-yard shot to put Doncaster 1–0 ahead.[19] He played eight games for Doncaster, scoring two goals and at the end of the season returned to West Ham as Doncaster were relegated to League One.

Portland Timbers

He then left England joining Major League Soccer side Portland Timbers. He signed a one-year contract on 28 February 2013.[20] Piquionne made his debut for Portland on 16 March 2013, coming on as a substitute against rivals Seattle Sounders at CenturyLink Field. On 29 May 2013, he scored four goals in the first half of a US Open Cup match against the USL Pro team Wilmington Hammerheads. He re-signed for the Timbers on 7 January 2014, but was waived from the team's rosters on 13 May 2014.[21]

Creteil

On 4 August 2014, Piquionne returned to France, signing for US Creteil in Ligue 2 for the 2014/15 season.[22]

International career

Instead of representing FIFA member New Caledonia in Oceania, Piquionne represented the Martinique at the 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup. As Martinique is not a member of FIFA, he was eligible to play for France for whom he was called up in a squad to play Lithuania on 24 March 2007 in a Euro 2008 Qualifying game but did not play. He made his international debut for France in a friendly against Austria on 28 March 2007, coming on as a substitute in the 78th minute for Abou Diaby at the Stade de France.[23] He has not played for France since but has played for France B against Slovakia in August 2007.

Piquionne also represented Martinique at the 2012 Caribbean Cup, he scored in the nation's opening game; a 1-0 victory over Cuba. In total, he played five matches and scored two goals in the tournament[24]

International goals

Scores and results list Martinique's goal tally first.[25]
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 8 December 2012 Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda  Cuba 1–0 1–0 2012 Caribbean Cup
2 12 December 2012 Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda  French Guiana 2–0 3–1 2012 Caribbean Cup

References

  1. ↑ "Premier League Player Profile". Premier League. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
  2. ↑ "Frédéric Piquionne ballon de plomb" (in French). forez-info. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
  3. ↑ "Hasek missing Piquionne". Sky Sports. 20 February 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
  4. ↑ "Tactical Formation". Football-Lineups.com. Retrieved 5 February 2007.
  5. ↑ http://www.actusnewswire.com/documents/ACTUS-0-3288-OL-DDR-0809-GB.pdf
  6. ↑ "Piquionne pitches up at Lyon". UEFA.com. 31 July 2008. Retrieved 6 July 2010.
  7. ↑ "Portsmouth sign Piquionne on loan". BBC Sport. 5 August 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
  8. ↑ "Pompey 2 Rangers 0". Portsmouthfc.co.uk. 8 August 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
  9. ↑ "Portsmouth 4–1 Hereford". BBC. 25 August 2009. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
  10. ↑ "Portsmouth 4–0 Wigan". BBC Sport. 31 October 2009. Retrieved 2010-04-11.
  11. ↑ "Portsmouth 2–0 Birmingham". BBC Sport. 6 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-11.
  12. ↑ "Tottenham 0–2 Portsmouth". BBC Sport. 11 April 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-11.
  13. ↑ "Piquionne full of confidence". Sky Sports. 21 October 2009. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
  14. ↑ http://www.actusnewswire.com/documents/ACTUS-0-3728-OL-DDR-OL-GB-2009-2010-version-definitive.pdf
  15. ↑ "Hammers pick up Piquionne | News | Latest News | News | West Ham United". Whufc.com. Retrieved 2010-07-16.
  16. ↑ Darling, Kevin (14 August 2010). "BBC Sport - Football - Aston Villa 3-0 West Ham". BBC News. Retrieved 2010-08-15.
  17. ↑ "Sunderland 1-2 West Ham United FT". whufc.com. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
  18. 1 2 "West Ham United 1-0 Tottenham FT". whufc.com. Retrieved 25 September 2010.
  19. ↑ "Nott'm Forest 1-2 Doncaster". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  20. ↑ Timbers sign forward Frederic Piquionne portlandtimbers.com, 28 February 2013.
  21. ↑ http://www.stumptownfooty.com/2014/5/13/5712824/portland-timbers-bring-in-fanendo-adi-on-short-term-loan
  22. ↑ http://www.uscl.fr/effectif-pro/mercato/article/frederic-piquionne-est-cristolien
  23. ↑ "France 1-0 Austria". ESPN Soccernet. 29 March 2007. Retrieved 2010-09-28.
  24. ↑ "Piquionne goal lifts Martinique over Cuba". concacaf.com. 9 December 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  25. ↑ "Frédéric Piquionne Profile". Caribbean Football Database. Retrieved 27 June 2013.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, February 22, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.