| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alexandre Lacazette | ||
| Date of birth | 28 May 1991 | ||
| Place of birth | Lyon, France | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Lyon | ||
| Number | 17 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1998–2003 | ELCS Lyon | ||
| 2003–2009 | Lyon | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2009– | Lyon | 21 | (3) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2006–2007 | France U16 | 4 | (0) |
| 2007–2008 | France U17 | 11 | (1) |
| 2008–2009 | France U18 | 10 | (1) |
| 2009–2010 | France U19 | 10 | (4) |
| 2010–2011 | France U20 | 12 | (9) |
| 2011– | France U21 | 4 | (1) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11 December 2011. † Appearances (Goals). |
|||
Alexandre Lacazette (French pronunciation: [alɛksɑ̃dʁ lakazɛt]; born 28 May 1991) is a French football player who currently plays for French club Olympique Lyonnais in Ligue 1. He plays as a striker and is also capable of playing on the wings. Lacazette is a France youth international having earned caps with all of the youth teams beginning with the under-16 team. With the under-19 team, he won the 2010 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship having scored the game-winning goal in the final against Spain.
Contents |
Lacazette was born in the city of Lyon and began his football career with Elan Club Sportif Lyon, a local club located in the city's 8th arrondissement. He spent five years at the club before signing youth papers with Olympique Lyonnais in 2003. Upon his arrival at the club, Lacazette began training at the Centre Tola Vologe, the club's training center. While undergoing training, he was likened to former Lyon striker Sonny Anderson by many coaches, including the player himself.[1] As a youth player, Lacazette played on the club's under-18 team that finished in third place in the Championnat National 18 ans during the 2007–08 season. The following season, he began making appearances with the club's Championnat de France amateur team appearing in 19 matches and netting five goals.[2]
In the 2009–10 season, Lacazette had a stellar campaign in the CFA scoring 12 goals in 22 appearances.[2] During the latter part of the season, he was called up to the senior team by manager Claude Puel and appeared on the bench in the team's 1–0 victory over Montpellier on 2 May 2010.[3] Three days later, Lacazette made his professional debut in a league match against Auxerre.[4] On 3 July 2010, Lacazette signed his first professional contract agreeing to a three-year deal. Due to still having another year left on his aspirant (youth) contract, the contract will start on 1 July 2011.[5]
Lacazette's successful international campaign saw the player draw interest from Italian club Roma.[6] He also drew praise from the media, alongside international teammates Yannis Tafer and Clément Grenier, for his club dedication after playing in a pre-season Emirates Cup match hours after playing in the final of the 2010 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship.[7] Lacazette began the 2010–11 campaign training full-time with the first team, though he did have a stint with the club's CFA team in September 2010.[2] He scored his first professional goal on 31 October in a league match against Sochaux.[8] The goal gave Lyon a 2–1 lead, which was the final scoreline.[9] Three days later, Lacazette made his UEFA Champions League debut against Portuguese club Benfica appearing as a substitute in the second half with Lyon trailing 4–0. Minutes after entering, he provided the assist on Lyon's opening goal scored by Yoann Gourcuff. Lacazette later assisted on the team's second goal in the 85th minute.[8] Lyon, however, were unable to complete the comeback losing 4–3.[10]
Lacazette has featured for all of France's national youth teams beginning with the under-16 team making his debut in the team's 2–0 victory over Cameroon on 3 April 2007 at the Montaigu Tournament.[11] He finished the campaign with four appearances with all of them coming at the tournament. With the under-17 team, Lacazette was a regular and contributed to the team's qualification for the 2008 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship. In the competition, he scored the game-winning goal in the team's 2–1 win over the Republic of Ireland in the group stage.[12][13] France later reached the final where the team was defeated 4–0 by Spain.[14][15]
With the under-18 team, Lacazette made his debut in the team's opening match against the Ukraine.[16] He featured in ten of the eleven matches the team contested scoring one goal, which came against Denmark in the Tournio de Limoges.[17] For under-19 duty, Lacazette was again called upon by coach Francis Smerecki making his first appearance with the team in a 4–2 defeat to the Netherlands on 9 November 2009.[18] He scored his first goal for the team on 4 March 2010 in a 2–1 win against the Ukraine.[19] On 7 June 2010, Lacazette was named to coach Smerecki's 18-man squad to participate in the 2010 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship. In the tournament, he scored two goals in the team's 5–0 victory over Austria.[20] France later reached the final where they faced Spain, which was essentially composed of the same players that defeated France in the 2008 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship final. In the match, France came back from a goal down to win 2–1 with Lacazette netting the game-winning goal in the 85th minute after heading in a cross from Gaël Kakuta. The title is the country's second UEFA Under-19 championship.[21]
Due to France's victory at the UEFA Under-19 championship, the nation qualified for the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup, which merited under-20 team appearances for Lacazette. He made his debut with the team on 7 October 2010 in a friendly match against Portugal. The match ended 3–3 with Lacazette scoring the opening goal of the match.[22] Three days later, Lacazette scored a double in the team's 5–0 thrashing of the Juventus Primavera team.[23] The match was unofficial and was contested as part of the celebration of the Treaty of Turin. On 9 February 2011, Lacazette scored the game-winning goal in a 2–1 victory over England. In March 2011, Lacazette scored goals in back-to-back matches against Peru. On 10 June 2011, he was named to the 21-man squad to participate in the U-20 World Cup. He made his debut in the competition on 30 July 2011 in the team's 4–1 defeat to the hosts Colombia appearing as a substitute.[24] In the team's next group stage match against South Korea, Lacazette appeared as a substitute again and responded by scoring the team's final goal in a 3–1 victory.[25]
(Correct as of 8 December 2011)
| Club | Season | League | Cup[nb 1] | Europe[nb 2] | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | ||
| Lyon | 2009–10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2010–11 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 2 | |
| 2011–12 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 2 | 1 | |
| Total | 21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 27 | 4 | 3 | |
| Career total | 21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 27 | 4 | 3 | |
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||