Jérémie Aliadière

Jérémie Aliadière

Aliadière in a game against Chelsea in 2008
Personal information
Full name Jérémie Aliadière[1]
Date of birth 29 March 1983 (1983-03-29) (age 28)[1]
Place of birth Rambouillet, France
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position Striker, Winger
Club information
Current club Lorient
Number 15
Youth career
0000–1999 Clairefontaine[2]
1999–2001 Arsenal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2007 Arsenal 29 (1)
2005 Celtic (loan) 0 (0)
2005–2006 West Ham United (loan) 7 (0)
2006 Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) 14 (2)
2007–2010 Middlesbrough 78 (11)
2011– Lorient 10 (2)
National team
France U21 7 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20 November 2011.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21 December 2009

Jérémie Aliadière (born 30 March 1983) is a French footballer who plays as a striker for Lorient.

As a graduate of the elite Clairefontaine academy, he signed for Arsenal aged 16. After making his Premier League debut in the 2001–02 season, he ultimately had limited opportunities, partly due to injury. For the 2005–06 season he was loaned to three clubs, Celtic in the Scottish Premier League, West Ham United in the Premier League, and Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Football League Championship, before returning to Arsenal for another season, featuring in the 2007 Football League Cup Final loss to Chelsea. At the beginning of the 2007–08 season he was sold to Premier League club Middlesbrough for £2.5 million, where he spent the next three seasons, two in the Premier League and the last in the Championship, before electing not to extend his contract and leaving the club in June 2010.

Contents

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Club career

Arsenal

Aliadière signed for Arsenal at the age of 16 before the beginning of the 1999–2000 season. As a youth player he held considerable promise and he holds the record in the FA Youth Cup for the most number of goals scored.

He made his Premiership debut for Arsenal against Fulham in the 2001–02 season, replacing Thierry Henry in a 4–1 victory, and he scored his first goal in a 5–2 victory over West Bromwich Albion on 27 August 2002.[3]

In the 2003–04 season, Aliadière was mainly played in the 2003–04 League Cup rather than the league, scoring Arsenal's first League Cup goal of the season against Rotherham United. The match finished 1–1 after extra time, with Arsenal winning 9–8 on penalties.[4] He also scored twice against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the following round of the League Cup,[5] his second winning goal for the month for December. In total he netted four goals in the cup run, having also scored against West Brom in the quarter finals, with Arsenal finally being eliminated by Middlesbrough in the semi-finals.[6] He was voted best young talent in the 2003–04 League Cup.[7] As the season went on, he made further inroads into the Arsenal first team, playing 10 Premier League matches, seven as a substitute, to gain a Premier League winners medal, as well as making his FA Cup debut in a 1–0 defeat against Manchester United.

Aliadière missed much of the following 2004–05 season through injury, and was kept out of action until February. On his return, he made six substitute appearances for the first team. Although he failed to score in these matches, he scored eight goals in five games for Arsenal's reserves. Despite his limited opportunities, he was offered and signed a new Arsenal contract, running until the summer of 2009, announced at the same time as a loan move to Celtic.

Loan to Celtic

In the summer of 2005 Aliadière was sent on loan to Scottish club Celtic for the entire 2005–06 season in order to play regular first team football. Despite his limited appearances, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger had stated he had a future at Arsenal, but was currently being kept out of the side by the form of Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp.[8] In the end, he made just two substitute appearances for the club, one in each leg of Celtic's loss to Artmedia Bratislava in the 2005–06 UEFA Champions League.

Loan to West Ham United

On 24 August 2005 Aliadière decided to move back to London after a lack of first team opportunities, where West Ham United took over his year-long loan deal, having been promoted back to the Premier League after two seasons in the lower leagues. It was thought that his disappointment at being behind strikers John Hartson, new signing Maciej Zurawski and youngsters Shaun Maloney and Craig Beattie at Celtic contributed to his departure. Once again affected by injury, he only made eight appearances for West Ham, seven as a substitute.

Loan to Wolverhampton Wanderers

On 31 January 2006, West Ham terminated the loan, and Aliadière moved to the English Midlands to join the Football League Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers on loan for the remainder of the 2005–06 season. He scored two league goals for Wolves, in games against Hull[9] and Watford.[10] At the end of the season he returned to Arsenal.

Return to Arsenal

Having returned to Arsenal, during the 2006–07 season Aliadière was again mainly used in the 2006–07 Football League Cup campaign, scoring both goals in their 2–0 win over West Bromwich Albion on 24 October 2006.[11] His first Premier League goal of the season came came on 16 December 2006, a 2–2 draw against Portsmouth, with Aliadière playing for 70 minutes before being replaced by Robin Van Persie. Continuing appearances in Arsenal's League Cup campaign saw him score in the quarter-final against Liverpool F.C in a 6–3 victory, and in the second leg of the semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur, with Arsenal advancing with a 3–1 win.[12][13] Arsenal ultimately lost the final 2–1 to Chelsea, with Aliadière featuring for 80 minutes.

With four appearances in Premier League matches during the season; as of 9 January 2007 he had played 37 times for Arsenal, 25 as a substitute, scoring nine goals, all but one coming in the League Cup, four against West Bromwich Albion. In the January 2007 transfer window Aliadière was linked with a move to the Premier League club Middlesbrough in North East England after Wenger said he would be allowed to leave the club. The move failed to happen however after Robin van Persie broke his foot, and he was told to stay at Arsenal for the time being. He made his final Arsenal appearance on the final day of the 2006–07 season against Portsmouth in a 0–0 draw at Fratton Park.

Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough signed Aliadière on 19 June 2007, for an initial fee of £1.5 million. He scored his first goal in a Premier League match against Manchester United at Old Trafford, with a header to draw level at 1–1, before Middlesbrough went on to lose the game 4–1. This was his first Premier League goal since scoring his first ever for Arsenal on 27 August 2002. He scored for Middlesbrough against old club Arsenal on 15 March in a 1–1 draw,[14] before rounding off the season, scoring in the final day 8–1 victory over Manchester City on 11 May 2008.

Aliadière got a red card and three match ban for slapping Javier Mascherano in a 23 February 2008 Premier League match against Liverpool, after Mascherano had raised his hands against him, in full view of the referee. It was the cause of controversy after Middlesbrough's consequent appeal was deemed as "frivolous" by the Football Association and extended by one more game, with the club's chairman and chief executive, and Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp, deeming this unfair and criticising the FA, contrasting it with a recent appeal by Chelsea's Michael Essien.[15][16][17]

Before the start of the 2008–09 season Aliadière switched to wearing the number 10 previously worn by midfielder Fábio Rochemback, when his number 11 was given to 3.2 million summer signing Marvin Emnes. He scored his first goal of the season in Middlesbrough's 5–1 home victory against Yeovil Town on 26 August 2008. His first Premier League goal of the season came in a 1–0 win against Wigan Athletic at the JJB Stadium on 4 October 2008, scoring in the 89th minute of the match. After a run of not scoring in his next ten matches, he again scored against his old club Arsenal, with a headed equaliser in a home 1–1 draw on 13 December 2008.[18] At the end of the season, Middlesbrough finished equal bottom of the Premier League with West Brom, on 32 points, and as a result were relegated to the Football League Championship.

Aliadière was booed early on in the 2009–10 season in the Championship by a section of the Middlesbrough fans. On 12 September 2009, he came off the bench against Ipswich Town to score two goals after 30 minutes of being on the pitch, and scored another goal in the same week against Sheffield Wednesday. His next goal came on December 26 against Scunthorpe United, in his first start under new manager Gordon Strachan due to injury. Having failed to reach the play-offs, and after three injury hit seasons at Middlesbrough, he left the club on 30 June 2010 at the end of his contract having decided not to take up the option of extending his contract. In total he had made 86 appearances, scoring 12 goals, for the club.[19] 2010–11 pre-season found Aliadière training with West Ham with a view to a permanent move to the London club. The deal fell through when he damaged his knee ligaments playing in a reserve game against Crystal Palace. Subsequently his old club Middlesbrough offered the player full use of their rehabilitation and training facilities in order to overcome the injury and regain full fitness.[20]

Al Ain F.C., a club based in the city of Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates, announced on 13 February 2011 that they had signed Aliadiere,[21] but he subsequently denounced their claim, stating that he had rejected a move and Al Ain had "been very unprofessional in their conduct".[22]

Post-Middlesbrough

In March 2011, Aliadiere returned to former club, Arsenal's London Colney training ground in a bid to return to fitness.[23] Aliadiere, along with the newly re-signed Jens Lehmann, both played the full 90 minutes in a reserve game against Wigan on the 29th March 2011, losing the game 2-1. There were rumours suggesting that Aliadiere will return to the Premier league with Stoke City for the 2011-2012 season. He was spotted at the club's training ground on several occasions during May 2011. It is speculated that any deal will be heavily performanced based due to Aliadiere's recent injury problems.

Lorient

On 5 July 2011, Aliadière signed a deal with Ligue 1 club FC Lorient on a free transfer, to revive his career and a options of three years.[24] It was revealed Arsène Wenger helped Aliadiere seal his move to Lorient.[25] He made his debut for Lorient in a 2-0 win against Valenciennes. Aliadiere scored his first goal and score another in a 3-0 win over Saint-Étienne.[26] On 18 October 2011, Aliadiere signed a new three year deal with Lorient[27] and Aliadiere officially signed it on 1 November 2011.[28]

International career

Aliadière has made seven appearances and scored one goal for the France national under-21 football team.

Honours

Club

Arsenal
2003–04
2002, 2004

Personal life

Aliadière was engaged to British model and celebrity Leilani Dowding.[29]

References

  1. ^ a b Hugman, Barry J. (2005). The PFA Premier & Football League Players' Records 1946–2005. Queen Anne Press. p. 18. ISBN 1852916656. 
  2. ^ "INF, formateur de talents" (in French). FFF. http://www.fff.fr/presentationfff/actualite/418646.shtml. Retrieved 2009-07-21. 
  3. ^ "Slick Arsenal crush Baggies". BBC Sport. 27 August 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/2216506.stm. Retrieved 31 August 2009. 
  4. ^ "Arsenal 1–1 Rotherham". BBC Sport. 28 October 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/league_cup/3204793.stm. Retrieved 2 November 2009. 
  5. ^ "Arsenal youngsters thump Wolves". BBC Sport. 2 December 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/league_cup/3246940.stm. Retrieved 2 November 2009. 
  6. ^ "Arsenal outgun Baggies". BBC Sport. 16 December 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/league_cup/3314305.stm. Retrieved 2 November 2009. 
  7. ^ Rising Stars Retrieved on 1 December 2007
  8. ^ "Aliadiere signs on at Celtic Park". BBC Sport. 2005-07-01. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/celtic/4625607.stm. Retrieved 2007-11-25. 
  9. ^ "Hull 2–3 Wolves". BBC Sport. 25 February 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/4727024.stm. Retrieved 2 November 2009. 
  10. ^ "Wolves 1–1 Watford". BBC Sport. 14 April 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/4890832.stm. Retrieved 2 November 2009. 
  11. ^ "West Brom 0–2 Arsenal". BBC Sport. 24 October 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/league_cup/6072672.stm. Retrieved 2 November 2009. 
  12. ^ Lyon, Sam (9 January 2007). "Liverpool 3–6 Arsenal". BBC Sport. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/league_cup/6236687.stm. Retrieved 2 November 2009. 
  13. ^ Lyon, Sam (31 January 2007). "Arsenal 3–1 Tottenham (agg 5–3)". BBC Sport. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/league_cup/6305313.stm. Retrieved 2 November 2009. 
  14. ^ Chowdhury, Saj (15 March 2008). "Arsenal 1–1 Middlesbrough". BBC Sport. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/7284973.stm. Retrieved 2 November 2009. 
  15. ^ "Lamb Slaughters FA". Sky Sports. 2008-02-27. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11680_3200633,00.html. Retrieved 2008-02-27. 
  16. ^ "Gibson rages at FA over appeal". BBC Sport. 2008-02-28. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/middlesbrough/7263735.stm. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
  17. ^ "Harry Slams Appeals Process". Sky Sports. 2008-02-28. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11680_3210265,00.html. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
  18. ^ McNulty, Phil (13 December 2008). "Middlesbrough 1–1 Arsenal". BBC Sport. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/7763484.stm. Retrieved 2 November 2009. 
  19. ^ "Jeremie Aliadiere set for Middlesbrough exit – Strachan". BBC Sport. 6 May 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/middlesbrough/8664874.stm. Retrieved 31 August 2010. 
  20. ^ "Aliadiere salutes Middlesbrough after injury nightmare". Mirror Football. 4 September 2010. http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Jeremie-Aliadiere-salutes-former-club-Middlesbrough-for-helping-him-overcome-his-cruciate-knee-ligament-injury-he-suffered-at-West-Ham-article571837.html. Retrieved 5 September 2010. 
  21. ^ http://www.alainfc.net/en/index.php?p=shownews&nid=2240
  22. ^ "Aliadiere rejects Al Ain move". Sky Sports. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_6754114,00.html. 
  23. ^ Mokbel, Sami (8 March 2011). "Wenger welcomes Aliadiere back to Arsenal training as striker seeks to rebuild his career". London: Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1363877/Jeremie-Aliadiere-training-Arsenal.html. Retrieved 8 March 2011. 
  24. ^ http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/transfer-news/Ex-Arsenal-striker-Jeremie-Aliadiere-joins-Lorient-article759248.html
  25. ^ http://younggunsblog.co.uk/2011/07/wenger-helps-seal-aliadieres-lorient-move/
  26. ^ http://www.taiwannews.com.tw/etn/news_content.php?id=1710146
  27. ^ Sky Sports. http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11095/7249166/. 
  28. ^ Sky Sports. http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11095/7289615. 
  29. ^ "Celeb Q&A: Leilani Dowding". InsidePoker. 2007-06. http://www.inside-edge-mag.co.uk/theplayers/playerinterviews/975/celeb_qa.html. Retrieved 2007-07-13. 

External links