Damien Albert René Perquis (born 10 April 1984) is a former professional footballer and current assistant coach of

Gazélec Ajaccio Gazélec Football Club Ajaccio ( co, Gazélec Football Club Aiacciu), commonly referred to as GFC Ajaccio, GFCA, Gazélec Ajaccio or simply Gazélec (), is a French football club from Ajaccio, Corsica. Founded in 1960, Gazélec plays in the Champ ...

's B-team. A defender, he represented France at youth level, before acquiring Polish citizenship and playing for

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

at senior level. He retired in June 2020, after an 18-year professional career.

Personal life

Perquis was born in Troyes, France. He is of Polish descent by way of his grandmother, Józefa Bierła. His Polish ancestors were from Strzyżewko, in central Poland. He is married, and has two children.

Club career

Troyes

Perquis came up through the

Troyes AC Espérance Sportive Troyes Aube Champagne (ESTAC), commonly known as Troyes, is a French association football club, based in Troyes, who play in Ligue 1, the highest level of France's football league system, and plays its home matches at the ...

youth system. He played in Ligue 2 with

for 2 years, where he was rated as one of the best defenders of the league.

Saint-Étienne

In 2005, he signed for Ligue 1 club AS Saint-Étienne as a free agent. In two seasons, he failed to impress with the club and was loaned to Sochaux. After some initial troubles, he finally found his form and became a regular in the starting line-up.

Sochaux

In 2008,

Sochaux Sochaux () is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. Geography Sochaux lies east of Montbéliard, and southeast of Paris. Population Inhabitants are known as ''Sochaliens''. Economy S ...

bought the player outright. He made a total of 146 appearances for the club, scoring eleven goals, before leaving the club in the summer of 2012.

Real Betis

In the summer of 2012, Perquis joined

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () or just Betis, is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1907, it plays in La Liga. It holds home games at the Estadio Benito Vill ...

in Spain. He suffered through various injury problems while in Spain, and was limited to 32 league matches in his three years with Betis.

Toronto FC

Perquis was released by Betis and signed with

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...

of Major League Soccer on 26 January 2015. He mutually agreed to part ways with the club on 12 July 2016.

Nottingham Forest

On 22 July 2016, Perquis signed a two-year deal with

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

. On 27 August 2016, he scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 home win against

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

. On 24 July 2017, Perquis and Nottingham Forest agreed to mutually terminate his contract at the club.

Gazélec Ajaccio

In 2017, he moved to

in the French third tier, where he played for two years.

International career

In December 2008, he declared his interest in playing for the Polish national team.

Franciszek Smuda Franciszek Smuda (; born 22 June 1948) is a Polish Association football, football Coach (sport), coach and former footballer who also holds a German passport. As a player, he spent his career playing for clubs in Poland, the United States and Ge ...

, manager of Poland, confirmed that information in July 2010. In January 2011, it was reported that Perquis had filed his citizenship application papers. However, his family had lost some required documents, and Smuda had to request that the Polish president Bronislaw Komorowski approve his application. Perquis received Polish citizenship on 1 September 2011. On 6 September 2011, Perquis made his international debut during a 2–2 friendly draw against

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in Gdańsk. He scored his first goal on 26 May 2012, in a 1–0 friendly win against

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

. He was selected to the final squad for the

UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th UEFA European Championship, European Championship for List of men's national association football teams#UEFA (Europe), men's ...

Coaching career

After announcing his retirement from football on social medias on 15 June 2020, Perquis was appointed assistant coach of

's reserve team.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

:''Scores and results list Poland's goal tally first.''

References

External links

* *
France U-21 season 2005–06
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perquis, Damien 1984 births Living people Polish footballers Poland international footballers UEFA Euro 2012 players French footballers Sportspeople from Troyes Association football defenders Footballers from Grand Est French people of Polish descent Polish people of French descent Citizens of Poland through descent France under-21 international footballers INF Clairefontaine players ES Troyes AC players AS Saint-Étienne players FC Sochaux-Montbéliard players Real Betis players Toronto FC players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players La Liga players Segunda División players Major League Soccer players English Football League players Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate soccer players in Canada Expatriate footballers in England Polish expatriate footballers Polish expatriate sportspeople in Spain Polish expatriate sportspeople in Canada Polish expatriate sportspeople in England French expatriate footballers French expatriate sportspeople in Spain French expatriate sportspeople in Canada French expatriate sportspeople in England Association football coaches