Frédéric Michel Piquionne (born 8 December 1978) is a Martiniquais former professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who played as a
forward.
Piquionne's former clubs are
Golden Star of
Martinique
Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in ...
,
Nîmes,
Rennes,
Saint-Étienne,
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
,
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...
,
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
,
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
,
Doncaster Rovers
Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...
,
Portland Timbers and
Mumbai City
Mumbai City Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club was founded in August 2014, during the inaugural season of ...
.
At international level, Piquionne played for the
Martinique national team. He represented them in the run up to the
2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup
The 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 12th CONCACAF Gold Cup competition and the 22nd CONCACAF regional championship overall in CONCACAF's fifty years of existence. The United States was the host nation.
The competition began on 7 July 2013 at the ...
and was named in the
2012 Caribbean Cup
The 2012 Caribbean Cup was the 17th edition of the Caribbean Cup, an international football competition for national teams of member nations affiliated with the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) of the CONCACAF region. The final stage was hosted by ...
squad. He also played once for
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
in a
friendly against
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
in 2007.
Early life
Piquionne was born in
Nouméa
Nouméa () is the capital and largest city of the French special collectivity of New Caledonia and is also the largest francophone city in Oceania. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and ...
, New Caledonia.
Club career
Early career
In 1995 at age 17, Piquionne played in the youth teams of
Paris FC
Paris Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris FC or simply PFC, is a French professional football club based in Paris, that competes in the Ligue 2, the second tier of French football. Paris FC play their home matches at the Stade C ...
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 impressive performances encouraged his coach Jules Eustache (a former intern at the National Institute of Football and professional footballer) to direct him towards
Nîmes. 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's
Rennes.
The first time he played in the French first division was 28 July 2001 against
Auxerre
Auxerre ( , ) is the capital of the Yonne department and the fourth-largest city in Burgundy. Auxerre's population today is about 35,000; the urban area (''aire d'attraction'') comprises roughly 113,000 inhabitants. Residents of Auxerre are r ...
(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 ten goals under the coaching of
Vahid Halilhodžić
Vahid Halilhodžić (; born 15 October 1952) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player. He is regarded as one of the most controversially successful Bosnian football managers, due to his successful tenure in coaching various na ...
. New coach
László Bölöni
László Bölöni ( ro, Ladislau Bölöni; born 11 March 1953) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Ligue 2 club Metz. He is best known for his time at Sporting CP as a manager where he introduced C ...
then arrived, and the rapport between them was poor, ending the 2003–04 season less than satisfactorily.
Saint-Étienne
![Piquionne](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Piquionne.jpg)
Newly promoted club
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 sixth 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 six goals and six 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 Ilan may refer to:
Organization
* ILAN, Israeli umbrella organization for the treatment of disabled children
Given name
* Ilan (name), a Hebrew/Israeli name
* Ilan Bakhar, a retired Israeli footballer
* Ilan Araújo Dall'Igna, a Brazilian footbal ...
up front.
![AS Saint Etienne Potillon & Piquionne](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/AS_Saint_Etienne_Potillon_%26_Piquionne.jpg)
Piquionne was under contract with Saint-Étienne until June 2009. However, following his excellent performance, many European clubs were on alert, including
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...
, 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 Baroš
Milan Baroš (; born 28 October 1981) is a Czech footballer who plays as a striker. He currently plays for FK Vigantice at amateur level.
In 2005, he was part of the Liverpool team which won the UEFA Champions League. He went on to win Ligue ...
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. Despite being disliked by fans, coach
Ivan Hašek admitted that his team missed the striker.
Monaco and Lyon
On 31 January 2007, Piquionne moved to
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
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. At the end of the season, Monaco remained in Ligue 1 and despite his disappointing performances, they exercised their buyout clause. 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 with Lyon. He wore the number 39 shirt and scored his first goal in the
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
against
Fiorentina
ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fol ...
.
Portsmouth
On 5 August 2009, it was confirmed that Piquionne would join English
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
club
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
on a season-long loan. On his Pompey debut, against
Rangers at
Fratton Park in a friendly, he scored two goals in a 2–0 win. 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
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
win against
Hereford United
Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...
on 25 August 2009. He scored his first Premier League goal four days later in another 4–0 win, this time at home to
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, ...
.
Piquionne scored 11 goals in all competitions during his stint at Portsmouth, including scoring two goals against
Birmingham City
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...
in the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
to ensure Portsmouth progressed to the FA Cup semi-finals.
On 11 April 2010, Piquionne scored the first goal in a 2–0 win over
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...
to send Portsmouth into the
FA Cup final
The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official atten ...
for the second time in three seasons.
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.
West Ham United
![Frédéric PiquionneWHU](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ric_PiquionneWHU.jpg)
On 16 July 2010, Piquionne joined
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
, managed by his former manager at Portsmouth,
Avram Grant
Avraham "Avram" Grant ( he, אברהם "אברם" גרנט; born Avraham Granat; ) is an Israeli professional football manager. He has spent the majority of his career coaching and managing in Israel, winning a number of national league and cup ...
, for a €1.2 million transfer fee and a €450,000 bonus. He signed a three-year contract, becoming West Ham's third summer signing. He made his Premier League debut with West Ham on 14 August in a 3–0 loss to
Aston Villa, coming on as a second-half substitute for
Radoslav Kováč. He scored his first goal for West Ham in a 2–1 win against
Sunderland in the third round of the
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
at the
Stadium of Light on 21 September 2010. He scored his first Premier League goal for West Ham in a 1–0 win against local rivals Tottenham on 25 September 2010.
This goal was also the 10,000th goal scored in the Premier League with a
Nike
Nike often refers to:
* Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory
* Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment
Nike may also refer to:
People
* Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...
-manufactured football.
[ Piquionne was sent off in a vital Premier League game against Everton for jumping into the crowd after scoring to put ''the Hammers'' 2–1 up in the 86th minute; Everton later scored to draw the match 2–2 and West Ham were relegated to the ]Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
at the end of the season.
Doncaster Rovers
On 6 March 2012, Piquionne was loaned by West Ham to fellow Championship club Doncaster Rovers
Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...
on an initial one-month loan. On the same day, he made his debut in a 2–1 away win against 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 ...
, scoring his first goal with a 30-yard shot to put Rovers 1–0 ahead. 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
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
.
Portland Timbers
Piquionne left England to join Major League Soccer (MLS) team Portland Timbers in the United States. He signed a one-year contract on 28 February 2013. Piquionne made his debut for Portland on 16 March 2013, coming on as a substitute against rivals Seattle Sounders FC at CenturyLink Field
Lumen Field is a multi-purpose stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. Located in the city's SoDo neighborhood, it is the home field for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL), the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL, t ...
. On 29 May 2013, he scored four goals in the first half of a US Open Cup
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country.
The 2023 U.S. Op ...
match against the USL Pro
The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...
team Wilmington Hammerheads
Wilmington Hammerheads FC was a semi-professional American soccer team based in Wilmington, North Carolina. Founded in 1996, the team last competed in the Premier Development League, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid in 2017.
History ...
. He re-signed for the Timbers on 7 January 2014, but was waived from the team's roster on 13 May 2014.
Creteil
On 4 August 2014, Piquionne returned to France to sign with Créteil
Créteil () is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Créteil is the ''préfecture'' (capital) of the Val-de-Marne department as well as the seat of the Arrondissement of Cr ...
in Ligue 2 for the 2014–15 season.
Mumbai City
In July 2015, Indian Super League
The Indian Super League (ISL) is an Indian professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Organised by the All India Football Federat ...
club Mumbai City
Mumbai City Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club was founded in August 2014, during the inaugural season of ...
confirmed the signing of Piquionne for the upcoming season. The club, then managed by Peter Reid
Peter Reid (born 20 June 1956) is an English football manager, pundit and former player.
A defensive midfielder in his playing days, Reid enjoyed a long and successful career. He built his reputation as one of England's brightest midfield tale ...
, had also signed Cristian Bustos and Frantz Bertin
Frantz Bertin (born 30 May 1983) is a Haitian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football)#Centre-back, central defender.
Club career
Bertin was born in Paris, France. After beginning his c ...
, and featured Nicolas Anelka
Nicolas Sébastien Anelka (; born 14 March 1979) is a French professional football manager and retired player who played as a forward. As a player, he regularly featured in his country's national team, often scoring at crucial moments. Known f ...
as player-coach. He scored three goals in his 12 appearances for the club.
International career
Instead of representing FIFA member New Caledonia in Oceania
Oceania (, , ) is a geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of and a population of around 44.5 million ...
, Piquionne represented Martinique
Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in ...
. He may have been called during the 2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification CFU Qualifying Tournament Preliminary round
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First round Group A
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Group B
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Group C
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Group D
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Final round Group A
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...
but he did not play the final tournament. As Martinique is not a member of FIFA, he was eligible to play for France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
for whom he was called up in a squad to play Lithuania on 24 March 2007 in a Euro 2008 qualifying match, but did not play. He made his international debut for France in a friendly against Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
on 28 March 2007, coming on as a substitute in the 78th minute for Abou Diaby
Vassiriki Abou Diaby (born 11 May 1986), known as Abou Diaby, is a French former professional footballer. He played primarily in a box to box role, adept at both attacking and defending. Described as a player who was "languid, elusive, and a ...
at the Stade de France. He played for France B 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 ...
in August 2007, but never represented the senior team again.
Piquionne also represented Martinique at the 2012 Caribbean Cup
The 2012 Caribbean Cup was the 17th edition of the Caribbean Cup, an international football competition for national teams of member nations affiliated with the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) of the CONCACAF region. The final stage was hosted by ...
, where he scored in the nation's opening game, a 1–0 victory over Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
. In total, he played five matches and scored two goals in the tournament.
International goals
:''Scores and results list Martinique's goal tally first.''
Coaching career
Following his departure from Mumbai City and retirement from playing, Piquionne returned to Creteil as a coach in January 2016. In November 2021, he was appointed as assistant at FA Women's Super League
The Women's Super League (WSL), currently known as the Barclays Women's Super League (BWSL) for sponsorship reasons, is the highest league of women's football in England. Established in 2010, it is run by the Football Association and features ...
side Everton. In February 2022, he left the club following the sacking of Jean-Luc Vasseur.
After football
He worked as a pundit for Canal+
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...
during the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Honours
Portsmouth
*FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
runner-up: 2009–10
References
External links
*
*
Sports.fr card-index
Maxifoot
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Piquionne, Frederic
1978 births
Living people
People from Nouméa
New Caledonian footballers
French footballers
France international footballers
Martiniquais footballers
Martinique international footballers
Association football forwards
AS Monaco FC players
AS Saint-Étienne players
Stade Rennais F.C. players
Nîmes Olympique players
Olympique Lyonnais players
Portsmouth F.C. players
West Ham United F.C. players
Doncaster Rovers F.C. players
Portland Timbers players
US Créteil-Lusitanos players
Mumbai City FC players
Ligue 1 players
Ligue 2 players
Premier League players
English Football League players
Major League Soccer players
2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
Indian Super League players
French expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in England
Expatriate footballers in India
Expatriate soccer players in the United States
French expatriate sportspeople in England
French expatriate sportspeople in India
French expatriate sportspeople in the United States
New Caledonian people of French descent
French people of Martiniquais descent
Dual internationalists (football)
FA Cup Final players
Association football coaches