Beninwende Yann Jonathan Pitroipa (born 12 April 1986) is a Burkinabé 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 le ...

who played as a winger. Since making his debut for Burkina Faso in 2006, he has featured at the 2010, 2012 and 2013 editions of the

African Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internati ...

, scoring two goals in the 2013 tournament as Burkina Faso reached the final. He was also chosen the Player of the Tournament.

Club career

Freiburg

Pitroipa played for Planete Champion in his native Burkina Faso until 2004, when he moved to Germany. In 2004, he signed with

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

side

SC Freiburg Sport-Club Freiburg e.V., commonly known as SC Freiburg () or just Freiburg, is a German football club, based in the city of Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg. It plays in the Bundesliga, having been promoted as champions from the 2. Bund ...

. He scored his first goal for Freiburg in a 3–3 draw with

SpVgg Greuther Fürth Spielvereinigung Greuther Fürth (), commonly known as Greuther Fürth (), is a German football club based in Fürth, Bavaria. They play in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of the German football league system, following relegation from the B ...

on 22 September 2006. He went on to make 75 league appearances, both in the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga, and scored 16 goals.

Hamburger SV

In July 2008, Pitroipa moved to

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its football section. Though the current HSV was founded in June 1919 from a merger of three ...

on a free transfer. In his last season in the Bundesliga with Hamburg, he appeared in 26 games, adding two goals and six assists. After the dismissal of head coach

Armin Veh Armin Veh (; born 1 February 1961) is a German football manager and former player who last managed Eintracht Frankfurt. He won the German championship with Bundesliga team VfB Stuttgart in 2007. Veh and his team also had the chance to win "the d ...

in March 2011, Pitroipa voiced his unhappiness with the coaching situation. Under new manager Michael Oenning, Pitroipa was relegated to a bit-part role for the club and expressed his desire to leave Hamburg in search of regular football. Hamburg's new director of football,

Frank Arnesen Frank Arnesen (born 30 September 1956) is a former Danish footballer and sporting director at Dutch football club Feyenoord. Arnesen was the Director of Football at English football clubs Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea, and was Sporting Director a ...

, formerly of

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

, did not help matters either, bringing in many young players in an effort to freshen up the squad and start a new era. Pitroipa's last game for the club came on the final day of the

2010–11 Bundesliga The 2010–11 Bundesliga was the 48th season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football league. It began on 20 August 2010 and concluded on 14 May 2011. The winter break was in effect between weekends around 18 December 2010 and 15 January 20 ...

season, coming on as a 38th-minute substitute for striker

Paolo Guerrero José Paolo Guerrero Gonzales (; born 1 January 1984), known as Paolo Guerrero, is a Peruvian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, Bras ...

in Hamburg's 1–1 draw with

Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e. V. Mönchengladbach, commonly known as Borussia Mönchengladbach (), Mönchengladbach () or Gladbach (; abbreviated as Borussia MG, BMG), is a professional Association football, football club based in ...

. Pitroipa made a total of 97 appearances for Hamburg, scoring six goals and adding ten assists. His exit from the club was part of a mass exodus of star names, as

Frank Rost Frank Rost (born 30 June 1973) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He comes from a sporting family background; his father Peter won a gold medal at the 1980 Olympic Games in handball, and his mother Christi ...

Zé Roberto José Roberto da Silva Júnior (born 6 July 1974), commonly known as Zé Roberto, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a left wing-back or as a midfielder. Currently, he is a technical advisor to Palmeiras, acting directl ...

Joris Mathijsen Joris Mathijsen (born 5 April 1980) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is the director of football at Willem II. Club career Mathijsen started his football career at SV VOAB in Goirle after he visited a tr ...

Piotr Trochowski Piotr Artur Trochowski (, born 22 March 1984) is a German former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. According to his FIFA World Cup 2010 profile he is a playmaker known for "his speed, agility, tricky dribbling and r ...

and

Ruud van Nistelrooy Rutgerus Johannes Martinus van Nistelrooij (anglicised to Van Nistelrooy; born 1 July 1976) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. He is currently the coach of PSV Eindhoven. A former footballer, Van Nistelrooy is often consi ...

were also shown the door. Jonathan Pitroipa

Rennes

On 7 July 2011, Pitroipa completed his transfer to French side

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...

for £3.16 million transfer fee, well under the €5 million sum desired by Hamburg. Rennes were keen on securing the signature of the Burkina Faso international for a long time, impressed by "his pace and dribbling skills". In his first official appearance for his new club, Pitroipa scored a brace against Georgian side Metalurgi Rustavi in the first leg of their

Europa League Playoff Europa may refer to: Places * Europe * Europa (Roman province), a province within the Diocese of Thrace * Europa (Seville Metro), Seville, Spain; a station on the Seville Metro * Europa City, Paris, France; a planned development * Europa Clif ...

tie on 28 July 2011. Pitroipa made his

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

debut with Rennes in their league opener against newly promoted

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

on 7 August 2011, which ended in a 5–1 victory. He helped in the build-up for the opening goal, delivering a long pass to Abdoulrazak Boukari, who then flicked it on to Víctor Montaño, who slid it in. This marked the first time in nine years that Rennes scored five goals in a Ligue 1 game. The following weekend, Pitroipa scored his first Ligue 1 goal for Rennes in their 1–1 draw with

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...

on 13 August 2011. His 88th-minute equalizer denied the free-spending capital club their first win of the season and ensured that his side remained undefeated from their opening two league outings. After defeating Metalurgi Rustavi 7–2 on aggregate, Rennes were drawn against

Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club, ), commonly known as Red Star Belgrade in English-language media, is a Serbian professional football club based in Bel ...

in the Europa League Play-off. Pitroipa started the first leg at the Stadion FK Crvena Zvezda in Serbia and continued his fine goal-scoring form, netting the equalizing goal for his side in the 41st minute. Substitute Víctor Montaño grabbed the winning goal for the visitors in the second-half, putting them in a comfortable position to advance to the group stages of the Europa League. Rennes won the second leg in convincing fashion, 4–0, to advance to the group stages. Pitroipa beat

Bakary Koné Bakary Koné (, born 27 April 1988) is a Burkinabé former professional footballer who played as a centre back. Club career Early career Koné played on youth side for CFTPK Abidjan and joined in 2004 to Etoile Filante where he began his pro ...

to the ball and shot past

Hugo Lloris Hugo Hadrien Dominique Lloris (born 26 December 1986) is a French professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Tottenham Hotspur and the France national team. He is a three-time winner of the National Union of Professional Footbal ...

to help Rennes record a 2–1 victory over

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

on 18 November and move up to fourth in the Ligue 1 table. On 4 March 2012, he turned in a "Man of the Match" performance against

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

as he scored a brilliant 25-yard strike with his left foot and then provided an assist for

Youssouf Hadji Youssouf Hadji ( ar, يوسف حجي; born 25 February 1980) is a Moroccan former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He notably had three spells for French side AS Nancy, also serving as the team captain, making 378 a ...

, the man who set up Pitroipa's goal, to earn a 2–0 victory. After a mazy run through four

Evian Evian ( , ; , stylized as evian) is a French company that bottles and commercialises mineral water from several sources near Évian-les-Bains, on the south shore of Lake Geneva. It produces over 2 billion plastic bottles per year. Today, Evia ...

defenders, Pitroipa lofted the ball over onrushing goalkeeper

Stephan Andersen Stephan Maigaard Andersen (born 26 November 1981) is a Danish professional football player, who plays as a goalkeeper for VB 1968. He was a full international for the Denmark national team and was chosen to represent his country at UEFA Euro 2 ...

as Rennes won 3–1 on 7 April to boost their bid for European football. In Rennes' game against

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

on 16 April, Pitroipa dribbled past

Didier Digard Didier Frédéric Thierry Digard (born 12 July 1986) is a French professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Championnat National 3 side Nice B and who is the currently caretaker manager Ligue 1 club of Nice. As a ...

before slotting the ball home, giving Rennes a 3–1 victory and putting them two points away from a

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

spot. Pitroipa helped Rennes finish in sixth place on 60 points, thanks to scoring a goal in their 5–0 defeat of relegated Dijon on 20 May 2012; the result, however, was not good enough to secure European football for 2012–13 though. Pitroipa scored his first goal of the

2012–13 Ligue 1 The 2012–13 Ligue 1 was the 75th season since its establishment. Montpellier were the defending champions. The league schedule was announced in April 2012 and the fixtures were determined on 30 May. The season began on 10 August and ended on ...

season on 25 August 2012, as Rennes registered their first victory of the campaign with a 3–2 defeat of

Bastia Bastia (, , , ; co, Bastìa ) is a commune in the department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. It is located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It also has the second-highest population of any commune on the is ...

, also providing the assist for

Mevlüt Erdinç Mevlüt Erdinç (surname spelt Erding in France; born 25 February 1987) is a former professional footballer who played as a forward. Born in France to Turkish parents, he spent most of his career in his country of birth, recording 295 games and ...

's strike. He scored the winning goal for Rennes a minute from time against

Troyes Troyes () is a commune and the capital of the department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within the Champagne wine region and is near to ...

on 2 December, completing a comeback victory from 1–2 down to seal a 3–2 win and a third-straight Ligue 1 victory.

Antwerp

In early January 2018, Pitroipa was one of four signings to be announced by

Belgian First Division A The Belgian Pro League,(officially the Jupiler Pro League due to sponsorship reasons with Jupiler), is the top league competition for association football clubs in Belgium. Contested by 18 clubs since the 2020–21 season and reduced to 16 team ...

side

Royal Antwerp F.C. Royal Antwerp Football Club, often referred to as Royal Antwerp or simply Antwerp, is a Belgian football club based in the city of Antwerp. Founded around 1880 as ''Antwerp Cricket Club'' by English students residing in Antwerp, 15 years before ...

Free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

Pitroipa signed a six-month contract.

Paris FC

Pitroipa joined

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 Ch ...

in 2018. He left in January 2021 after making a total of 69 league appearances and scoring 3 league goals.

Retirement

Pitroipa announced his retirement from playing in February 2021.

International career

Pitroipa made his debut for

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

in 2006. On 20 June 2009, he scored a 27th-minute goal against the

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

to put the score at 1–1 and a later own goal put his side into a 2–1 lead before a late fightback from the Elephants secured a 3–2 victory for Ivory Coast in the third round of CAF 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying. Pitroipa was part of the final squads at the

2010 Africa Cup of Nations The 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange (telecommunications), Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 27th Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial association football, football championship of Africa (Confederat ...

in Angola and the

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

edition in Equatorial Guinea. Following his success in Ligue 1, Pitroipa was called up to the Burkina Faso squad to the 2013 African Cup of Nations. In the tournament, he scored an injury time goal against

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

in their second group game, securing a 4–0 victory for his country. Burkina Faso advanced out of the group stage and into the quarter-finals of the competition where they faced

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

on 3 February, and Pitroipa scored the only goal of the game in the 105th minute to send the Stallions into the semi-finals. Pitroipa was controversially sent off in the semi-final game of the competition against

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

, when he was booked for simulation in the 117th minute while it appeared that he had been fouled in the penalty box. The Stallions overcame his sending off and won 3–2 in the penalty shoot-out after the game had finished 1–1 after extra time, booking the country's first ever trip to the African Cup of Nations final. The red card was later overturned by the CAF executive committee after referee Slim Jedidi admitted to having made a mistake by showing the second yellow card. Burkina Faso lost in the final to

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

by a score of 1–0, but Pitroipa was named as the "Player of the Tournament" by CAF. He retired from international football in December 2019.

Coaching career

In October 2008, Pitroipa established, alongside Burkina Faso international teammate

Wilfried Sanou Wilfried Sanou (born 16 March 1984) is a Burkinabé former professional footballer who played as a winger or striker. He started his career with Planète Champion in his home country before moving to Austria where he played for Wattens and T ...

, the Kada School. The club is owned by his father Miki Jean-Baptiste Pitroipa and Sanou's mother.

Career statistics

Club

International goals

:''Scores and results list Burkina Faso's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Pitroipa goal''.

Honours

International *

runner-up:

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

; third place:

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

Individual * Africa Cup of Nations Player of the Tournament:

* Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament:

References

External links

Jonathan Pitroipa
at kicker.de * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pitroipa, Jonathan Living people 1986 births 21st-century Burkinabé people Sportspeople from Ouagadougou Association football midfielders Burkinabé footballers Burkina Faso international footballers 2010 Africa Cup of Nations players 2012 Africa Cup of Nations players 2013 Africa Cup of Nations players 2015 Africa Cup of Nations players 2017 Africa Cup of Nations players Planète Champion players SC Freiburg players Hamburger SV players Stade Rennais F.C. players Al Jazira Club players Al-Nasr SC (Dubai) players Royal Antwerp F.C. players Paris FC players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Ligue 1 players UAE Pro League players Burkinabé expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Germany Expatriate footballers in France Expatriate footballers in the United Arab Emirates Expatriate footballers in Belgium Burkinabé expatriate sportspeople in Germany Burkinabé expatriate sportspeople in France Burkinabé expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Burkinabé expatriate sportspeople in Belgium