Lecsinel Jean-François (born 2 October 1986) is a

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

an former

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 defender. He last played for Sheffield United in 2013. Born in

Cayenne Cayenne (; ; gcr, Kayenn) is the capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic Oc ...

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...

, Jean-François began his career in France with Paris Saint-Germain and Sedan, before a spell in Scotland with

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

. He returned to France briefly, where he played for Guingamp, before settling in England, with spells at Swindon Town and Sheffield United. Qualifying to represent

through his parents, Jean-François made four appearances for the national side.

Club career

Early career

Jean-François began his career in France, coming through the youth ranks of Paris Saint-Germain before joining CS Sedan Ardennes. In January 2006, he signed for

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football' ...

side

, where he made a handful of appearances before departing the club at the end of the season to join French

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions ...

side

En Avant de Guingamp En Avant Guingamp (, en, Forward Guingamp), commonly referred to as EA Guingamp, EAG, or simply Guingamp (), is a professional football club based in the commune of Guingamp in France's Brittany region. The club was founded in 1912 and play in ...

. In July 2008, he was named as a trialist for

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

in their pre-season friendly match against

Brechin City Brechin City Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the townDespite the name of the football club, Brechin is not an official city. Brechin was historically known as a city because it has a cathedral. of Brechin in Angus. The club w ...

, but he failed to win a contract.

Swindon Town

In late January 2009 he arrived at Swindon Town and appeared in a reserve match against

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...

, and impressed manager Danny Wilson sufficiently for him to offer him a contract until the end of the 2008–09 season. Jean-François eventually made his début for Swindon in February 2009, making a total of five appearances by the end of the season. As a result of these performances he was one of four out of contract players offered new contracts in May 2009. and signed a one-year extension the following month.

Sheffield United

After being released by Swindon, Jean-François joined up with former boss Danny Wilson once more, signing for Sheffield United in June 2011. After making his début for his new club on the opening day of the season, away at Oldham Athletic he appeared regularly at left back until he sustained a cruciate ligament injury the following March which ruled him out for the remainder of the season. In October 2012 he returned from injury and played the last 15 minutes in a 4–1 victory over Notts County at Meadow Lane in the

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Leag ...

, however he injured his other knee and was ruled out for a further 2 months. Having failed to regain his fitness for the remainder of the season, Jean-François was released by United in June 2013. In December 2013 Jean-François returned to former club Sheffield United to continue his rehabilitation process. This was agreed following his release in the summer, but new United manager Nigel Clough stated "there is no deal on the table."

International career

Despite being born in French Guiana, Jean-François qualifies to play for

as it is the birthplace of his parents. Following his move to Sheffield United his form prompted a recall to the Haiti national team in 2011 to face

Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda (, ) is a sovereign country in the West Indies. It lies at the juncture of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in the Leeward Islands part of the Lesser Antilles, at 17°N latitude. The country consists of two maj ...

for World Cup qualifiers. After the earthquake in Haiti, Jean-François's home nation, money from the match between Swindon Town, his team at the time, and Leeds United was donated to help the disaster in Haiti.

References

External links

* * (under incorrect name) * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jean-Francois, Lecsinel 1986 births Living people Association football defenders Haitian footballers Haiti international footballers Scottish Premier League players Falkirk F.C. players English Football League players Swindon Town F.C. players Sheffield United F.C. players Haitian expatriate footballers Haitian expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Expatriate footballers in Scotland Haitian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in England French footballers French Guianan footballers Sportspeople from Cayenne French Guianan people of Haitian descent Paris Saint-Germain F.C. players CS Sedan Ardennes players Ligue 2 players En Avant Guingamp players French expatriate footballers French Guianan expatriate footballers French expatriate sportspeople in Scotland French expatriate sportspeople in England