Pierre-Alain Frau (born 15 April 1980) is a French former professional footballer. He played as a
striker
Striker or The Strikers may refer to:
People
*A participant in a strike action
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*Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant
*Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America
People wi ...
Caen
Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Al-Wakrah.
Career
Nicknamed ''PAF'' after his initials, Frau was born on 15 April 1980 in Montbéliard, France, where he became a young find of his hometown club
FC Sochaux-Montbéliard
Football Club Sochaux-Montbéliard (; commonly referred to as FCSM or simply Sochaux) is a French association football club based in the city of Montbéliard. The club was founded in 1928 and currently plays in Ligue 2, the second tier of Frenc ...
, and it was there he got his first opportunity to play in the France national league.
After completing what would have been a prospective move to Lyon from Montbéliard, he found his playing time in the 2004–05 season hampered by the presence of other established frontmen like Sylvain Wiltord, Nilmar and later,
John Carew
John Alieu Carew (born 5 September 1979) is a Norwegian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He was capped 91 times, scoring 24 goals for the Norway national team.
As of 2023, he has been hired until the end of 2024 at Norwe ...
. Realising that it was a World Cup year with a slim chance to catch the attention of national coach Raymond Domenech, Frau secured a half-season loan to RC Lens, but failed to make the cut to the final France squad. Frau was called up to the senior France squad by Raymond Domenech in August 2004 but did not make it off the bench. For the following season, RC Lens wanted to keep him in Lens, but Frau preferred a move to Paris Saint-Germain. The transfer fee was not disclosed, but Olympique Lyonnais priced the striker at £4 million.
On 1 January 2008, Frau signed a three-and-a-half year deal with Lille and was given the shirt number 17.
Frau is known as one of the more famous players at his hometown club FC Sochaux-Montbéliard.
Honors
Sochaux
*
Coupe de la Ligue
The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in Football in France, French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was est ...
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 ...
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 ...
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
,
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
Lille
* Ligue 1:
2010–11
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
2010–11
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...