Yannis Tafer (, born 11 February 1991) is a French 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 plays as a winger for Luxembourger club Racing-Union. He is a France youth international having represented the country under-17, under-18, and under-19 level. Tafer was the top scorer at the

2008 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship The final tournament of the 2008 UEFA European Under-17 Championship was the 26th UEFA European Under-17 Championship, UEFA's premier football tournament for players under the age of 17. The tournament was held in Turkey from 4 to 16 May 2008. Pla ...

leading the tournament with four goals and played on the under-19 team that won the

2010 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship The 2010 UEFA European Under-19 Championship was the ninth edition of UEFA's European Under-19 Championship since it was renamed from the original under-18 event, in 2001. France hosted the championship during July. Ukraine were the title holders ...

Club career

Early career

Tafer was born in the city of

Grenoble lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...

in the

Rhône-Alpes Rhône-Alpes () was an administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it is part of the new region Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It is located on the eastern border of the country, towards the south. The region was named after the river Rhône an ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

to an Algerian father, who emigrated to France from

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...

, and a Portuguese mother. He began his football career with a local club in the region,

FC Échirolles Football Club d'Échirolles is a French association football club founded in 1949. They are based in Échirolles, near Grenoble in Isère, France and are currently playing in the Ligue Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, the 6th tier of French football. They ...

. After spending seven years with his childhood club, Tafer signed an ''aspirant'' (youth) contract with the then three-time champions

Olympique Lyonnais Olympique Lyonnais (), commonly referred to as simply Lyon () or OL, is a men and women's French professional football club based in Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The men play in France's highest football division, Ligue 1. Founded in 1950, th ...

Lyon

Following the 2007–08 season, Tafer signed his first professional contract with Lyon agreeing to a three-year contract until 2011. For the 2008–09 season, he was placed on Lyon's first-team squad and was assigned the 34 shirt, though he was reassigned to the number 29. Tafer was a key participant in the club's preseason tour playing in four of the five matches contested. He scored three goals in the preseason netting one each against

second division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

club

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; oc, Nimes ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the prefecture of the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and Cévennes, the commune of Nîmes has an estimated population of 148,5 ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n club

Rapid București Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Rapids are hydrological features between a ''run'' (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a '' cascade' ...

, and fellow

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 ...

club Nancy. Despite being on the first-team, Tafer was limited to playing mostly on the club's

Championnat de France amateur The Championnat National 2, commonly known as National 2 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur (CFA), is a football league competition. The league serves as the fourth tier of the French football league system behind Ligue 1, Ligue ...

team appearing in 15 matches scoring five goals, which included a brace against

RCO Agde RCO Agde () is a French football club. The club is based at the 3500-seat Stade Louis Sanguin in Agde. RCO Agde was created in 1999 from the merger of ''Racing Club Agathois'' (founded 1904) and ''Football Olympique Agathois''. As of the 2019– ...

and goals against rivals

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the Loire department in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Saint-Étienne is the t ...

and

AS Lyon Duchère As, AS, A. S., A/S or similar may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * A. S. Byatt (born 1936), English critic, novelist, poet and short story writer * As (song), "As" (song), by Stevie Wonder * , a Spanish sports newspaper * , an academic ...

. On 24 January 2009, Tafer made his professional debut in the club's

Coupe de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and profession ...

match against

Concarneau Concarneau (, meaning ''Bay of Cornouaille'') is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. Concarneau is bordered to the west by the Baie de La Forêt. The town has two distinct areas: the modern town on the main ...

coming on as a substitute in the 75th minute. In the match, he was instrumental in the club's 5th goal after taking a pass and shooting the ball, which went off the post. Teammate

Kader Keïta Kader may refer to: * ''Kader'' (film), a 2006 Turkish drama film *Kader Group, a toy manufacturer of Hong Kong People with the given name *Kader Abdolah (born 1954), Iranian-Dutch writer, poet and columnist. *Kader Asmal (1934–2011), South Afr ...

quickly pounced on the rebound and converted the goal. Lyon won the match 6–0. Two weeks later, Tafer made his league debut making a one-minute cameo appearance in a 3–1 victory over

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 ...

. Tafer made two more league appearances being relegated back to the amateur team. For the 2009–10 season, Tafer's playing time was slightly increased. On 26 September 2009 in his season debut, he scored his first professional goal against

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

after appearing in the match as a

halftime In several team sports, matches are played in two halves. Half-time (also written halftime or half time) is the name given to the interval between the two halves of the match. Typically, after half-time, teams swap ends of the field of play in or ...

substitute. The goal drew the match at 1–1 and Lyon won the match after a late second-half goal from

Bafétimbi Gomis Bafétimbi Gomis (; born 6 August 1985) is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker for Süper Lig club Galatasaray. Gomis played youth football with Saint-Étienne before making his professional debut for the club in 2004, als ...

. Two months later, he assisted on

César Delgado César Fabián Delgado Godoy (born 18 August 1981) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a winger. He also played as a central midfielder, making piercing forward runs through the center of the opposition's defence. His ...

's goal in a 2–0 victory over

Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...

. On 13 January 2010, Tafer made his first career start in a 3–0 win over

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

in the

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 ...

playing the entire match.

Toulouse

On 24 August 2010, Lyon confirmed that the club had loaned out Tafer to fellow Ligue 1 club

. The loan was for the entire 2010–11 season and had a buyout option for

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

4 million. His signing was cited as a replacement for the departed

André-Pierre Gignac André-Pierre Christian Gignac (born 5 December 1985) is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker for Liga MX club Tigres UANL. Gignac is described as a "powerful and dangerous" striker who is known for his "aerial presence". He ...

, who joined

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

. Tafer was presented to the media by the club on 25 August and was given the number 10 shirt, formerly worn by Gignac.

Lausanne-Sport

On 25 July 2012, following his release from Lyon, Tafer signed a three years contract with Swiss club Lausanne-Sport.

St. Gallen

On 5 June 2014, Tafer moved to

FC St. Gallen Fussballclub St. Gallen 1879, commonly known as St. Gallen, is a Swiss professional football club based in the city of St. Gallen, Canton of St. Gallen. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the Swiss Super League. History Founde ...

signing a three-year contract until 2017.

ES Sahel

On 12 July 2019, it was confirmed, that Tafer had joined Tunisian club

Étoile Sportive du Sahel Étoile may refer to: Places ;France * Charles de Gaulle – Étoile, station of the Paris Métro * Étoile-Saint-Cyrice, commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in France * Étoile-sur-Rhône, commune in the Drôme department in France * L'Éto ...

Neuchâtel Xamax

Xamax confirmed on 4 January 2020, that Tafer had signed a deal until the end of the season with the club, with an option for one further year.

Racing-Union

On 2 February 2021, he signed with Racing-Union in Luxembourg.

International career

Tafer is a France youth international having played under-17, under-18, and under-19 level. He made his youth international debut with the under-17 team on 2 October 2007 against

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. Tafer scored a brace in the team's 4–0 victory. On 4 December 2007, Tafer scored both goals in the team's 2–1 win over

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. At the

Algarve Cup The Algarve Cup is an invitational tournament for national teams in women's association football hosted by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). Held annually in the Algarve region of Portugal since 1994, it is one of the most prestigious and ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, he helped the team to a 2nd-place finish by scoring his fifth goal of the campaign in the team's 4–2 win against

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. In the Elite Round portion of qualification for the

, Tafer scored a double against

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

in the team's second group stage match. France finished the round unbeaten, which led to qualification to the UEFA-sanctioned tournament. At the tournament, Tafer led all players with four goals scored. He scored all of his goals in the group stage netting one against the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

, another one against

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, and two goals against

. France later reached the final where they were defeated 4–0 by Spain. Tafer finished the campaign with the under-17s appearing in 19 matches and scoring a team-high 11 goals. With the under-18 team, Tafer scored a team-leading seven goals in only eight matches. On 25 March 2009, he scored a

hat trick A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

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 a 4–3 victory. On 13 June, Tafer converted another hat trick, this time against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in a 4–2 victory. The match was played at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

in front of 15,000 spectators and the victory resulted in the team being presented the Fallenhero Trophy by

The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...

chairman

Trevor Brooking Sir Trevor David Brooking, (born 2 October 1948) is a former England international footballer, manager, pundit and football administrator; he now works as director of football development in England. He spent almost his entire career at West Ha ...

. For under-19 duty, Tafer was again called upon by

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

Francis Smerecki Francis Smerecki (25 July 1949 – 7 June 2018) was a French football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of foo ...

making his first appearance with the team at the 2009 edition of the Sendaï Cup. Beginning with the team's 2–1 victory over

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, Tafer scored a goal in four straight matches. On 7 June 2010, he was named to Smerecki's 18-man squad to participate in the

. In the tournament, he scored the opening goal in the team's 1–1 draw with

. The draw assured the club a place in the semi-final portion of the competition where France defeated

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

2–1. In the final, Tafer appeared as a halftime substitute and assisted on the team's opening goal scored by

Gilles Sunu Gilles Christ Sunu (born 30 March 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Championnat National club Châteauroux. He has featured for clubs such as Arsenal, Derby County, Lorient, Évian, and Angers. Born in France, Sunu r ...

. France had been trailing 1–0 prior to the equalizer. France won the match 2–1 following a late goal from Tafer's domestic teammate

Alexandre Lacazette Alexandre Lacazette (born 28 May 1991) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for and is the captain of club Lyon. He plays mainly as a striker but has also been deployed as a second striker and wide forward. Lacazette b ...

. The title is the country's second UEFA Under-19 championship. Due to France's victory at the UEFA Under-19 championship, the nation qualified for the

2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 18th FIFA U-20 World Cup. Colombia hosted the tournament between 29 July and 20 August 2011, with matches being played in eight cities. The tournament was won by Brazil who claimed their fifth title. At a FIFA ...

, which merited under-20 team appearances for Tafer. After missing the team's opening match of the season against

, he made his under-20 debut in the team's 1–0 win over

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

. On 17 May 2011, Tafer scored his first goal for the team in its 3–3 draw with the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

netting France's opening goal. In the return match two days later, he scored the game-winning goal in a 2–1 win. Tafer later participated in the

2011 Toulon Tournament The 2011 Toulon Tournament was the 39th edition of the Toulon Tournament and took place from 1 June to 10 June. Ivory Coast were the defending champions, but they failed to win a single match and were eliminated in the group stage. Colombia won ...

with the under-20 team and scored a goal in a 4–1 group stage win over

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. On 10 June, Tafer was named to the 21-man squad to participate in the U-20 World Cup. He made his debut in the competition on 30 July 2011 in the team's 4–1 defeat to the hosts

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

appearing as a substitute. Tafer is also eligible to represent

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

and

at international level.

Personal life

Yannis is the cousin of Aziz Tafer, who is a former professional footballer. Yannis cites his idols as former teammate and mentor

Karim Benzema Karim Mostafa Benzema (born 19 December 1987) is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker for and captains La Liga club Real Madrid. A creative and prolific forward, Benzema is regarded as one of the best strikers of all time. ...

and former Brazilian international

Ronaldo Ronaldo is a Portuguese given name equivalent to the English Ronald. It became a common name in all Portuguese-speaking countries, being also prevalent in Italy and Spanish-speaking countries. People Notable people known as Ronaldo include: As ...

Career statistics

Honours

Club

Lyon *

: 2011–12

International

France U19 *

UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship The UEFA European Under-19 Championship, or simply UEFA Under-19 Championship or the UEFA Euro U-19, is an annual football competition contested by the European men's under-19 national teams of the member associations of UEFA. Spain and England ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

France U20 *

FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 whe ...

fourth place:

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

Individual

UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship The UEFA European Under-17 Championship or simply UEFA Under-17 Championship, is an annual Association football, football competition contested by the European men's under-17 national teams of the member associations of UEFA. Spain national under ...

Top Scorer:

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

References

External links

Yannis Tafer profile
a
olweb.fr
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tafer, Yannis 1991 births Sportspeople from Grenoble French sportspeople of Algerian descent French people of Portuguese descent Living people French footballers France youth international footballers Association football forwards Olympique Lyonnais players Toulouse FC players FC Lausanne-Sport players FC St. Gallen players Étoile Sportive du Sahel players Neuchâtel Xamax FCS players Racing FC Union Luxembourg players Ligue 1 players Championnat National 2 players Swiss Super League players Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 players Luxembourg National Division players French expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Switzerland French expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Expatriate footballers in Tunisia French expatriate sportspeople in Tunisia Expatriate footballers in Luxembourg French expatriate sportspeople in Luxembourg Footballers from Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes