Youl Alidor Mawéné (born 16 July 1979) is 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 football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
coach and former professional player who is the strength and conditioning coach at Salford City.
Club career
Early career in France
Born in
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, to a Congolese father, Mawéné started his career at Lens. He featured in the Lens side that reached the semi-finals of the
1999–2000 UEFA Cup
The 1999–2000 UEFA Cup season was the 29th edition of the UEFA Cup competition. The final took place at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen and was won by Galatasaray, who defeated Arsenal in the final. The game was scoreless through the first ninety ...
. However, Mawéné made only one appearance in the competition, the semi-final first leg defeat at Highbury against
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
, and just six more appearances in the league.
Move to England
In the summer of 2000, he signed for Derby County for a fee of £500,000. He played 60 games for the Rams, scoring one goal against Southampton. In the 2003–04 season, he was Derby's Player of the Season.
In the summer of 2004, at the end of his contract with Derby, Mawéné moved to
Preston North End
Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...
on a free transfer. This was despite a bid from Championship rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers, for whom he had played three trial games during that summer. An ever-present in his debut season, he formed a strong partnership with
Chris Lucketti
Christopher James Lucketti (born 28 September 1971) is an English football manager and former professional player, who is assistant manager of Bradford City.
He played as a central defender. In a playing career of over 600 games, Lucketti be ...
. His good form that year was rewarded with the Player of the Season award. In the 2005–06 season, he formed another strong partnership with Claude Davis as Preston reached the play-offs for the second season in a row. In the 2008–09 season, Mawéné had another partnership with
Sean St Ledger
Sean Patrick St Ledger-Hall (born 28 December 1984) is a former professional footballer who played as a defender. Born in England, he played international football for the Republic of Ireland.
He was part of the team that lost controversially ...
and occasionally
Liam Chilvers
Liam Christopher Chilvers (born 6 November 1981) is an English former footballer who played as a centre back.
A graduate of the Arsenal Academy, he won the FA Youth Cup with the club in 2000. After turning professional he spent four weeks of t ...
, helping Preston to, again, reach the play-offs. Mawéné tore
cruciate
Cruciate, and similar words, can mean:
*The cruciate ligaments in the knee
*For a magic spell in the Harry Potter scenario, see crucio
*Latin and early-English word for crusade
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supporte ...
and medial knee ligaments in a pre-season match against
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
at Deepdale and missed the entire 2006–07 season. Pronounced fit in June 2007, he returned to the first team, with only suspensions and a brief spell on the sidelines around Christmas time preventing him from being an ever present in the side, making 42 appearances in the season.
Move to Greece; then Scotland
On 7 July 2010, Mawéné could not agree contract terms with
Preston North End
Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...
, after they only offered him a one-year deal, when he wanted a two-year deal. On 6 August 2010, it was confirmed that Mawéné had signed a one-year contract, with newly promoted Greek side
Panserraikos
Panserraikos Football Club ( el, Πανσερραϊκός 1964), the ''All-Serres Football Club'', is a Greece, Greek Association football, football club based in Serres in Central Macedonia, Greece. Panserraikos is one of the most important and ...
, bringing an end to his 10 years in English football.
On 3 June 2011, Mawéné signed a pre-contract agreement to move to Aberdeen on a free transfer, where he played under his former Preston manager, Craig Brown. He made his debut against
St Johnstone
St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an old ...
in the opening game of the season. Near the end of the 2011–12 season, Mawene was advised that his contract with Aberdeen would not be extended.
Return to England
In July 2012, he began a trial with
League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
Morecambe
Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea.
Name
The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...
on trial, he featured in Morecambe's 2–0 pre-season victory over his former team
Preston North End
Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...
. On 27 July 2012, he signed for League Two newcomers
Fleetwood Town
Fleetwood Town Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Fleetwood, Lancashire. Established in 1997, the current Fleetwood Town F.C. is the fourth incarnation of the club; it was originally formed in ...
. It was announced on 7 May 2013, that Mawéné would not be offered a new contract at Fleetwood, but would stay at the club as a
fitness coach
A personal trainer is an individual who creates and delivers safe and effective exercise programs for apparently healthy individuals and groups, or those with medical clearance to exercise. They motivate clients by collaborating to set goals, p ...
, a role he conducted towards the end of the 2012/13 season.
Personal life
Youl's younger brother, Samy, is also a retired footballer while son
Noah
Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5– ...
is a current player for Preston North End . His younger son Theo is a youth player at Preston.