Frédéric Michel Piquionne (born 8 December 1978) is a French 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 lea ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

. Piquionne's former clubs are

Golden Star Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershir ...

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Located between the Med ...

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; Franco-Provençal: ''Sant-Etiève''), also written St. Etienne, is a city and the prefecture of the Loire département, in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regi ...

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

Doncaster Rovers Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system after winning the 202 ...

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Timbers have p ...

and Mumbai City. At international level, Piquionne played for the Martinique national team. He represented them in the run up to the

2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 12th CONCACAF Gold Cup competition and the 22nd CONCACAF regional championship overall in CONCACAF's fifty years of existence. The United States was the host nation. The competition began on July 7, 2013, at the ...

and was named in the

2012 Caribbean Cup The 2012 Caribbean Cup was the 17th edition of the Caribbean Cup, an international football competition for national teams of member nations affiliated with the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) of the CONCACAF region. The final stage was hosted by ...

squad. He also played once for

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in a friendly against

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

in 2007.

Early life

Piquionne was born in

Nouméa Nouméa () is the capital and largest city of the French Sui generis collectivity, special collectivity of New Caledonia and is also the largest Francophone city in Oceania. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main i ...

, New Caledonia.

Club career

Early career

In 1995 at age 17, Piquionne played in the youth teams of

Paris FC Paris Football Club (French pronunciation: Help:IPA/French, aʁi futbol klœb, commonly referred to as Paris FC or simply PFC, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris, France. They will compete in Ligue ...

at Charenton. Not really convincing, he left the city to settle in Martinique, in Fort-de-France. There, he played football in the Division d'Honneur for amateur club

and then joined JS Morne Blanc. For three years he worked as a shoe salesman in a store located in downtown

Fort-de-France Fort-de-France (, , ; ) is a Communes of France, commune and the capital city of Martinique, an overseas department and region of France located in the Caribbean. History Before it was ceded to France by Spain in 1635, the area of Fort-de-Fra ...

. However, his impressive performances encouraged his coach Jules Eustache (a former intern at the National Institute of Football and professional footballer) to direct him towards

. The club recruited him during the summer of 2000 and offered him his first professional contract. During the following summer and after an excellent season in

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...

with Nîmes, he caught the eye of

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

. The first time he played in the French first division was 28 July 2001 against

Auxerre Auxerre ( , , Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Auchoirre'') is the capital (Prefectures in France, prefecture) of the Yonne Departments of France, department and the fourth-largest city in the Burgundy historical region southeast of Par ...

(0–5). In his first season in the first division, Piquionne scored 3 goals in 20 matches. In his second season, 2002–03, he scored ten goals under the coaching of

Vahid Halilhodžić Vahid Halilhodžić (; born 15 May 1952) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player. He is regarded as one of the most controversially successful Bosnian football managers, due to his successful tenure in coaching various nation ...

. New coach

László Bölöni Ladislau "Loți" Iosif Bölöni (; born 11 March 1953) is a Romanian professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player. After starting out at ASA Târgu Mureș (1962), ASA Târgu Mureș, Böl� ...

then arrived, and the rapport between them was poor, ending the 2003–04 season less than satisfactorily.

Saint-Étienne

Newly promoted club

were interested in him, and he did not have any hesitation accepting the chance to play for this new team. In the summer of 2004,

Élie Baup Élie Baup (; born 17 March 1955) is a French football manager and a former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. His last post was the manager of Ligue 1 side Marseille. Managerial career 1994–2009 As the club manager of Bordeaux, Baup won ...

was hired as manager and brought in Piquionne on a five-year deal. He wore the number 9, "a number that gives responsibilities" according to his coach. Immediately, Piquionne was appreciated by the club's supporters, and finished the season with 11 goals, the highest total of his career and the club finished in sixth place. The 2005–06 season was much more difficult. Piquionne remained as an undisputed starter but his performance in front of goal was lacking. He scored only 6 goals in 34 games and the club finished in the lower half of the table. After this second season, he had a more productive 2006–07 season, scoring six goals and six assists in the first half of the season. He also received two more red cards and missed a total of four games in 19 days. He partnered the Brazilian

Ilan Ilan may refer to: Organization *ILAN, Israeli umbrella organization for the treatment of disabled children Given name *Ilan (name), a Hebrew/Israeli name *Ilan Bakhar, a retired Israeli footballer *Ilan Araújo Dall'Igna, a Brazilian footballer ...

up front. Piquionne was under contract with Saint-Étienne until June 2009. However, following his excellent performance, many European clubs were on alert, including

, who allegedly promised to triple his salary at that time. An offer of €5.5 million by the club Lyon bid to sign him was considered "ridiculous" by Bernard Caiazzo. Caiazzo refused to let the player depart to a local rival. Piquionne then declared that he was being "treated like a slave" by Caiazzo. Eventually, Lyon signed

Milan Baroš Milan Baroš (; born 28 October 1981) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a forward. In 2005, he was part of the Liverpool team which won the UEFA Champions League. He went on to win Ligue 1 with Lyon in 2007, the FA Cup w ...

instead, but after all that was said, Piquionne said that he was ready to retire if the club refused to transfer him. His time at Saint-Étienne ended with an altercation with a supporter who criticised him for attending a Lyon match. Piquionne assaulted him, leaving him with a broken nose. Piquionne was sentenced to a €1,500 and also ordered to pay the same to the victim. Despite being disliked by fans, coach

Ivan Hašek Ivan Hašek (born 6 September 1963) is a Czech professional football coach and former player who currently manages the Czech national football team. Hašek played as a central midfielder and spent a 11-year career with Sparta Prague, appearing ...

admitted that his team missed the striker.

Monaco and Lyon

On 31 January 2007, Piquionne moved to

on loan. The contract included an option to purchase, valued at €6 million. On 3 February 2007, he played his first Ligue 1 match for Monaco, against Auxerre. At the end of the season, Monaco remained in Ligue 1 and despite his disappointing performances, they exercised their buyout clause. On 10 November 2007, he played his 200th match in Ligue 1, against Strasbourg at the Stade Louis-II (3-0). On 29 July 2008, after a friendly match at Annecy, Piquionne signed a four-year deal for €4.5 million with Lyon. He wore the number 39 shirt and scored his first goal in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

against

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Florence, Tuscany. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while ...

Portsmouth

On 5 August 2009, it was confirmed that Piquionne would join English

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

on a season-long loan. On his Pompey debut, against

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

Fratton Park Fratton Park is a association football, football ground in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, and is the home of Portsmouth F.C., Portsmouth Football Club. Fratton Park's location on Portsea Island is unique in English professional football, as it ...

in a friendly, he scored two goals in a 2–0 win. Piquionne made his first Premier League start for Portsmouth on 15 August 2009, a 0–1 loss to

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

on the first day of the season. His first competitive goal for Portsmouth came in a 4–1 League Cup win against

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...

on 25 August 2009. He scored his first Premier League goal four days later in another 4–0 win, this time at home to

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

. Piquionne scored 11 goals in all competitions during his stint at Portsmouth, including scoring two goals against

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

to ensure Portsmouth progressed to the FA Cup semi-finals. On 11 April 2010, Piquionne scored the first goal in a 2–0 win over

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

to send Portsmouth into the

FA Cup final The FA Cup Final is the last match in the FA Cup, Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the List of sports attendance figures, most attended domestic football events in the world, with an official attendance of 89,472 ...

for the second time in three seasons. His goalscoring form at Portsmouth led Piquionne to feel as though he had finally found his feet in English football despite enduring a patchy start to his Premier League career.

West Ham United

On 16 July 2010, Piquionne joined

, managed by his former manager at Portsmouth,

Avram Grant Avraham "Avram" Grant (; né Granat; born ) is an Israeli professional football manager who currently manages the Zambia national football team. He has spent the majority of his career coaching and managing in Israel, winning a number of nati ...

, for a €1.2 million transfer fee and a €450,000 bonus. He signed a three-year contract, becoming West Ham's third summer signing. He made his Premier League debut with West Ham on 14 August in a 3–0 loss to

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

, coming on as a second-half substitute for

Radoslav Kováč Radoslav Kováč (; born 27 November 1979) is a Czech Republic, Czech Association football, football manager and former player. He is the manager of FC Slovan Liberec, Slovan Liberec. Kováč played both in Midfielder, midfield and in Defender ( ...

. He scored his first goal for West Ham in a 2–1 win against

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

in the third round of the League Cup at the

Stadium of Light The Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England, and the eighth and current home to Sunderland. With space for 49,000 spectators, the Stadium of Light is the ninth largest football stadium in England. The ...

on 21 September 2010. He scored his first Premier League goal for West Ham in a 1–0 win against local rivals Tottenham on 25 September 2010. This goal was also the 10,000th goal scored in the Premier League with a

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

-manufactured football. On 22 January 2011, Piquionne was sent off in a vital Premier League game against Everton for jumping into the crowd after scoring to put ''the Hammers'' 2–1 up in the 86th minute; Everton later scored to draw the match 2–2. West Ham were relegated to the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

at the end of the season.

Doncaster Rovers

On 6 March 2012, Piquionne was loaned by West Ham to fellow Championship club

on an initial one-month loan. On the same day, he made his debut in a 2–1 away win against

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

, scoring his first goal with a 30-yard shot to put Rovers 1–0 ahead. He played eight games for Doncaster, scoring two goals and at the end of the season returned to West Ham as Doncaster were relegated to League One.

Portland Timbers

Piquionne left England to join

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

(MLS) team

in the United States. He signed a one-year contract on 28 February 2013. Piquionne made his debut for Portland on 16 March 2013, coming on as a substitute against rivals

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The club was established on ...

CenturyLink Field Lumen Field is a multi-purpose stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. Located in the city's SoDo neighborhood, it is the home field for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL), Seattle Sounders FC of Major League ...

. On 29 May 2013, he scored four goals in the first half of a

US Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

match against the

USL Pro The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) as its premier league for men above USL League One. Operating under a f ...

team

Wilmington Hammerheads Wilmington Hammerheads FC was a semi-professional American soccer team based in Wilmington, North Carolina. Founded in 1996, the team last competed in the Premier Development League, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid in 2017. Histor ...

. He re-signed for the Timbers on 7 January 2014, but was waived from the team's roster on 13 May 2014.

Creteil

On 4 August 2014, Piquionne returned to France to sign with

Créteil Créteil () is a Communes of France, commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. Créteil is the ''préfecture'' (capital) of the Val-de-Marne Departments of France, dep ...

in Ligue 2 for the 2014–15 season.

Mumbai City

In July 2015,

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is a professional association football league in India and the highest level of the Indian football league system. Administered by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner Football Sport ...

club Mumbai City confirmed the signing of Piquionne for the upcoming season. The club, then managed by

Peter Reid Peter Reid (born 20 June 1956) is an English football manager, pundit and former player. A defensive midfielder in his playing days, Reid enjoyed a long and successful career. He built his reputation as one of England's brightest midfield tale ...

, had also signed Cristian Bustos and Frantz Bertin, and featured

Nicolas Anelka Nicolas Sébastien Anelka (born 14 March 1979) is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a Forward (association football), forward. As a player, he regularly featur ...

as player-coach. He scored three goals in his 12 appearances for the club.

International career

Instead of representing

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

member

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...

, Piquionne represented

. He may have been called during the

2003 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification CFU qualifying tournament Preliminary round ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- First round Group A ---- ---- Group B ---- ---- Group C ---- ---- Group D ---- ---- Final round Group A ---- ...

but he did not play the final tournament. As Martinique is not a member of FIFA, he was eligible to play for

for whom he was called up in a squad to play

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

on 24 March 2007 in a Euro 2008 qualifying match, but did not play. He made his international debut for France in a friendly against

on 28 March 2007, coming on as a substitute in the 78th minute for

Abou Diaby Vassiriki Abou Diaby (born 11 May 1986), known as Abou Diaby, is a French former professional footballer. He played primarily in a box to box role, adept at both attacking and defending, and was described as a player who was "languid, elusiv ...

at the

Stade de France Stade de France (, ) is the national stadium of France, located just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, Saint-Denis. Its seating capacity of 80,698 makes it the List of football stadiums in France, largest stadium i ...

. He played for France B against

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

in August 2007, but never represented the senior team again. Piquionne also represented Martinique at the

, where he scored in the nation's opening game, a 1–0 victory over

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. In total, he played five matches and scored two goals in the tournament.

International goals

:''Scores and results list Martinique's goal tally first.''

Coaching career

Following his departure from Mumbai City and retirement from playing, Piquionne returned to Creteil as a coach in January 2016. In November 2021, he was appointed as assistant at

FA Women's Super League The Women's Super League (WSL), also known as the Barclays Women's Super League for sponsorship reasons, and formerly the FA WSL, is a professional association football league and the highest level of women's football in England. Currently oper ...

side Everton. In February 2022, he left the club following the sacking of Jean-Luc Vasseur.

After football

He worked as a pundit for

Canal+ Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...

during the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

Honours

Portsmouth *

runner-up: 2009–10

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Piquionne, Frederic 1978 births Living people Sportspeople from Nouméa French men's footballers Martiniquais men's footballers New Caledonian men's footballers Men's association football forwards AS Monaco FC players AS Saint-Étienne players Stade Rennais FC players Nîmes Olympique players Olympique Lyonnais players Portsmouth F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Doncaster Rovers F.C. players Portland Timbers players US Créteil-Lusitanos players Mumbai City FC players Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players Premier League players English Football League players Major League Soccer players France men's international footballers Martinique men's international footballers 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Indian Super League players French expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in India Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States French expatriate sportspeople in England French expatriate sportspeople in India French expatriate sportspeople in the United States French people of Martiniquais descent Dual internationalists (men's football) French football coaches