Grégory Bettiol (born 30 March 1986) is a retired French

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 striker.

Career

Olympique Lyonnais

Born in

Villefranche-sur-Saône Villefranche-sur-Saône (, ; ) is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France. It lies 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the river Saône, and is around north of Lyon. The inhabitants of the town are called ''Caladois''. History Villefran ...

, Bettiol was trained in the youth sections and player development program of

Olympique Lyonnais Olympique Lyonnais (), commonly referred to as simply Lyon () or OL, is a French professional association football, football club based in Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. With origins dating back to 1899, they were founded in 1950 and p ...

from the age of 14. He was known by the club's followers for his prowess in the ranks of the

' junior ''amateur'' team, playing in the

CFA 2 The Championnat National 3, commonly referred to as simply National 3 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur 2, is a Association football, football league competition. The league serves as the fifth division of the French football ...

. In April 2006, it was announced by

' president

Jean-Michel Aulas Jean-Michel Antoine Aulas (; born 22 March 1949) is a French businessman. He is the founder of Cegid (Compagnie Européenne de Gestion par l'Informatique Décentralisée), and from 1987 to 2023, he served as the president of French football club ...

that he would sign a one-year professional contract with the club alongside fellow young hope and France U-18 international Mourad Benhamida. He had scored 16 goals in 21 appearances at the attack for his side captained by Benhamida and helped them win the second division ''Amateur'' Championship to get promoted in the CFA. Bettiol was considered part of the young generation of promising players formed by

who were signed by the club (sometimes before being sold to other outfits) like

Jérémy Berthod Jérémy Berthod (born 24 April 1984) is a French former professional footballer who played as a left-back. He was the trainer of Ain Sud for the 2022-2023 season. Career Berthod was born in Tassin-la-Demi-Lune, Rhône. A product of the Olympi ...

Karim Benzema Karim Mostafa Benzema (born 19 December 1987) is a French professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for and Captain (association football), captains Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad Clu ...

Hatem Ben Arfa Hatem Ben Arfa (, ; born 7 March 1987) is a French former professional association football, footballer who played as a Midfielder#Winger, winger and attacking midfielder. Known for his flair and Dribbling#Association football, dribbling ability, ...

, Mourad Benhamida, Bryan Bergougnoux, and

Jérémy Clément Jérémy Clément (born 26 August 1984) is a French professional football manager and former player. Playing as a midfielder, he spent most of his career with two clubs, Paris Saint-Germain and Saint-Étienne. Playing career Though born in Bé ...

Troyes

Bettiol was sold to

Troyes AC Espérance Sportive Troyes Aube Champagne (ESTAC), commonly known as Troyes, is a football in France, French professional association football club based in Troyes that competes in Ligue 2. It plays its home matches at the Stade de l'Aube. Foun ...

at a fee of €330,000. He made his debut for Troyes in their 1–0 win over

Guingamp Guingamp (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. With a population of 7,115 as of 2020, Guingamp is one of the smallest towns in Europe to have a top-tier professional football team: En Avant Guin ...

coming on as a substitute. Bettiol scored his first goal on 24 August 2007 in Troyes' 2–0 win over

Bastia Bastia ( , , , ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. It is located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It also has the second-highest popu ...

Clermont Foot

On 30 January 2013, he signed a two and a half contract with

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 ...

club

Clermont Foot Clermont Foot 63 (Occitan: ''Clarmont d'Auvèrnhe''; commonly referred to as Clermont Foot) is a French professional football club based in Clermont-Ferrand, France. It competes in Ligue 2. The first incarnation of the club was formed in 1911 and ...

Honours

* Champion de France des réserves: 2006 *

Coupe Gambardella The Coupe Gambardella is a French football cup competition held between the under-18s of the French football clubs, organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). The cup is regarded as an opportunity for young hopefuls to showcase their s ...

finalist: 2005 * Champion de France 18 ans: 2005 *

Trophée des Champions The Trophée des Champions (, ) is a French association football trophy contested in an annual match between the champions of Ligue 1 and the winners of the Coupe de France. It is equivalent to the Super cup, super cups found in many other count ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bettiol, Gregory 1986 births Living people Sportspeople from Villefranche-sur-Saône Footballers from Rhône (department) French men's footballers Men's association football forwards Olympique Lyonnais players ES Troyes AC players Clermont Foot players Ligue 2 players 21st-century French sportsmen