Guillaume Hoarau
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 5 March 1984 | ||
| Place of birth | Saint-Louis, Réunion, France | ||
| Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Paris Saint-Germain | ||
| Number | 9 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1994–2004 | Saint-Pierroise | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2004–2008 | Le Havre | 81 | (33) |
| 2006–2007 | → Gueugnon (loan) | 21 | (8) |
| 2008– | Paris Saint-Germain | 145 | (52) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2010– | France | 5 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 29 January 2012. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Guillaume Hoarau (born 5 March 1984 in Saint-Louis, Réunion) is a French football player who plays for French club Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1. He is noted for his imposing height standing at 6 ft 3.5 in (1.92 m) and his prolific goal-scoring.[1]
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[edit] Club career
[edit] Early career
Hoarau started his football career at JS Saint-Pierroise in his native Réunion. In 1995, Le Havre AC scouts considered him too "thin" and signed his then-teammate Florent Sinama-Pongolle. After gaining the attention of then-Le Havre manager Jean-François Domergue, Hoarau signed his first professional contract at the age of 20 for Le Havre AC in January 2004.[2] He made his league debut on 12 May 2004 against LB Châteauroux in a 1–2 loss coming on as a substitute.[3]
Despite being signed, Hoarau spent the majority of his career under Domergue playing in the reserves often earning call ups to the senior squad, but then quickly getting sent back down.[4] He registered his first career goal in just the second match of the 2004–05 season in a 2–1 victory over Amiens.[5] Despite this, his play was heavily limited following the firing of Domergue and the appointment of temporary manager Philippe Hinschberger. The following season under new manager Thierry Uvenard, his playing time increased. He appeared in 28 matches scoring 5 goals. The next season, he only made 5 appearances for Le Havre before being sent on loan to FC Gueugnon where he made 21 appearances and scored 8 goals.
[edit] Ligue 2 star
Under new manager Jean-Marc Nobilo, his 4th different manager in four years, Hoarau was installed as the lead striker and flourished. Playing in all 38 league matches, he was top scorer scoring 28 goals and, at one point during the season, scored at least one goal in 12 straight matches.[6] His performances led to the French media naming him the "Karim Benzema of Ligue 2" as Benzema was having a similar season in Ligue 1.[4] His performances caught the eye of several Ligue 1 clubs, such as Auxerre, Marseille, and Paris Saint-Germain to name a few, and English clubs Arsenal, Blackburn Rovers, and Chelsea,[7] who likened the player to Peter Crouch. Eventually, it was announced in January 2008 that Hoarau had signed with Parisian club Paris Saint-Germain on a four-year deal after reportedly snubbing the club's primary rival Olympique de Marseille.[8] PSG paid Le Havre fee of €500,000 and also allowed the player to finish the Ligue 2 season with his former club, whom he helped achieve promotion to Ligue 1.
[edit] Paris Saint-Germain
Hoarau arrived in Paris following the Ligue 2 season with high expectations as he was expected to replace club legend Pauleta and live up to comments made by former president Alain Cayzac, who referred to Hoarau as being the "signing of the century" for Paris Saint-Germain.[1]
He made his debut for Paris Saint-Germain in a 1–0 defeat at Monaco on 9 August 2008. After going scoreless the first week, Hoarau responded in the second week scoring his first goal for the club on his home debut in a 1–0 victory over Bordeaux.[9] His breakthrough into the team came in the annual Classique against rivals Marseille on 26 October 2008. In a huge 4–2 victory for the club, Hoarau scored a brace.[10] He followed this up by scoring another brace, this time against his former club Le Havre in a 3–1 victory.[11] His next set of goals were against Le Mans earning another brace in another 3–1 victory.[12] Hoarau also continued his solid form on the European stage scoring a brace in the club's first leg match against VfL Wolfsburg on 18 February 2009 in the UEFA Cup.[13] In total for the season, Hoarau made 45 appearances, 32 in league play, and scored 20 goals, 17 in league play, contributing to the club's successful season where they reached as high as the 2nd position in the league and made it to the UEFA Cup quarterfinals.
Due to his great performances, Hoarau was linked to several clubs, most notably Olympique Lyonnais, who offered €10 million for the player's services.[14] However, both Hoarau and Paris Saint-Germain downplayed the offer and, two days later, Hoarau signed a contract extension until 2013.[15]
Following his successful first season in Paris, Hoarau has struggled to reproduce the same kind of form. The arrival of a new striker in the form of Mevlut Erding failed to ignite a successful partnership, both players being often injured and profligate in front of goal whenever they managed to play. Since the signing of new striker Kevin Gameiro in the summer of 2011, both Hoarau and Erding have been relegated to the substitutes' bench, and the former suffered a serious injury on the very first day of the 2011-12 season.
[edit] International career
On 23 March 2009, Hoarau was called up to the France national team to replace injured Nicolas Anelka.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Hoarau prend le Paris
- ^ http://www.20minutes.fr/article/267034/Sport-Guillaume-Hoarau-itineraire-d-un-grand-garcon-pas-forcement-gate.php
- ^ Châteauroux v. Le Havre Match Report
- ^ a b Haro sur Hoarau le phénomène
- ^ Amiens v. Le Havre Match Report
- ^ Les buts de GUILLAUME HOARAU
- ^ Hoarau a signé au PSG
- ^ Guillaume Hoarau snobe Marseille et signe au PSG
- ^ PSG v. Bordeaux Match Report
- ^ Marseille v. PSG Match Report
- ^ Le Havre v. PSG Match Report
- ^ PSG v. Le Mans Match Report
- ^ PSG v. Wolfsburg Match Report
- ^ Lyon a fait une offre pour Hoarau
- ^ Guillaume Hoarau prolonge jusqu’en 2013
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Guillaume Hoarau |
- Guillaume Hoarau French league stats at LFP.fr (French)
- PSG Profile
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