Mickaël Antoine-Curier

Mickaël Antoine-Curier
Personal information
Full name Mickaël Antoine-Curier
Date of birth (1983-03-05) 5 March 1983
Place of birth Orsay, France
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current team
 Union SG
Number 9
Youth career
Paris Saint-Germain
Nice
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001 Preston North End 0 (0)
2001–2003 Nottingham Forest 0 (0)
2003 → Brentford (loan) 11 (3)
2003 Oldham Athletic 8 (2)
2003 Kidderminster Harriers 1 (0)
2003 Rochdale 8 (1)
2003–2004 Sheffield Wednesday 1 (0)
2004 Notts County 4 (1)
2004 Grimsby Town 5 (0)
2004–2006 Vard Haugesund 37 (33)
2006–2007 FK Haugesund 39 (15)
2007–2008 Hibernian 13 (3)
2008 → Dundee (loan) 11 (8)
2008–2010 Dundee 32 (14)
2009–2010 → Hamilton Academical (loan) 26 (7)
2011 Hamilton Academical 14 (5)
2011 Ermis Aradippou 0 (0)
2011 Ethnikos Achnas 8 (0)
2012–2013 Felda United 20 (13)
2013 FC Atyrau 13 (0)
2013–2015 Hamilton Academical 51 (20)
2015 Burton Albion 5 (0)
2015–2016 Dunfermline Athletic 9 (2)
2016– Union SG 1 (0)
National team‡
2008– Guadeloupe 16 (9)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 06:00, 9 July 2016 (UTC).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 7 December 2010

Mickaël Antoine-Curier (born 5 March 1983) is a professional footballer who plays for Belgian club Union SG and the Guadeloupe national team as a striker.

At club level, he has previously played in seven different countries: in France as a youngster for Paris Saint-Germain and Nice; in England for Preston North End and Nottingham Forest at youth level and for Brentford, Oldham Athletic, Kidderminster Harriers, Rochdale, Sheffield Wednesday, Notts County, Grimsby Town and Burton Albion at senior level; in Norway for Vard Haugesund and FK Haugesund; in Scotland for Hibernian, Dundee, Hamilton Academical and Dunfermline Athletic; in Cyprus for Ethnikos Achnas; in Malaysia for Felda United F.C.; and in Kazakhstan for FC Atyrau.

At international level, he has played for Guadeloupe in the Caribbean Cup and the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Club career

England

Antoine-Curier began his career as a youth in France with Paris Saint-Germain and Nice.[1] Eager to play in the United Kingdom, he signed for Preston North End and then Nottingham Forest as a youth. He initially played academy football, finish top scorer for the Forest academy team with 22 goals in 19 games. He won the trophy for the academy player of the year and was selected as man of the match of the Charity Vase final by Brian Clough, but he never made it for the first team. During the 2002–03 season, the Forest manager Paul Hart loaned him out to Brentford, where he made 11 starts, scoring three goals. This included a brace in an important 2–0 victory at Chesterfield.

He came to prominence at the start of the 2003–04 season in the third tier of English football, having signed for Oldham Athletic. He grabbed his first cup goal in a 2–1 defeat at Scunthorpe United, then scored his first league goal for the "Latics" four days later in a 2–2 draw at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough Stadium. He grabbed another goal in a 3–2 home defeat to Blackpool the following week. He made a total of six starts and three substitute appearances for the Boundary Park club, scoring three goals, before being released.

Antoine-Curier then joined Kidderminster Harriers, before joining Rochdale on a non-contract basis. He made five starts and five substitute appearances for Rochdale, scoring on his debut in a 1–1 draw at Lincoln City. He then left Rochdale to join Sheffield Wednesday, a club he had scored against earlier on in the season. He made just one substitute appearance for Wednesday, in a 0–0 draw against Luton Town at Hillsborough.

He then joined Notts County, where he made four starts, scoring in a 3–1 win over Grimsby Town, whom he signed for shortly afterwards. He also made five appearances for Grimsby, but could not score. Both Grimsby and Notts County were relegated at the end of the season.

Norway

After an unsettled time in the UK, Curier joined Norwegian First Division side Vard Haugesund in 2004. In his first season he scored seven goals in 16 appearances, but the club was relegated. He scored 27 goals in 21 games in the 2005 season, winning the Norwegian golden boot and the Norwegian Second Division player of the year award. He then transferred to FK Haugesund, and scored eight goals in 24 appearances in the 2006 season and seven goals in 15 appearances in the 2007 season. His time at Norway was a positive one, where he was nicknamed as Batigol and David Trezeguet.[2]

Scotland

Antoine-Curier was invited by manager John Collins to Scottish Premier League side Hibernian for a trial period in 2007.[3] He starred in a friendly match against First Division side Livingston, scoring four goals in a 5–2 victory.[3] FK Haugesund captain Kevin Nicol, a former Hibernian player, was full of praise for Antoine-Curier, expressing his belief that the French striker "would do really well" if he was signed by Hibs.[4] Curier signed a one-year contract with Hibernian, who paid FK Haugesund a nominal transfer fee, on 31 August 2007.[3] Antoine-Curier scored against Motherwell in the Scottish League Cup and Kilmarnock in the SPL. Despite scoring four goals in nine appearances, Antoine-Curier fell out of favour after Hibs signed Colin Nish.

Curier was loaned by Hibs to Dundee in January 2008.[5] Curier scored six goals in his first four Dundee appearances, including a hat-trick in a 6–1 win over Stirling Albion. On 7 May 2008, Curier signed a three-year deal with Dundee.[5]

Dundee loaned out Antoine-Curier at the end of the 2009 summer transfer window to SPL side Hamilton Academical. Antoine-Curier made his debut against Hibernian in the SPL and marked it with a goal after 12 minutes. On 15 October 2010, Antoine-Curier had his contract terminated by Dundee, a victim of the club entering administration.[6] On 11 January 2011, following a battle with injury, Antoine-Curier re-signed for Hamilton until the end of the season.[7]

Cyrprus and further afield

In July 2011 he signed a two-year deal with Cypriot side Ermis Aradippou,[8] however his contract was terminated due to financial difficulties at the club and he joined Ermis’ former president and a host of the club’s former players at Ethnikos Achnas in August, just days before the 2011–12 season.[9]

In April 2012, he joined Felda United FC with his fellow countryman Eddy Viator.[10] He made his league debut on 8 April 2012, scoring a goal in a 2–0 home win over Kedah FA.[11]

In February 2013, Antoine-Curier joined Kazakhstan Premier League club FC Atyrau. However, his time in Kazakhstan was overshadowed where he was an outcast by his team-mates, spat on by opposing fans and refused accommodation because of the colour of his skin.[12] However, the manager at the time, Miodrag Radulović, denies Antoine-Curier, claiming "he never told me these things while in Atyrau FC."[13]

Return to the UK

He re-signed for Hamilton in August 2013.[14] In the Scottish League Cup, Antoine-Curier scored his first goal, in a 1–0 win over Kilmarnock.[15] After scoring nine goals in the league, Antoine-Curier scored four goals for the first time in his professional career, as Hamilton thrash 10–2 against Greenock Morton on the last game of the season. However, the win did not guarantee automatic promotion to Scottish Premiership after his former club, Dundee, won at the same day.[16] After the match, Antoine-Curier expressed disappointment not to become Champions, though the scoreline showed Hamilton's desire to reach the Scottish Premiership.[17] Antoine-Curier was released from his contract at Hamilton on 2 February 2015, by mutual consent.[18]

Antoine-Curier joined Burton Albion on 18 February 2015, until the end of the 2014–15 season.[19] Antoine-Curier made his Burton Albion debut, where he came on as a substitute for Stuart Beavon in the 88th minutes, in a 3–1 win over Dagenham & Redbridge on 21 February 2015.[20] Following Burton Albion's promotion to League One, Antoine-Curier was released after making five appearance.[21]

In August 2015, Antoine-Curer had a trial with Scottish League One team Dunfermline Athletic,[22] subsequently signing for the Scottish League One side in September 2015.[23] Chances with the Pars, however, were limited and after only four months with the club, Antoine-Curier was released.[24] Following his release by the Pars, Antoine-Curier subsequently signed for Belgian Second Division side Royale Union Saint-Gilloise on an 18-month contract.[25]

International career

Curier was selected by Guadeloupe for the Caribbean Cup 2008, scoring 6 goals in 8 games. He also participated in the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup for Guadeloupe, in which they reached the quarter finals.

Career statistics

As of 5 December 2015[26][27]
Club statistics
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Preston North End 2000–01 Football League First Division 0000000000
Nottingham Forest 2001–02 0000000000
2002–03 0000000000
Brentford (loan) 2002–03 Football League Second Division 113000000113
Oldham Athletic 2003–04 8200110093
Kidderminster Harriers 2003–04 Football League Third Division 1000000010
Rochdale 81001010101
Sheffield Wednesday 2003–04 Football League Second Division 1000000010
Notts County 4100000041
Grimsby Town 2003–04 5000000050
Vard Haugesund 2004 Norwegian First Division 9500000095
2005 2. Divisjon 28280000002828
Total 37330000003733
FK Haugesund 2006 Norwegian First Division 248000000248
2007 157000000157
Total 39150000003915
Hibernian 2007–08 Scottish Premier League 133101100154
Dundee 2007–08[28] Scottish First Division 118000000118
2008–09 32141010003414
2009–10 0000121123
Total 43221022114725
Hamilton Academical 2009–10[28] Scottish Premier League 267210000288
2010–11 134110000145
Total 39113200004213
Ermis Aradippou 2011–12 Cypriot First Division 0000000000
Ethnikos Achna 8000000080
Felda United 2012 Malaysia Super League 20130000002013
FC Atyrau 2013 Kazakhstan Premier League 130000000130
Hamilton Academical 2013–14 Scottish Championship 29121021403613
2014–15 Scottish Premiership 228102000258
Total 51202041406221
Burton Albion 2014–15 Football League Two 5000000050
Dunfermline Athletic 2015–16 Scottish League One 9200000092
Career Total 315126729561337134

References

  1. ↑ "Tricard sans frontières". B.World Connection (in French). 6 June 2007. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
  2. ↑ "In Norway, they called me Batigol or Trezegol" [En Norvège, on m'appelait Batigol ou Trezegol] (in French). So Foot. 2 January 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 "Hibs sign striker Antoine-Curier". BBC Sport. BBC. 31 August 2007. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
  4. ↑ "Kev's undercover role for Collins". www.scotsman.com. Johnston Publishing. 2 August 2007. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  5. 1 2 "Antoine-Curier agrees Dundee deal". BBC Sport. 7 May 2008. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
  6. ↑ Spence, Jim (15 October 2010). "Dundee given 50–50 survival chance by administrator". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  7. ↑ "Forward Antoine-Curier signs short Hamilton Accies deal". BBC Sport. 11 January 2011. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
  8. ↑ "Accies striker joins Ermis". Sky Sports. 14 July 2011. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
  9. ↑ "Antoine-Curier changes club". The Scottish Football League. 21 September 2011. Archived from the original on 30 August 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  10. ↑ "FELDA United pikat Courier Viator" [FELDA United pikat Curier, Viator] (in Malaysian). Online BHarian. 4 May 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  11. ↑ "Felda United 2–0 Kedah FA: Canaries taught a lesson on keeping football simple". Yahoo! News. 8 April 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  12. ↑ "Hamilton star Mickael Antoine-Curier's Kazakh hell". Scottish Daily Express. 29 August 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  13. ↑ "FC Atyrau coach responds to Kazakh racism allegations from black player". Ak Zhakik. 3 October 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  14. ↑ "Return of the MAC". Hamilton Official Website. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  15. ↑ "Kilmarnock 0 Hamilton 1: High-flying Accies pile more misery on Killie with League Cup win". Daily Record. 27 August 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  16. ↑ "Hamilton Academical 10 – 2 Greenock Morton". BBC Sport. 3 May 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  17. ↑ "Striker Mickael Antoine Curier says hammering of Morton showed Hamilton's desire to reach Premiership". Daily Record. 9 May 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  18. ↑ "Mickael Antoine-Curier". Hamilton Academical F.C. 2 February 2015. Archived from the original on 3 February 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  19. ↑ "Mickael Antoine-Curier: Burton Albion sign ex-Hamilton striker". BBC Sport. 18 February 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  20. ↑ "Dagenham & Redbridge 1 - 3 Burton Albion". BBC Sport. 21 February 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
  21. ↑ "END OF SEASON RETAINED LIST". Burton Albion F.C. 5 May 2015. Archived from the original on 5 May 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
  22. ↑ "Manager on Thursday". dafc.co.uk. 13 August 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  23. ↑ "Mickaël Antoine-Curier signs". dafc.co.uk. 5 September 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  24. ↑ "Mickaël Antoine-Curier". dafc.co.uk. 22 January 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  25. ↑ "Antoine-Curier: arrivée" (in French). rusg.be. 22 January 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  26. ↑ Mickaël Antoine-Curier career statistics at Soccerbase
  27. ↑ "Antoine-Curier, Mickaël". national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  28. 1 2 on loan
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