Stéphane Sparagna

Stéphane Sparagna

Sparagna with France U20 at the Toulon Tournament
Personal information
Full name Stéphane Sparagna
Date of birth (1995-02-17) 17 February 1995
Place of birth Marseille, France[1]
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Playing position Defender, Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Auxerre (on loan from Marseille)
Number 4
Youth career
2002–2014 Marseille
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014– Marseille 12 (0)
2016– → Auxerre (loan) 14 (0)
National team‡
2014–2015 France U20 7 (2)
2015– France U21 1 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 29 November 2016.

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18 November 2015

Stéphane Sparagna (born 17 February 1995) is a French professional footballer who plays as a defender for Ligue 2 club Auxerre, on loan from Marseille, and the France U21 national football team. He is an academy graduate of Marseille and made his senior début for the club in August 2014, aged 19.

In the following year, Sparagna captained the France U20 team to victory in the Toulon Tournament, scoring the winning goal in the final in the process. He has since gone on to represent France at U21 level.

Club career

Marseille

Having joined Marseille's academy at the age of seven, Stéphane Sparagna spent his formative years developing his game at La Commanderie. His progression into the first team was halted in September 2013, however, when he was forced to undergo surgery following a meniscus injury to his right knee which ruled him out for several months.[2] Upon recovery, and following the appointment of former Argentina coach Marcelo Bielsa as manager, Sparagna made his noncompetitive début for Marseille alongside fellow academy graduate Jérémie Porsan-Clemente in a friendly clash with Benfica in July 2014.[3]

2014–15 season

He was handed his Ligue 1 début by Bielsa on the opening day of the 2014–15 season in a 3–3 draw with Bastia.[4] Sparagna started the match but was substituted at half-time for Brazilian Lucas Mendes with Marseille leading 2–1.[5] He went on to make three further appearances for the senior side during the campaign, amassing a total of 73 minutes of playing time as Marseille ended the season in fourth place.[6][7] At the end of the season Sparagna signed his first professional contract with l'OM,[8] ending months of speculation linking him with a Bosman move to Premier League club Arsenal. Having lost Mathieu Flamini to Arsenal on a Bosman deal in 2008, Marseille were prompt to conclude a new deal with Sparagna in order to avoid a repeat occurrence.[9]

2015–16 season

Sparagna featured prominently during the pre-season and started in Marseille's 2–0 win over Juventus in the annual Robert Louis-Dreyfus Trophy.[10] He made his first competitive appearance of the 2015–16 campaign in an opening day defeat to Caen where he was booked in the 82nd minute of the match for a foul on Herve Bazile.[11] On 17 September 2015 Sparagna made his Europa League début in a 3–0 win over Eredivisie side Groningen.[12] Exactly three months later he made his Coupe de la Ligue début in a 3–2 win over Ligue 2 side Bourg-en-Bresse. During the match Sparagna was booked and gave away two penalties, both of which were converted by Lakdar Boussaha.[13] Sparagna started the new year by making his Coupe de France début on 3 January 2016, coming on as a late substitute for the injured Paolo De Ceglie in a penalty shoot-out win over Caen.[14]

He was demoted to the reserve side soon thereafter by manager Míchel, who had replaced Bielsa early in the season, and made only one more senior appearance for the campaign.[15][16] Much of his absence in the second half of the season also came as a result of him suffering from glue ear, a condition which traps liquid behind the eardrum and affects hearing. Míchel confirmed that Sparagna had been suffering from the condition since the start of the season and had unsuccessfully undergone treatment in late 2015. In April he began a new cortisone treatment but was unable to return to the pitch for fear that he would fall short of doping regulations as a result of the medication.[17] Míchel later revealed that his reluctance to play Sparagna, despite the risks involved had he done so, ultimately contributed towards him being sacked by Vincent Labrune and Margarita Louis-Dreyfus, who at the time were the president and owner of the club respectively.[18] Sparagna ultimately made 15 appearances across all competitions as Marseille ended the season in 13th position in Ligue 1 and as runners-up in the Coupe de France.[19][20]

2016–17 season: Loan to Auxerre

Following his lack of game time in the campaign before, Sparagna admitted during the off-season that he was considering a short term move away from Marseille in order to continue his development.[16] On 24 July 2016, Ligue 2 side Auxerre announced that they had completed the signing of Sparagna on a season-long loan from Marseille.[21] No option of purchase was included in the deal.[22] He made his début for the club in their opening Ligue 2 game on 30 July 2016, playing the full 90 minutes in a 0–0 draw with Red Star.[23] On 19 August, Sparagna was sent off in the 92nd minute of a 1–0 loss to Clermont for committing a second bookable offense. It was the first time in his career that he had been dismissed at senior club level.[24][25] The Ligue 2 disciplinary committee later handed Sparagna a three-match ban for his indiscretions, included in which was a one-match suspended sentence.[26] On 21 October, Sparagna netted an own goal, the first of his career, in the 83rd minute of the match to hand Strasbourg a 2-1 win, having set up Gaëtan Courtet for Auxerre's equalizer just minutes before.[27]

International career

French national youth teams

On 7 June 2015 Sparagna captained the France U20 squad to victory in the 2015 edition of the annual Toulon Tournament, scoring the winning goal from a Romain Habran corner in the final against Morocco.[28] In doing so, he led France to their first victory in the tournament since 2008.[29][30] Prior to scoring in the final, Sparagna had also netted from a free-kick in a 3–1 win over the USA in the tournament's opening game.[31] Following his success at U20 level, he was awarded his début for France U21 on 15 November 2015 but was sent off for two bookable offences in a 2–2 draw with Macedonia.[32]

Style of play

Sparagna has been described as an athletic and combative centre-back, with his uncompromising approach to tackling drawing early comparisons to the likes of Sergio Ramos and Thiago Silva.[29] Marseille's former director for youth recruitment, Georges Prost, described him as a real competitor capable of controlled aggression and precision.[33]

Career statistics

Club

As of 29 November 2016
Appearances, goals and assists by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup1 League Cup2 Continental3 Other Total Ref.
League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Marseille 2014–15 Ligue 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 [34]
2015–16 8 0 1 0 2 0 4 00 0 15 0 [34]
AJ Auxerre (loan) 2016–17 Ligue 2 14 0 0 0 2 0 0 00 0 16 0 [35]
Career Total 26 0 1 0 4 0 4 0 0 0 35 0 —

1 Includes Coupe de France matches. 2 Includes Coupe de la Ligue matches. 3 Includes UEFA Europa League matches.

Honours

International

France U20

Personal life

On 10 May 2016, Sparagna took part in the second edition of the Marseille Live Poker Tournament, a tournament hosted by the club and broadcast in conjunction with online Poker giants, Winamax. He finished the tournament in 19th position, the highest of any of the Marseille players who took part.[36]

References

  1. 1 2 Haddouche, Karim (23 July 2014). "Stéphane Sparagna, la force tranquille". Olympique de Marseille (in French). Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  2. ↑ Haddouche, Karim (9 October 2013). "Nouvelles rassurantes pour Sparagna". Olympique de Marseille (in French). Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  3. ↑ Haddouche, Karim (23 July 2014). "Première pour Sparagna et Porsan-Clemente". Olympique de Marseille (in French). Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  4. ↑ Scott, A. (9 August 2014). "Bastia hold OM in battle of new coaches". Ligue 1. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  5. ↑ Laurens, Julian (August 12, 2014). "Bielsa fascinates on Marseille debut". ESPN. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  6. ↑ "Stephane Sparagna". Ligue 1. 23 November 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  7. ↑ Ali, Mohammed (7 June 2016. "Marseille in Trouble: Turbulent Times Ahead for OM". French Football Weekly. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  8. ↑ "Andonian, Tuiloma et Sparagna signent pros à l'OM". Olympique de Marseille (in French). 20 July 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  9. ↑ Sanderson, Jamie (14 October 2014). "Arsenal make transfer offer for injury-ravaged Marseille kid Stephane Sparagna". Metro. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  10. ↑ "Juve fall apart in Marseille". Football Italia. 1 August 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  11. ↑ "Stephane Sparagna". Soccerway. 8 August 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  12. ↑ "Europa League : Marseille bat facilement Groningue 3 à 0". FranceTV (in French). 18 September 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  13. ↑ Dangouma, Lionel (17 December 2015). "Marseille bat Bourg-en-Bresse et se qualifie pour les quarts de la Coupe de la Ligue". L'Equipe (in French). Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  14. ↑ "Live: Caen v Olympique Marseille". Eurosport. 3 January 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  15. ↑ Autef, Jules (30 May 2016). "Mercato OM – Stéphane Sparagna envisage un départ". Madein Foot (in French). Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  16. 1 2 "Sparagna: "Un prêt peut être une solution"". Le Phoceen (in French). 30 May 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
  17. ↑ "Sparagna et le "contrôle antidopage". La Provence (in French). 9 April 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
  18. ↑ Borne, Fabien (18 October 2016). "Ce que l'OM de Labrune reproche à Michel". Daily Mercato (in French). Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  19. ↑ "Stéphane Sparagna 2015–16". Olympique de Marseille (in French). Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  20. ↑ Rostain, Frédéric (21 May 2016). "OM 2–4 PSG : et l'histoire se répète ...". Olympique de Marseille (in French). Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  21. ↑ "Stéphane Sparagna rejoint l'AJA en prêt !". AJ Auxerre (in French). 24 July 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  22. ↑ "Officiel – L'OM prête Sparagna en L2". Madein Foot (in French). 24 July 2016. Retrieved 25 Jul 2016.
  23. ↑ "Prêtés : sans faute pour Sparagna et Fabri". Le Phoceen (in French). 30 July 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  24. ↑ "Auxerre-Clermont (0–1)". L'Equipe (in French). 19 August 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  25. ↑ "Prêtés : trois défaites et des débuts". Le Phoceen (in French). 20 August 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  26. ↑ Mazure, Laurent (25 August 2016). "Ligue 2 : Nabab suspendu 5 matchs, Sparagna 2 et Seka un". Ma Ligue 2 (in French). Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  27. ↑ "Brest Encore sur le Gong". beIN Sports (in French). 21 October 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  28. 1 2 Smith, Jeremy (8 June 2015). "France Weather Moroccan Storm to Lift the Toulon trophy". French Football Weekly. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  29. 1 2 Bekker, Liam (22 December 2015). "Scout Report: Stephane Sparagna: Marseille's combative young centre-back". Outside of the Boot. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  30. ↑ "Tournoi Espoirs de Toulon". Rec Sport Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  31. ↑ "U-23 MNT Falls to Host France in Toulon Tournament Opener". US Soccer. 27 May 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  32. ↑ Zlateski, Alexander (15 November 2015). "French rally holds Macedonia U21 to a draw". Macedonian Football. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  33. ↑ "Le50 2016: Stéphane Sparagna". French Football Weekly. 2 May 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  34. 1 2 "Stéphane Sparagna: Club matches". Olympique de Marseille. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  35. ↑ "Stéphane Sparagna Auxeree". Ligue 1. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  36. ↑ "OM Poker Live II au centre RLD". Olympique de Marseille (in French). 10 May 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
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