Ilan (footballer)

This name uses Portuguese naming customs. The first or maternal family name is Araújo and the second or paternal family name is Dall'Igna.

Ilan

Ilan at West Ham in April 2010
Personal information
Full name	Ilan Araújo Dall'Igna
Date of birth	(1980-09-18) 18 September 1980
Place of birth	Curitiba, Brazil
Height
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	Bastia
Number	28
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1999–2000	Paraná	12	(2)
2001	São Paulo	12	(1)
2001–2004	Atlético Paranaense	64	(22)
2004–2006	Sochaux	54	(24)
2006–2010	Saint-Étienne	107	(26)
2010	West Ham United	11	(4)
2010–2011	Internacional	4	(0)
2011–2012	Ajaccio	26	(6)
2012–	Bastia	42	(4)
International career‡
2003	Brazil	3	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 2 March 2014 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 9 September 2010

Ilan Araújo Dall'Igna (born 18 September 1980 in Curitiba), commonly known as Ilan, is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays for Bastia. He also holds an Italian passport.

Club career

Paraná Clube

Ilan was initially scouted and signed by Paraná Clube, and subsequently made his full-professional debut in a Campeonato Paranaense game in the 1999 season.

Ilan remained at the club during the 2000 season, and was instrumental in helping the team to place fifth in the Copa João Havelange — which put Paraná back amongst the elites of Brazilian football.

São Paulo

In 2001, he moved to São Paulo, where he was part of the squad who won the Torneio Rio-São Paulo.

However Ilan found himself restricted to very few appearances at São Paulo FC and was transferred to Atlético Paranaense.

Atlético Paranaense

Although he was mainly used as a substitute, Ilan's impact was pivotal during the final of the Brazilian Championship, in which he started the match in place of fellow striker Kléber Boas. In the first leg of the final against São Caetano Ilan scored Atlético Paranaense's first goal in their 4–2 victory. Ilan's contribution was a key part of Atlético Paranaense winning their first Campeonato Brasileiro Série A.

In 2002, Ilan suffered a serious injury which left him on the sidelines for the remainder of the season.

Ilan returned to full fitness ready for the 2003 season and quickly made up for his absence by becoming a regular goalscorer for the club.

His stand out performances earned him a call-up from Carlos Alberto Parreira to the Brazilian National Team in 2003. Unfortunately he did not make Parreira's final squad of 22 for the 2004 Copa América 2004.

In 2004, he continued to score many goals for Atlético, even though he was often playing as a lone striker. Due to the arrival of Washington and the increasing interest from Sochaux, he was sold in the summer for worth 3 million.

Sochaux

Ilan adapted well to the French league and scored 13 goals for Sochaux in his debut season which Ilan became a key player and fan favourite. On 21 August 2004, Ilan made his debut for the club in a 2-1 loss against Auxerre. On 16 October 2004, Ilan scored his first goal and later scored a hat-trick in a 3-0 win over Stade Rennais and the next three match, Ilan scored against Toulouse, Caen and Monaco. After a long wait Ilan returned to the score sheet for Sochaux, scoring a brace in a 2-2 draw against Nantes on 19 December 2004. Ilan scored another brace in a 2-1 win over Metz on 16 March 2005. He continued to score 3 like against Bastia, Toulouse and Caen. In the UEFA Cup campaign, Ilan scored 1 goal in the first leg and scored a brace in the second leg as Sochaux brutality thrashed Norwegian side Stabæk 9-0 on Aggregate in the First Round. In the first game of the Group Stage, Ilan scored a brace in a 2-0 win over Dinamo Tbilisi. In the Group Stage, Sochaux went through to the group stage but in the Round Of 32, Sochaux lost 2-0 on aggregate to Olympiacos.

He continued to impress during the 2005–06 season, netting another 10 goals in the league. Ilan start his season when he scored a brace in a 2-1 win over Nice and throughout the season, Ilan later scored against Le Mans, Monaco (twice in two match of the season), Lens, Saint-Étienne (his future club), Nancy and Stade Rennais. His performances for FC Sochaux had not gone unnoticed and in the summer of 2006 he was bought by AS Saint-Étienne for worth 6 million.

Saint-Étienne

Ilan initially flourished at his new club, and forged a formidable partnership with French striker Bafétimbi Gomis and Czech striker Marek Heinz. In the second half in the 2006-07 season, Ilan scored an overhead kick in a 2-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain which resulted him winning the Trophées UNFP du football award of Goal of the Year. In his first season, Ilan scored nine goals in Ligue 1 but from the club did not meet the expectations of fans and took only 11th place in the league. Ilan scored against Nancy (twice in two match of the season along with Lens and PSG), Auxxure, brace against Lille and Valenciennes. Also in a match against Lens, Ilan scored an own goal in the first match against them of the season.

In his second season, Ilan only played 31 times and six goals which was the lowest goal tally for Ilan of the season. Ilan scored against Strasbourg, brace against Caen, Sochaux (his first club in France which he later score when they meet again in the season) and Auxxure.

Ilan was Saint-Étienne's top scorer in the UEFA Cup where the club played in European Cup after 27 years of absent. He scored the winning goal in their second-leg win against Olympiacos which put them through to the final 16 to face eventual runners up Werder Bremen. Also in the 2008-09 season, Ilan active in maintaining the club in Ligue 1 with 9 goals and still have good benefits.

In his fourth season and last, Ilan only played 12 times scoring twice in the 2009–2010 season after falling out of favour within the Saint-Étienne ranks. In January 2010 Ilan and Saint-Étienne mutually agreed to cancel his contract, which was due to end the following summer, leaving Ilan free to find a new club.

West Ham United

On 1 February 2010, West Ham United confirmed the signing of Brazilian forward Ilan on a six-month contract. He was available on a free transfer after leaving French club AS Saint-Etienne in January. He made his debut for West Ham on 6 February in 2–1 away defeat against Burnley. He replaced Mark Noble in the 77th minute and scored three minutes later.

In March 2010 the press speculated that Ilan had openly criticised manager Gianfranco Zola; a claim later refuted by the player and the club.

After nine games without scoring for West Ham United, Ilan scored his second goal on the 87th minute against Everton to make it 2-2 all on 4 April 2010. The following week, Ilan scored the only goal in the game in a 1-0 win over Sunderland. After the impressive performances against Everton and Sunderland, Ilan hoped to win a long-term deal at Upton Park. 14 days later, Ilan scored the opener at 31 minutes in a 3-2 win over Wigan on 24 April 2010.

On 2 June 2010 West Ham announced that they would be releasing Ilan (along with Mido) as they were surplus to requirements.

Internacional

After being released by West Ham United, Ilan had been linked to the Hammers league rivals Bolton Wanderers and Scottish runners-up Celtic as well as clubs in Turkey and Greece. However, the move never materialised but on 24 August 2010, Sport Club Internacional announced that Ilan will be taking medical and physical exams before signing a one and a half-year contract. His move to Internacional ended six years in Europe. Ilan says he is delighted to finally return home and says that he has joined the best club in Brazil. “For me, Internacional are the best club in Brazil. I had received other offers but I decided to come here.”

On 22 September 2010, Ilan made his debut for Internacional in a 1-0 loss against Atlético Paranaense. After making just four appearance for Internacional, Ilan was released at the end of the Série A campaign. Before his release, Ilan would have participated in the FIFA Club World Cup but had to do surgery because of an injury.

Ajaccio

Since his released from Internacional, Ilan spent 2010/2011 as a free agent. On 28 July 2011, Ilan returned to the Ligue 1 by signing for Ligue 1 newcomer Ajaccio after an 18-month absence. Ilan signed a one-year deal with an option for a further season at Ajaccio On 6 August 2011, Ilan made his debut for Ajaccio in a 2-0 loss against Toulouse. Ilan had yet to score until 27 August 2011 when he scored his first goal in a 4-1 loss against Auxerre and the following week Ilan scored another against Valenciennes in a 3-1 win. On 25 September 2011, Ilan suffered an injury during a match against Brest in a 1-1 draw and was "suffering from slight pain" but added that the injury is "nothing too serious". His injury caused Ilan to miss three games and made his return in a 3-0 loss against Marseille on 22 October 2011. Later on the season, Ilan would later score against Caen (2-2 draw on 19 November 2011), Lille (3-2 loss on 3 December 2011), Lorient (1-1 draw on 24 March 2012) and Rennes (3-1 loss on 29 April 2012). The club was in 16th place, staying in Ligue 1 for another season and Ilan would become the top-scorer for the club with six goals.

Bastia

On 12 July 2012, Ilan by signing for Ligue 1 newcomer Bastia after a two years absent.

International career

Ilan made his international debut for Brazil on 19 June 2003 against Cameroon in the 2003 Confederations Cup. Two further appearances followed in the same competition.

Personal life

Ilan was born in Brazil but holds an Italian passport because of his father Italian descent and his mother is Brazilian with Spanish ancestry. Ilan is the son of William Dall'Igna, former professional football player and former coach of Paraná Clube. His father was responsible for introducing Ilan to football and is also his agent.

Career statistics

Club statistics

(correct as of 16 May 2010)

Club	Season	League			Cup			Europe			Total
		Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists
Paraná	1999	12	2	-	0	0	0	-	-	-	12	2	-
Total		12	2	-	0	0	0	-	-	-	12	2	-
São Paulo	2000	12	1	-	0	0	0	-	-	-	12	1	-
Total		12	1	-	0	0	0	-	-	-	12	1	-
Atlético-PR	2001	15	3	-	0	0	0	-	-	-	15	3	-
	2002	1	0	-	0	0	0	-	-	-	1	0	-
	2003	30	16	-	0	0	0	-	-	-	30	16	-
	2004	18	3	-	0	0	0	-	-	-	18	3	-
Total		64	22	-	0	0	0	-	-	-	64	22	-
Career totals		248	74	-	0	0	0	12	9	-	260	83	-

Club	Season	League		Cup		Europe		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
FC Sochaux	L1 2004-05	27	12	0	0	6	4	33	16
	L1 2005-06	27	10	0	0	—		27	10
	Total	54	22	0	0	6	4	60	26
St-Étienne	L1 2006-07	33	9	0	0	—		33	9
	L1 2007-08	31	6	2	0	—		33	6
	L1 2008-09	31	9	1	0	6	5	38	14
	L1 2009-10	12	2	0	0	—		12	2
	Total	107	26	3	0	6	5	116	31
West Ham	2009-10 PL	11	4	—		—		11	4
Internacional	Série A 2010	4	0	0	0	—		4	0
AC Ajaccio	L1 2011-12	26	6	1	0	—		27	6
SC Bastia	L1 2012-13	22	3	2	0	—		24	3
	L1 2013-14	20	1	3	2	—		23	3
	Total	42	4	5	2	0	0	47	6
Career total		244	62	9	2	12	9	265	73

National team appearances

International appearances and goals
#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Result	Goal	Competition
1.	19 June 2003	Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France	Cameroon	0-1	0	2003 FIFA Confederations Cup
2.	21 June 2003	Stade de Gerland, Lyon, France	United States	1–0	0	2003 FIFA Confederations Cup
3.	23 June 2003	Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Étienne, France	Turkey	2–2	0	2003 FIFA Confederations Cup

External links

• Ilan career statistics at Soccerbase
• Ilan – French League Stats at LFP.fr (French)