Stéphane Sparagna

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Stéphane Sparagna
File:Stephane Sparagna 2015 (cropped).jpg
Sparagna with France U20 at the Toulon Tournament
Personal information
Full name Stéphane Sparagna
Date of birth (1995-02-17) 17 February 1995 (age 29)
Place of birth Marseille, France[1]
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Position(s) Defender, Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Marseille
Number 15
Youth career
2002–2014 Marseille
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014– Marseille 12 (0)
International career
2014–15 France U20 8 (2)
2015– France U21 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:57, 20 December 2015 (GMT)

Stéphane Sparagna (born 17 February 1995) is a French footballer who predominantly plays as a defender for Ligue 1 club Marseille and the France U21 national football team. He is an academy graduate of Marseille and made his senior debut for the club in August 2014, aged 19. The following year he captained the France U20 team to victory in the Toulon Tournament.

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 Marcelo Bielsa as manager, Sparagna made his noncompetitive debut 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 debut 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 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.[6] At the end of the season Sparagna signed his first professional contract with Marseille,[7] ending months of speculation linking him with a Bosman move to Premier League club Arsenal. Arsenal's signing of Mathieu Flamini from Marseille in the same manner in 2008 prompted Les Phocéens to conclude a new deal with Sparagna in order to avoid a repeat scenario.[8]

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.[9] He made his first competitive appearance of the 2015-16 campaign in an opening day defeat to Caen. He was booked in the 82nd minute of the match for a foul on Herve Bazile.[10] On 17 September 2015 Sparagna made his Europa League debut in a 3-0 win over Eredivisie side Groningen.[11] Exactly three months later he made his Coupe de la Ligue debut 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.[12] Sparagna started the new year by making his Coupe de France debut on 3 January 2016, coming on as a late substitute for the injured Paolo De Ceglie in a penalty shoot-out win over Caen.[13]

He was demoted to the reserve side soon thereafter without explanation from manager Míchel and made only one more senior appearance for the campaign.[14] Sparagna also missed much of the second half of the season 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 the following year 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.[15] 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.[16][17]

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.[18] In doing so, he led France to their first victory in the tournament since 2008.[19] 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.[20] Following his success at U20 level, he was awarded his debut for France U21 on 15 November 2015 but was sent off for two bookable offences in a 2-2 draw with Macedonia.[21]

Style of play

Sparagna has been described as an athletic and combative centre-back, with his uncompromising approach to tackle-making drawing comparisons to the likes of Sergio Ramos and Thiago Silva.[19] Marseille's former director for youth recruitment, Georges Prost, described him as a real competitor capable of controlled aggression and precision.[22]

Career statistics

Club

As of 13 January 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 [23]
2015–16 8 0 1 0 2 0 4 0 0 0 15 0 [23]
Career Total 12 0 1 0 2 0 4 0 0 0 19 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.[24]

References

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  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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