Alphonse Areola

Alphonse Francis Areola (French: [alfɔ̃s aʁeɔla];[4] born 27 February 1993) is a French professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Paris Saint-Germain, and the France national team.

Alphonse Areola

Areola with Paris Saint-Germain in 2019
Personal information
Full name	Alphonse Francis Areola[1]
Date of birth	(1993-02-27) 27 February 1993[2]
Place of birth	Paris, France
Height	1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)[3]
Playing position(s)	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team	Paris Saint-Germain
Youth career
1999–2006	Petits Anges
2006–2012	Paris Saint-Germain
2008–2009	→ INF Clairefontaine (loan)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010–2013	Paris Saint-Germain B	57	(0)
2013–	Paris Saint-Germain	75	(0)
2013–2014	→ Lens (loan)	35	(0)
2014–2015	→ Bastia (loan)	35	(0)
2015–2016	→ Villarreal (loan)	32	(0)
2019–2020	→ Real Madrid (loan)	4	(0)
National team^‡
2008–2009	France U16	14	(0)
2009–2010	France U17	10	(0)
2010–2011	France U18	4	(0)
2011–2012	France U19	8	(0)
2012–2013	France U20	16	(0)
2013–2014	France U21	9	(0)
2018–	France	3	(0)
Honours Representing  France Men's football FIFA World Cup Winner 2018 Russia FIFA U-20 World Cup Winner 2013 Turkey
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:04, 19 July 2020 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 2 June 2019

An academy graduate of PSG, he spent the early parts of his career on loan, enjoying spells with Lens, Bastia and Villarreal. During his stint with the latter, Areola broke the club record for the longest period of play without conceding a goal, remaining unbeaten for a period of 620 minutes. He returned to PSG in 2016 where he has since made over 100 appearances for the club. In 2019, Areola joined Real Madrid.

He also represented France at every youth level and was part of the squads that won the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup and the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Paris Saint-Germain

Early career

Areola playing for Lens in 2014

Areola began playing football at the age of six for Entente Sportive des Petits Anges and spent seven years at his local club before signing for Ligue 1 side, Paris Saint-Germain. When Areola was 15, and upon the advice of coaches in Paris, he enrolled at the Clairefontaine football centre in order to further his development. He returned to PSG the following year and signed his first professional contract with the Parisians in July 2009, putting pen to paper on a three-year deal.[5][6]

On 18 May 2013, having progressed through the club's academy, Areola made his senior debut for PSG, replacing first-choice goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu in the 48th minute of a 3–1 home win over Brest. PSG had been crowned Ligue 1 champions prior to the match and their opponents were already relegated.[7] He made his first start for the club the following weekend in a 3–1 win over Lorient, playing 61 minutes in what was the final match of the season before being substituted for fourth-choice 'keeper Ronan Le Crom, who was sent off later in the match for a foul on Julien Quercia.[8]

2013–16: Loans to Lens, Bastia and Villarreal

On 23 July 2013 he was loaned to Ligue 2 side RC Lens, who were managed by former PSG manager Antoine Kombouaré, for the 2013–14 Ligue 1 season.[9] Areola immediately displaced Rudy Riou as the club's starting 'keeper and made 36 appearances for the campaign, included in which was his Coupe de France debut. He also helped the club to a second-place finish in the league, thereby earning promotion to Ligue 1.[10] Areola's performances throughout the course of the season earned him the Ligue 2 Goalkeeper of the Year award and a spot in the Team of the Season.[11] He was also awarded the Eurosport Revelation of the Year award, beating the likes of N'Golo Kante and Gaëtan Bussmann.[12] A verbal agreement was in place for Areola to remain with Sang et Or on loan for the following season but the club's financial position raised concerns with the League's National Directorate of Management Control and ultimately put pay to the possibility of him returning.[13]

Areola would get a chance in Ligue 1, however, as Claude Makélélé's Bastia stepped in to sign him on loan for the 2014–15 Ligue 1 campaign, with the deal being completed on 26 July 2014.[14][15] Signed as the replacement for the retired Mickaël Landreau, he made his debut for the club on 9 August in a 3–3 draw with Marseille.[16][17] Areola ultimately made 39 appearances across all competitions for the club, keeping 13 clean sheets as Bastia ended the Ligue 1 season in 12th place and as runners-up in the Coupe de la Ligue.[18] The Final, which took place on 11 April, was contested between Bastia and Areola's parent club PSG, with the match ending 4–0 in favour of the Parisians.[19]

On 17 June 2015, La Liga side Villarreal announced the signing of Areola on season-long loan as a replacement for regular 'keeper Sergio Asenjo who had suffered a long-term injury the season before.[20] He made his debut for the club on the opening day of the season in a 1–1 draw with Real Betis.[21] At Villarreal, Areola enhanced his burgeoning reputation by keeping 15 clean sheets in 37 matches and conceding only 26 goals as the club ended the season in fourth place in La Liga.[22] His clean-sheet tally for the league season was bettered by only two goalkeepers, Jan Oblak of Atlético Madrid, and Claudio Bravo of Barcelona.[23] Areola also broke the club record of 615 minutes of football played without conceding a goal which was previously held by Diego López, ultimately going 620 minutes unbeaten before conceding against Las Palmas.[23][24] Outside of domestic football, the Frenchman featured in the Europa League for the first time in his career, making five appearances as El Submarino Amarillo reached the semi-finals where they lost out to eventual runners-up, Liverpool.[25]

2016–present: Return to PSG

Areola playing for Paris Saint-Germain in 2019

Following his successful stint in Spain, Areola returned to PSG for the 2016–17 Ligue 1 season. He began the campaign as understudy to German keeper Kevin Trapp, who had signed the season before, and was in PSG's match-day squad for their 4–1 Trophée des Champions victory over Lyon.[26] He made his first appearance following his return on 13 September in a 1–1 Champions League draw with Arsenal, in what was also his debut in the competition.[27] Following the match against Arsenal, Areola established himself as PSG's first-choice goalkeeper and had kept four clean sheets in eight appearances by mid-October.[13] However, he suffered a downturn in form soon after and ultimately relinquished his place to Trapp after a string of matches in December in which he conceded 10 goals from just 11 shots faced.[28] In April the following year, he was an unused substitute as PSG beat Monaco 4–1 to claim a record fourth straight Coupe de la Ligue title but started in a 1–0 win over Angers which saw PSG lift the Coupe de France title the following month.[29][30]

The following season, on 29 July 2017, Areola earned his second Trophée des Champions medal when he started in a 2–1 win over Monaco which saw PSG claim their fifth consecutive title.[31][32] He continued the season as PSG's undisputed goalkeeper in the league and Europe, with Trapp favoured in cup competitions, and was a regular feature in the club's record-breaking progression through the group stages of the Champions League. With Areola in goal, PSG conceded just once in their opening five matches and scored 24 goals, the most ever by a club in the group stages of the competition.[33] On 31 March 2018, in a repeat of the previous seasons's final, Areola was an unused substitute as PSG retained the Coupe de la Ligue title with a 3–0 win over Monaco.[34] The following month, on 15 April, he started in goal as PSG again defeated Monaco, who were the reigning league champions, 7–1 to claim the Ligue 1 title.[35] The club completed a domestic treble on 8 May when they defeated third division side Les Herbiers to lift the Coupe de France trophy for a record fourth consecutive season; though Areola was an unused substitute in the final.[36]

Areola was relegated to a rotational role during the following season after the club signed veteran goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon from Juventus.[37] He made his 100th PSG appearance on 21 April 2019 during a 3–1 win over Monaco, on the same day that the club secured its eighth league title.[38]

Loan to Real Madrid

On 2 September 2019, Areola joined Real Madrid on a season-long loan as part of a deal that saw Keylor Navas move to PSG.[39][40][41] He made his debut for the club on 25 September, starting in a 2–0 league win over Osasuna.[42] He made four appearances during the league season, as Madrid won the 2019–20 La Liga.[43]

International career

Areola playing for France under-19s

Areola has played for France at all youth levels. He was also eligible to play for the Philippines national team due to his parents being both of Filipino heritage and in 2011 was personally invited by team manager Dan Palami to consider playing for the national team.[44]

France national youth teams

Areola represented France at every youth level from U16 to U21 between 2008 and 2014. He was the hero for France in the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup Final. Having ended goalless after extra-time, the match went to a penalty shoot out where Areola saved spot-kicks from Uruguay's Emiliano Velázquez and Giorgian De Arrascaeta to lead his nation to their first ever triumph in the tournament.[45] He had previously featured for France at the 2010 UEFA European Under-17 Championship and the 2012 UEFA European Under-19 Championship's, and subsequently at the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

France senior national team

Areola (top right, in yellow) was part of the France squad which won the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

On 1 October 2015, Areola received his first call-up to the senior team by manager Didier Deschamps for friendlies against Armenia and Denmark as part of the French team's build-up to hosting UEFA Euro 2016.[46] He failed to make the tournament squad, however, but would later be called up to the senior squad again on three separate occasions for France's friendlies and World Cup qualifiers in September through to November 2016, although he was forced to withdraw from the latter squad after spraining his ankle.[47]

On 17 May 2018, he was named in Deschamps' 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. There he served as the third goalkeeper behind Hugo Lloris and Steve Mandanda as France went on to lift the title.[48][49] In doing so, he became the first player since Argentina's Héctor Zelada in 1986 to lift the World Cup trophy despite being uncapped for his country at the time.[50] Later that year, and due to a thigh injury sustained by Lloris, Areola was designated as France's starting goalkeeper for the nation's opening UEFA Nations League match against Germany on 6 September.[51] He kept a clean sheet on his senior international debut and was named man of the match in the encounter which ended in a goalless draw.[52]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 19 July 2020[53]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Continental		Other[lower-alpha 1]		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Paris Saint-Germain	2012–13	Ligue 1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		2	0
	2016–17	Ligue 1	15	0	5	0	1	0	6	0	0	0	27	0
	2017–18	Ligue 1	34	0	0	0	0	0	8	0	1	0	43	0
	2018–19	Ligue 1	21	0	5	0	2	0	3	0	0	0	31	0
	2019–20	Ligue 1	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	4	0
	Total		75	0	10	0	3	0	17	0	2	0	107	0
Lens (loan)	2013–14	Ligue 2	35	0	1	0	0	0	—		—		36	0
Bastia (loan)	2014–15	Ligue 1	35	0	1	0	3	0	—		—		39	0
Villarreal (loan)	2015–16	La Liga	32	0	0	0	—		5	0	—		37	0
Real Madrid (loan)	2019–20	La Liga	4	0	3	0	—		2	0	0	0	9	0
Career total			181	0	15	0	6	0	24	0	2	0	228	0

1. Appearances in Trophée des Champions

International

As of 2 June 2019[54]

France
Year	Apps	Goals
2018	2	0
2019	1	0
Total	3	0

Honours

Paris Saint-Germain

• Ligue 1: 2012–13,[7] 2017–18,[55] 2018–19[56]
• Coupe de France: 2016–17,[30] 2017–18[36]
• Coupe de la Ligue: 2016–17,[29] 2017–18[34]
• Trophée des Champions: 2016,[26] 2017,[31] 2019[57]

Real Madrid

• La Liga: 2019–20[43]
• Supercopa de España: 2019–20[58]

France U20

• FIFA U-20 World Cup: 2013[45]

France

• FIFA World Cup: 2018[59]

Individual

• UEFA European Under-19 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2012[60]
• Ligue 2 Goalkeeper of the Year: 2013–14[11]
• Ligue 2 Team of the Season: 2013–14
• Eurosport Revelation of the Year: 2014[12]
• UEFA Champions League Breakthrough XI: 2016[61]

Orders

• Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur: 2018[1]

References

1. "Décret du 31 décembre 2018 portant promotion et nomination" [Decree of 31 December 2018 on promotion and appointment]. Journal Officiel de la République Française (in French). 2019 (0001). 1 January 2019. PRER1835394D. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
2. "FIFA World Cup Russia 2018: List of players: France" (PDF). FIFA. 15 July 2018. p. 11. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 August 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
3. "Alphonse Areola". Paris Saint-Germain F.C. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
4. "ALPHONSE AREOLA – Gauche / Droite". YouTube. 10 December 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
5. "Alphonse Areola: La Biographie". Africa Top Sports. 11 July 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2016.(in French)
6. "Premier Contrat Pro Pour Areola". Paris Saint-Germain Football Club. 3 July 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.(in French)
7. "Beckham delivers in Paris win". Sky Sports News. 18 May 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
8. Ali, Mohammed (23 May 2013). "Lorient 1–3 Paris Saint-Germain: Gameiro at the double but Sakho in goal as champions' season finishes in farce". Goal. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
9. "Officiel : Alphonse Areola prêté à Lens". RC Lens. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2014.(in French)
10. "CA Bastia – Lens : Rendez-vous en Ligue 1 !". RC Lens. 16 May 2016. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2016.(in French)
11. Jiang, Allan (23 February 2015). "Alphonse Areola and Hervin Ongenda Diverging at Bastia". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
12. "Alphonse Areola, Eurosport revelation 2014!". RC Lens. 16 May 2014. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.(in French)
13. Johnson, Jonathan (22 October 2016). "Areola could establish himself as PSG's permanent keeper in Marseille clash". ESPN. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
14. "SC Bastia try to claw Alphonse Areola from Lens". Get Football News France. 19 July 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
15. "Areola completes Bastia loan switch from PSG". FourFourTwo. 26 July 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
16. "French Ligue 1 report: Bastia hold Marseille to draw". Sky Sports. 9 August 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
17. "Areola still on top of the world". FIFA. 27 May 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
18. Johnson, Jonathan (19 July 2015). "Areola loan to Villarreal makes perfect sense for PSG". ESPN. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
19. Davis, Matt (11 April 2015). "Paris St-Germain beat Bastia 4–0 to win the French League Cup". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
20. Johnson, Jonathan (20 June 2015). "Areola loan to Villarreal makes perfect sense for PSG". ESPN. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
21. "Real Betis 1–1 Villarreal". ESPN. 23 August 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
22. Dodson, Allan (18 June 2016). "Villarreal season in review: Goalkeepers". Villarreal USA. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
23. Gibney, Andrew (26 October 2016). "Alphonse Areola: The Paris Saint-Germain Youngster Breaking the Mould". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
24. Pereira, Alexis (4 March 2016). "Villarreal : l'infranchissable Areola met l'Espagne à ses pieds !". Foot Mercato. Retrieved 13 December 2016.(in French)
25. Whalley, Mike (5 May 2016). "How did Liverpool destroy Villarreal and will they beat Sevilla in Europa League final?". Telegraph. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
26. "Les questions que l'on se pose après le Trophée des champions remporté par le PSG contre Lyon (4–1)". France Football. 7 August 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2016.(in French)
27. Davie, Chris (13 September 2016). "David Ospina starts for Arsenal's Champions League clash with PSG but Olivier Giroud benched". Metro. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
28. "PSG : Trapp, Areola… Unai Emery justifie son choix avec ses gardiens !". Le 10 Sport. 22 December 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2016.(in French)
29. "PSG brush aside Monaco to win French League Cup for fourth straight year". BBC. 1 April 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
30. Coerts, Stefan (27 May 2017). "Angers 0 Paris Saint-Germain 1: Cissokho own goal in stoppage time delivers Coupe de France glory". Goal. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
31. Hanson, Peter (29 July 2017). "Monaco 1 Paris Saint-Germain 2: Dani Alves' Dream Debut Secures Trophée des Champions". Goal. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
32. Willis, S. (29 July 2017). "Alves Stars as PSG make it five in row". Ligue 1. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
33. "Paris Saint-Germain rip through Celtic with goals from Neymar, Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe". The Independent. 22 November 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
34. "Mbappe stars as PSG beat Monaco to lift Cup". Ligue 1. 31 March 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
35. "Ligue 1: Paris St-Germain claim title after stylish 7–1 win over Monaco". BBC Sport. 15 April 2018. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
36. "Paris Saint-Germain set record with fourth straight Coupe De France crown". Goal. 8 May 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
37. Johnson, Jonathan (24 August 2018). "PSG to start Alphonse Areola over Gianluigi Buffon in next two games". ESPN. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
38. "100 appearances for Areola". Paris Saint-Germain Football Club. 22 April 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
39. "Official Announcement: Areola". Real Madrid CF. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
40. "Alphonse Areola joins Real Madrid on loan" (in French). psg.fr. 2 September 2019. Archived from the original on 2 September 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
41. "PSG: Keylor Navas joins from Real Madrid as Alphonse Areola goes to Real on loan". BBC. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
42. Tavero, Fernando (26 September 2019). "Real Madrid remember the art of defending". AS. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
43. "Real Madrid win the longest LaLiga Santander season". marca.com. 17 July 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
44. Tupas, Cedelf (24 August 2011). "France youth squad GK Alphonse Areola shows Azkals interest". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
45. "France triumph after shootout drama". FIFA. 13 July 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
46. "Equipe de France : Diarra et Sakho de retour pour affronter le Danemark et l'Arménie". Le Parisien. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.(in French)
47. "Areola to Return for Arsenal Clash?". Ligue 1. 10 November 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
48. Charles, Andy (17 May 2018). "Alexandre Lacazette and Anthony Martial on standby for France World Cup squad and Dimitri Payet out". Sky Sports. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
49. Leong, Kelvin (16 July 2018). "France World Cup winner Alphonse Areola can still play for Azkals". Fox Asia. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
50. Kulawik, Francois (16 July 2018). "Areola, l'improbable anomalie" (in French). Europe 1 Sports. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
51. "First cap for Areola, Lecomte gets call". Ligue 1. 4 September 2018. Archived from the original on 7 September 2018. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
52. Harris, Daniel (6 September 2018). "Alphonse Areola the star as France and Germany play out dour draw". EuroSport. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
53. Alphonse Areola at Soccerway
54. "Alphonse Areola". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
55. "PSG clinch Ligue 1 title by thrashing Monaco".
56. "PSG Champions as Lille held at Toulouse". www.ligue1.com. 21 April 2019. Archived from the original on 26 June 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
57. "Mbappé and Di Maria Earn PSG First 2019-20 Trophy". www.ligue1.com. 3 August 2019. Archived from the original on 3 August 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
58. "Real Madrid win the Supercopa from the spot". marca.com. 12 January 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
59. McNulty, Phil (15 July 2018). "France 4–2 Croatia". BBC. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
60. "Technical report" (PDF). UEFA. p. 13. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
61. "Our Champions League breakthrough team of 2016". UEFA. 24 December 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2016.

External links

• Villarreal official profile (in Spanish)
• PSG official profile
• Alphonse Areola at Soccerway
• Alphonse Areola – UEFA competition record
• Alphonse Areola – FIFA competition record
• Alphonse Areola at the French Football Federation (in French)