Alassane Pléa

Alassane Alexandre Pléa (born 10 March 1993) is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker or winger for Borussia Mönchengladbach and the France national team.[2]

Alassane Pléa
Pléa playing for Nice in 2018
Personal information
Full name Alassane Alexandre Pléa[1]
Date of birth (1993-03-10) 10 March 1993
Place of birth Lille, France
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Borussia Mönchengladbach
Number 14
Youth career
2002–2008 Ascq
2008–2010 Wasquehal
2009–2012 Lyon
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2014 Lyon B 67 (23)
2012–2014 Lyon 7 (0)
2014 → Auxerre (loan) 15 (3)
2014–2018 Nice 112 (36)
2018– Borussia Mönchengladbach 77 (25)
National team‡
2010 France U18 4 (1)
2011–2012 France U19 15 (2)
2012–2013 France U20 6 (3)
2014 France U21 1 (0)
2018– France 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 February 2021
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 7 October 2019

Club career

Lyon
Pléa playing for Lyon in 2013

Pléa made his senior debut for Lyon on 7 October 2012 in an away Ligue 1 match against Lorient, coming on as a substitute for Bafétimbi Gomis in the 90th minute; the match ended in a 1–1 draw.[3]

Nice

Pléa left Lyon and joined Nice in the summer of 2014 in search of more game time in a deal worth £450,000.[4][5] Under his first manager at Nice, Claude Puel, he was moved into the middle of the park and began to flourish first under Puel and then even more so under his successor Lucien Favre.[5]

On 20 October 2016, Pléa scored the only goal in the 1–0 away victory against Red Bull Salzburg in the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League Group I match. That was Nice's first-ever UEFA club competition away win, having previously gone 15 UEFA club competition away matches without a win.[6] 3 days later, he scored a hat-trick in a Ligue 1 match as leaders Nice won 4–2 at Metz to maintain their advantage at the top of the table at four points.[7]

On 20 February 2017, Pléa underwent arthroscopy of the right knee in Lyon, which would likely put him out of action for five months. Eight days earlier, he had injured his right knee during the first half of a Ligue 1 match against Rennes and had to be substituted in the 43rd minute. As of 21 February 2017, he was Nice's top Ligue 1 scorer and was 5th in the Ligue 1 top scorers' chart of the 2016–17 season with 11 Ligue 1 goals.[8][9]

Playing alongside Mario Balotelli, he proved much more than a wingman by notching 27 goals and nine assists across the 2016–17 and 2017–18 Ligue 1 seasons, helping Nice finish as high as third in 2016–17.[5]

2018–2020

In July 2018, Pléa joined Borussia Mönchengladbach on a five-year contract. The transfer fee paid to Nice was reported as €25 million.[10] He made his debut for the club against BSC Hastedt in the first round of the DFB-Pokal on 19 August 2018 and scored a hat-trick as Gladbach cruised to an 11–1 win.[11][12] He scored his first Bundesliga goal for the club on 1 September, securing a 1–1 draw away to Augsburg.[13] He finished his debut season as the club's top scorer with 12 league goals and 15 across all competitions.[5]

The following season, Pléa was praised for adding a creative edge to his attacking output, contributing eight goals and seven assists in his first 22 Bundesliga appearances.[5] In the club's match against RB Leipzig on 1 February 2020, Pléa opened the scoring and then got his first two yellow cards of the season and was sent off as Gladbach fell to a 2–2 draw after leading 2–0.[14][15] On 31 May, he scored his tenth league goal of the season season and provided assists for both of Marcus Thuram's goals in a 4–1 victory over 1. FC Union Berlin.[16]

2020–21 season

Pléa scored his first goal of the season in a 3–1 Bundesliga victory over FC Köln on 3 October 2020.[17] On 3 November, Pléa scored a hat-trick in a 6–0 rout of Shakhtar Donetsk away in the group stage of the Champions League. The result was the club's largest victory in competition history.[18] He scored another two Champions League goals in a 2–3 group stage loss against Inter Milan on 1 December 2020; he was denied a hat-trick and a equalizing goal by the video assistant referee in the final minutes of the match.[19]

International career

Born in France, Pléa is of Malian descent.[20] He is a France youth international having represented his nation at under-18, under-19, under-20 and under-21 levels. He played with the under-19 team at the 2012 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship.

In November 2018, Pléa was called up into the senior team for the first time after the injury-enforced withdrawal of Anthony Martial and Alexandre Lacazette for the games against Netherlands and Uruguay. He made his debut against the latter replacing Olivier Giroud in the 80th minute of a 1–0 home win.[21]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 6 February 2021.[22]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe[lower-alpha 1] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Lyon 2012–13 Ligue 1 1000002030
2013–14 Ligue 1 6000003191
Total 70000051121
Auxerre (loan) 2013–14 Ligue 2 1531000–163
Nice 2014–15 Ligue 1 3331010–353
2015–16 Ligue 1 1960000–196
2016–17 Ligue 1 25111111513214
2017–18 Ligue 1 351610211144921
Total 11236314216513544
Borussia Mönchengladbach 2018–19 Bundesliga 341213––3515
2019–20 Bundesliga 271010–503310
2020–21 Bundesliga 16310–65238
Total 772533–1159133
Career total 211647442321125483
  1. Includes UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League

International
As of match played 20 November 2018[23]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
France 201810
Total10

References
  1. "Entreprise Ap14 Sports à Nice (06200)" [Company Ap14 Sports in Nice (06200)]. Figaro Entreprises (in French). 5 July 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
    "Alassane Plea". BFM Business (in French). Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  2. "Entretien avec... Alassane Plea: "Signer pro à l'OL serait un aboutissement"". FootMercato (in French). 28 August 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  3. "Lorient v. Lyon Match Report". Ligue de Football Professionnel (in French). 7 October 2012. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  4. "Alassane Pléa – the most complete forward in the Bundesliga". Get German Football News. 5 May 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  5. "Who is Alassane Plea? From Mario Balotelli wingman to the main event at Borussia Mönchengladbach". Bundesliga. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  6. "Three teams stay perfect, United beat Fenerbahçe". www.uefa.com. 20 October 2016.
  7. "Pléa does trick to keep Nice clear". www.ligue1.com. 23 October 2016.
  8. "Fin de saison pour le Niçois Alassane Pléa". L'Équipe. 20 February 2017.
  9. "Ligue 1 : Saison terminée pour Alassane Pléa, qui sera éloigné des terrains 5 mois". Eurosport. 20 February 2017.
  10. "Alassane Plea signe à Mönchengladbach (officiel)". L'Équipe. 13 July 2018.
  11. "BSC Hastedt 1:11 Borussia Mönchengladbach". DFB (in German). 19 August 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  12. "Three hat-tricks in Gladbach's 11-1 German Cup romp". France24. 19 August 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  13. "FC Augsburg 1:1 Borussia Mönchengladbach". DFB (in German). 1 September 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  14. "Christopher Nkunku saves RB Leipzig at the death in home draw with Borussia Mönchengladbach". Bundesliga. 1 February 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  15. "Bundesliga: RB Leipzig's title tilt suffers another setback against Borussia Mönchengladbach". DW. 1 February 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  16. "Gladbach's Marcus Thuram dedicates goal to U.S. protests". ESPN. 31 May 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  17. "1. FC Köln 1:3 Borussia Mönchengladbach". DFB (in German). 3 October 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  18. "Shakhtar Donetsk 0-6 Mönchengladbach". UEFA. 3 November 2020.
  19. "Borussia Monchengladbach vs. Internazionale". ESPN. 1 December 2020.
  20. "France ou Mali : Alassane Pléa a fait son choix * Niarela.net * Mali". October 31, 2016.
  21. "France v Uruguay game report". ESPN. 20 November 2018.
  22. "Alassane Pléa (France) - Profile and career statistics". Soccerway. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  23. "Alassane Pléa". European Football. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
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