Fafà Picault

Fabrice-Jean "Fafà" Picault (born February 23, 1991) is an American soccer player who plays for Houston Dynamo in Major League Soccer.

Fafà Picault[1]
Personal information
Full name Fabrice-Jean Picault[2]
Date of birth (1991-02-23) February 23, 1991
Place of birth New York, New York, United States
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Forward / Winger
Club information
Current team
 Houston Dynamo
Youth career
2006–2011 Cagliari
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012 Tampa Bay Rowdies 18 (0)
2014 Fort Lauderdale Strikers 22 (12)
2015 Sparta Prague 0 (0)
2015–2017 FC St. Pauli 22 (4)
2017–2019 Philadelphia Union 89 (21)
2020 FC Dallas 18 (3)
2021– Houston Dynamo 0 (0)
National team‡
2016–2018 United States 2 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of December 17, 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of October 11, 2018

Early life

Picault was born to Haitian immigrants[3] in New York City.[4]

Picault comes from a multigenerational soccer lineage. His grandfather played for the Haitian national team, while his father Leslie played professional indoor soccer with the Philadelphia Fever in the MISL.[5][6][4]

He grew up in the Upper West Side, near Riverbank State Park along the Hudson River, where he played his first game.[4]

At the age of nine, his parents moved with him to Miami for a change of life. When he was sixteen, he moved to Italy to begin his youth career, where he learned Italian and connected with the culture.[4]

Club career

Picault started his career with the youth and reserve team of Italian club Cagliari, but later parted ways with the club after five years.[4] He has commented on being subjected to frequent racism during his time in Sardinia.[7]

Tampa Bay Rowdies

He later attended the NASL player combine in 2012 and impressed scouts working for Tampa Bay Rowdies, and later signed a one-year deal with the club. Picault is known for his quickness and pace combined with his vision and technical abilities.[8]

Prior to starting his career with the Rowdies, Picault suffered a broken foot bone causing him to be sidelined through the preseason and first month and a half of the regular season. He made his professional debut in a 3–2 victory against Atlanta Silverbacks on May 19, 2012.[9] Making 18 appearances in league play, Picault helped the Rowdies win Soccer Bowl 2012, but would register no goals.

After the end of the 2012 NASL Season, the Rowdies declined the contract option for Picault.[10]

Fort Lauderdale Strikers

He returned for a second spell in the NASL with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers ahead of the 2014 season.[7][11] He made his debut for the Strikers on April 12 in a 2–0 win over Ottawa Fury. He scored his first goal for Fort Lauderdale on April 26 to help the Strikers to a 3–2 win over Indy Eleven.[12] Picault would experience a breakout season with the Strikers, hitting 12 goals in 24 appearances during the 2014 season, second best in the NASL that season.[13] The Strikers reached Soccer Bowl 2014, but ultimately lost to the San Antonio Scorpions.[14]

Sparta Prague

In January 2015, he moved to Czech team Sparta Prague.[15] He was released by Prague on June 17, 2015.[16] He never made a league appearance for the club, but came on in the 84th minute in a Czech Cup match against Jablonec. During his stay with Sparta he played mostly with the U21 side.

FC St. Pauli

In September 2015, Picault signed a one-year contract with German 2. Bundesliga club FC St. Pauli with the option of a one-year extension.[17] He made his debut for St Pauli on September 14 in a 2–0 win over MSV Duisburg, picking up an assist in the game. On March 11, 2016, Picault scored his first goal for St Pauli in a 4–3 loss to SC Paderborn. He scored twice on April 16 to give St Pauli a 2–0 win over VFL Bochum.[18] He ended his first season in Germany with 4 goals and 1 assist from 16 appearances as he helped St Pauli finish 4th in the table.[19]

In April 2016, his contract was extended until June 2018.[20]

In the 2016–17 Season, Picault made 6 appearances with 1 assists in league play as well as 2 appearances in the DFB-Pokal before being sold in the winter.[21]

Philadelphia Union
Picault warming up for the Union before a game in August 2017.

On February 2, 2017, Picault returned to the United States and signed with MLS side, Philadelphia Union.[22] He made his MLS debut as a substitute in the Union's home opener against Toronto FC.[23] In May, Picault scored his first goal for the Union in a dominant 4–0 performance against D.C. United.[24] In Philadelphia's next game, Picault scored again in a 2–0 win over the Houston Dynamo. On October 22, in the final game of the regular season, he scored twice and had an assist as the Union defeated Orlando City 6–1, a performance that earned him a spot in the MLS Team of the Week.[25][26] Picault ended the regular season with 7 goals and 3 assists from 28 appearances, along with 2 appearances in U.S. Open Cup play.[27] Despite a strong first season from Picault, the Union missed out on the playoffs after finishing 8th in the Eastern Conference.[28]

Ahead of the 2018 season, Picualt received a 3-match suspension for offensive language exchanged with Pierre da Silva during a preseason, closed–door scrimmage with Orlando City.[29] On April 7, he made his first appearance of the season in Philly's 4th game, picking up an assist in a 1–1 draw with the San Jose Earthquakes.[30] After the game, Picault was named to the bench for the MLS Team of the Week.[31] He scored his first goal of the season on June 2 in a 3–1 loss to Atlanta United. On September 19, Picault scored 3 minutes into stoppage time to give the Union a 1–0 win against the Seattle Sounders. He scored 2 goals and had 1 assist on October 6 to help the Union defeat Minnesota United 5–1, a performance that saw him named to the MLS Team of the Week.[30][32] Picault ended the regular season with 10 goals and 5 assists from 29 appearances, helping the Union qualify for playoffs.[27] In Philadelphia's first game of the playoffs, Picault played the full game in a 3–1 loss to NYCFC.[30] Picault also made 4 appearances and recorded 1 assist in Open Cup Play, helping the Union reach the final, where they lost 3–0 to the Houston Dynamo.[12]

On May 1, 2019, Picault scored his first goal of the 2019 season in a 2–0 win over FC Cincinnati.[33] During the regular season, Picault made 32 appearances, scored 4 goals, and recorded 4 assists as the Union finished 3rd in the Eastern Conference to qualify for the playoffs again.[27][34] Facing off with the New York Red Bulls in Philly's opening game of the playoffs, Picault came off the bench and scored in the 78th minute to level the score at 3. He then got the assist on Marco Fabián goal in extra time as the Union won 4–3. In Philadelphia's next match, Picault got the start, but was unable to replicate his heroics as the Union lost 2–0 to Atlanta United.[33]

FC Dallas

On November 26, 2019, Picault was traded to FC Dallas in exchange for $300,000 of 2020 General Allocation Money.[35] He made his Dallas debut on February 29 in a 2–0 win over the Philadelphia Union. On August 29, Picault scored his first goal for Dallas in a 3–2 win against Minnesota United.[36] Two days later he was named to the MLS Team of the Week.[37] On October 31, Picault scored twice and picked up an assist to give Dallas a 3–0 win over the Houston Dynamo, a performance that saw him named to the Team of the Week for the second time of the season.[27][38] In a shortened season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Picault played in 18 of a possible 23 regular season games while scoring 3 goals and adding 2 assists.[27] He helped Dallas finish 5th in the Western Conference and qualify for the playoffs. Picault started both of Dallas's playoff games as they reached the Conference Semifinals, where they lost 1–0 to the Seattle Sounders.[36]

Houston Dynamo

On December 17, 2020, Picault was traded to the Houston Dynamo, Dallas's Texas Derby rivals, in exchange for $275,000 of General Allocation Money, plus a potential $50,000 in additional performance incentives.[39]

Career statistics
As of match played December 17, 2020[40][41][42]
Club statistics
Club Season League National Cup[lower-alpha 1] League Cup[lower-alpha 2] Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Tampa Bay Rowdies2012NASL 1802010—210
Fort Lauderdale Strikers2014NASL 22120020—2412
Sparta Prague2014–15Czech First League 0010——10
St. Pauli2015–162. Bundesliga 16400——164
2016–17 6020——80
Total 224200000244
Philadelphia Union2017Major League Soccer 28720——307
2018 29104010—3410
2019 3241021—355
Total 89217031009922
FC Dallas2020Major League Soccer 1830020—203
Houston Dynamo2021Major League Soccer 000000—00
Career totals 16940120810018941
  1. Includes the U.S. Open Cup, Czech Cup and DFB-Pokal
  2. Includes the NASL Playoffs and MLS Cup Playoffs

International
As of matches played 13 November 2020.[43]
United States
YearAppsGoals
201610
201700
2018 1 0
Total20

International career

On September 9, 2014, Picault, along with Fort Lauderdale Strikers teammate James Marcelin, was called up to the Haiti national team to face Chile in an international friendly at Lockhart Stadium.[44] He did not make an appearance.

Picault was called up to the United States senior team for a May 22, 2016 friendly against Puerto Rico and made his debut in second half of that game.[45][43] He won his second cap on October 11, 2018 in a friendly against Colombia.[43]

Personal life

Picault has maintained a connection with his Haitian roots and holds passports from both the United States and Haiti.[46]

Picault is also very fond of the cuisine and music; he especially enjoys cooked plantain and his friends and cousin are even part of a Haitian band. He speaks seven languages, five in which he is fluent in: English, Creole, French, Italian and Spanish, while speaking a little Portuguese, and German.[4]

During his time in Italy, he maintained close relationships with players who now play in the Serie A and has an Italian agent.[4]

References
  1. Tenorio, Paul (May 18, 2016). "Little-known 'Fafa' Picault gets his shot to impress at USMNT camp". FourFourTwo. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
  2. "Fabrice-Jean Picault Personenprofil". DFB (in German). Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  3. Brian Sciaretta (December 15, 2009). "Picault emerging in Italy's Primavera". Yanks Abroad. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  4. Zeitlin, Dave, ed. (July 10, 2017). "They call me Fafa: 10 Things with Philly's globetrotting speedster Picault". MLS. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  5. Michelle Kaufman (September 25, 2014). "Fort Lauderdale Strikers' 'Fafa' Picault back home after chasing dream in Italy". miamiherald.com. Miami Herald. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  6. Brian Sciaretta (May 2, 2016). "Fafa Picault Tells ASN: 'I'm Happy & Extremely Hungry'". American Soccer Now. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
  7. Michelle Kaufman (September 25, 2014). "Fort Lauderdale Strikers' 'Fafa' Picault back home after chasing dream in Italy". Miami Herald. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
  8. "Home - nasl.com".
  9. Bryan Burns (July 12, 2012). "Tampa Bay Rowdies' Fafa Picault has had more time to display his talent". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
  10. Brian Quarstad (November 30, 2012). "Three NASL Teams Announce Roster Moves: Carolina, Minnesota and Tampa". IMSoccer News. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
  11. "Fort Lauderdale Strikers". Archived from the original on September 16, 2016. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
  12. "USA - F. Picault - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". us.soccerway.com. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  13. "2014 NASL Stats Leaders". FBref.com. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  14. "2014 NASL Stats". FBref.com. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  15. Potvrzeno: Hušbauer míří do Cagliari, Spartu posílí neznámý Američan, Česká televize, Retrieved January 10, 2015 (Czech)
  16. "More squad moves - AC Sparta Praha". sparta.cz. AC Sparta Praha. June 17, 2015. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  17. "Fafa Picault wechselt zum FC St. Pauli" [Fafa Picault joins FC St. Pauli] (in German). FC St. Pauli. September 1, 2015. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  18. "Fafà Picault 2015-2016 Match Logs". FBref.com. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  19. "Fafà Picault Stats". FBref.com. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  20. "Bewerbungstour beendet: Picault bleibt am Millerntor". Kicker Online (in German). April 29, 2016. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
  21. "Fafà Picault 2016-2017 Match Logs". FBref.com. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  22. "Philadelphia Union Sign Winger Fabrice "Fafa" Picault" (in German). Philadelphia Union. February 2, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  23. Benjamin Baer (March 11, 2017). "Philadelphia Union 2, Toronto FC 2 | MLS Match Recap". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  24. Dave Zeitlin (May 13, 2017). "DC United 0, Philadelphia Union 4 | MLS Match Recap". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  25. "Fafà Picault 2017 Match Logs". FBref.com. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  26. Baer, Benjamin (October 23, 2017). "Team of the Week (Week 33): Wondolowski comes up big in the clutch for SJ". Major League Soccer. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  27. "Fafa Picault". Major League Soccer. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  28. "2017 Major League Soccer Stats". FBref.com. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  29. "Fafa Picault, Pierre da Silva suspended three games for offensive language". MLSsoccer.com. March 2, 2018. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  30. "Fafà Picault 2018 Major League Soccer Match Logs". FBref.com. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  31. Rodriguez, Alicia (April 9, 2018). "Team of the Week presented by Audi: Tim Melia steps up in Week 6". Major League Soccer. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  32. Rodriguez, Alicia (October 9, 2018). "Team of the Week presented by Audi: Rooney rides to the top in Week 32". Major League Soccer. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  33. "Fafà Picault 2019 Match Logs". FBref.com. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  34. "2019 Major League Soccer Stats". FBref.com. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  35. "FC Dallas Acquires Philadelphia Union Winger Fafa Picault". FC Dallas. November 26, 2019. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  36. "Fafà Picault 2020 Match Logs". FBref.com. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  37. Quillen, Ian Nicholas (August 31, 2020). "Team of the Week presented by Audi: Orlando City dominate after two big wins". Major League Soccer. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  38. Quillen, Ian Nicholas (November 2, 2020). "Team of the Week presented by Audi: Week 22 was all about dynamic duos". Major League Soccer. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  39. Tom Bogert (December 17, 2020). "Houston Dynamo acquire Fafa Picault from FC Dallas". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  40. "Fafa Picault". Major League Soccer. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  41. "Fafà Picault Stats". FBref.com. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  42. "USA - F. Picault - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  43. "Fafà Picault". www.national-football-teams.com. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  44. "Fort Lauderdale Strikers". Archived from the original on September 4, 2014. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
  45. "Green, Hyndman among Klinsmann's USMNT extras vs. Puerto Rico". si.com. Sports Illustrated. May 16, 2016. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  46. ""Fafa" Picault hat eine interessante Vita vorzuweisen" (in German). Retrieved September 10, 2015.
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