Houssem Aouar

Houssem Aouar (born 30 June 1998) is a French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ligue 1 club Lyon and the France national team.[2]

Houssem Aouar
Aouar with Lyon in 2017
Personal information
Full name Houssem Aouar[1]
Date of birth (1998-06-30) 30 June 1998
Place of birth Lyon, France
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Lyon
Number 8
Youth career
2006–2009 AC Villeurbanne
2009–2017 Lyon
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2017 Lyon II 22 (4)
2017– Lyon 112 (19)
National team‡
2014 France U17 1 (0)
2017– France U21 16 (4)
2020– France 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:25, 9 January 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 7 October 2020

Club career

Aouar joined the Olympique Lyonnais Reserves and Academy in 2009 at the age of 11.

He signed a three-year professional contract at Lyon in July 2016. He made his first team debut in on 16 February 2017 in a 1–4 away win over AZ Alkmaar in the round of 32 of the knockout phase of the UEFA Europa League, replacing Sergi Darder after 84 minutes.[3] Aouar scored his first goal for Lyon's first team a week later in the second-leg match against AZ Alkmaar at Parc Olympique Lyonnais, which Lyon won 7–1.[4] He made his Ligue 1 debut by starting in the away match against SC Bastia on 16 April 2017, but the match was abandoned at half-time with the score at 0–0. A win was given to Lyon three weeks later.[5] He was nominated for the Golden Boy award in July 2018.[6]

At the beginning of the 2017–18 season, despite having played only five competitive matches for Lyon's first team since he joined the club, Aouar was given the symbolic number 8 (having previously been worn by club legend Juninho) left free when Corentin Tolisso left the club for Bayern Munich in June 2017.[7]

On 11 December 2019, Aouar scored a goal against RB Leipzig in a Champions League group stage match[8] helping Lyon to secure their way into the Champions League round of 16. His side later upset both Juventus and Manchester City to reach the semi-finals, where they were beaten by Bayern Munich.[9]

International career

Aouar is eligible to feature for Algeria despite playing for the French youth teams at the U17 and U21 levels.

In 2018, he was reported considering to represent Algeria at international level following a talk with former Lyon and current Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema.[10]

In January 2019, manager of Algeria Djamel Belmadi confirmed that he would visit Aouar and present the vision and project of the Desert Foxes in hope of convincing him to play in the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations.[11]

France

In 2014, Aouar was called by the France U17 team, but only played one game. In 2019, he was a starter throughout EURO U21 Championship for France U21 team which was eventually eliminated by Spain in semi finals.[12]

In November 2019, Aouar was summoned in the training for France senior team, but he did not accept the invitation due to injury.

On 26 August 2020, Aouar received his first call-up for France to prepare for 2020–21 UEFA Nations League matches against Sweden and Croatia in early September.[13]

On 27 August 2020, Aouar tested positive for COVID-19 during regular test carried out by Lyon, amid its pandemic in France;[14] He was put into isolation for a fortnight and had to skip training for at least 10 to 15 days. Therefore, France decided to replace him with his former teammate Nabil Fekir from Real Betis.[15]

He made his debut on 7 October 2020 in a friendly against Ukraine.[16]

Style of play

Aouar is a versatile attacking midfielder who can play anywhere in midfield, and has been praised for his excellent technical ability and calmness with the ball at his feet.[17]

Personal life

Aouar is of Algerian descent.[18] He holds Juninho and Zinedine Zidane as role models.[19]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 9 January 2021.[2]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe[lower-alpha 1] Other[lower-alpha 2] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Lyon 2016–17 Ligue 1 300000210051
2017–18 Ligue 1 326400081—447
2018–19 Ligue 1 377201070—477
2019–20 Ligue 1 253434281—419
2020–21 Ligue 1 15300———153
Career total 11219103522530015227
  1. Includes UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League
  2. Includes Trophée des Champions

International
As of match played 7 October 2020[2]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
France 202010
Total10

Honours

Individual

References
  1. "UEFA Champions League 2018/2019: Booking List before Round of 16 Matchday 8a" (PDF). UEFA. 26 February 2019. p. 5. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  2. "France - H. Aouar - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  3. "AZ Alkmaar vs. Lyon - 19 February 2017 - Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  4. "Lyon vs. AZ Alkmaar - 23 February 2017 - Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  5. "Ligue 1 : L'OL se voit attribuer la victoire face au Sporting Club de Bastia". olweb.fr. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  6. Polden, Jake (2 July 2018). "Golden Boy 2018 award nominees announced". mirror.
  7. "OL: les numéros de Tolisso et Lacazette réattribués". RMC Sport (in French). 9 July 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  8. "Lyon 2 - 2 RB Leipzig - Match Report & Highlights - Sky Sports". skysports.com. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  9. "Lyon 0-3 Bayern Munich: Bayern breeze through to final showdown with PSG". BBC Sport. 19 August 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  10. "Dernière sélection". African Football. 14 December 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  11. Saada, Hana (2 January 2019). "National team coach due to explain Algeria project to Houssem Aouar". DZ Breaking. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  12. "Spain versus France Match Report". UEFA. 28 June 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  13. "Dernière sélection". French Football Federation (in French). 26 August 2020. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  14. "Club statement". Olympique Lyonnais. 31 August 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  15. Westwood, James (31 August 2020). "Lyon star Aouar tests positive for Covid-19 ahead of Ligue 1 season opener". Sporting News. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  16. "France v Ukraine game report". ESPN. 7 October 2020.
  17. "Houssem Aouar: Meet the Lyon player Pep Guardiola calls 'incredible'". 29 November 2018 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  18. Vavel (14 November 2016). "Qui es-tu, Houssem Aouar ?". VAVEL.com (in French). Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  19. "The Young Lyon wanted in Liverpool and Barcelona - Meet Ligue 1 Rising Star Houssem Aouar | Goal.com". Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  20. "UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season". UEFA.com. 28 August 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
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