Sofiane Boufal

Sofiane Boufal (Arabic: سفيان بوفال‎; born 17 September 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for Ligue 1 club Angers SCO and the Morocco national team.

Sofiane Boufal
Boufal playing for Celta in 2018
Personal information
Full name Sofiane Boufal[1]
Date of birth (1993-09-17) 17 September 1993[2]
Place of birth Paris, France
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[2]
Position(s) Winger/Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Angers
Number 13
Youth career
2010–2012 Angers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2015 Angers B 29 (5)
2012–2015 Angers 46 (4)
2015–2016 Lille 43 (14)
2016–2020 Southampton 70 (3)
2018–2019 → Celta (loan) 35 (3)
2020– Angers 3 (1)
National team‡
2016– Morocco 16 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22 November 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23:24, 15 November 2019 (UTC)

Club career

Angers

Boufal came through the Angers youth system, making his debut for the club at the age of 18, replacing Rayan Frikeche in the closing stages of a 1–0 home loss to FC Istres in August 2012. He made his first ever professional start the next Ligue 2 season, in a 4–2 win away at FC Istres, becoming a regular that season, making 31 appearances in all competitions. In the 2014–15 season, he helped Angers win promotion to Ligue 1. He racked up a total of 4 goals in 16 appearances in the first half of the season, before attracting interest from Ligue 1 clubs.

Lille

On 9 January 2015, Boufal transferred to Lille in Ligue 1, instantly making an impression, scoring 3 goals in 14 league games.[3] The next season, he continued to impress, scoring 12 goals in 35 appearances in all competitions and attracted interest from some of the biggest clubs around the world.[4]

Southampton

On 29 August 2016, Southampton announced they had signed Boufal on a five-year contract for a club-record undisclosed fee.[5] The fee was reported as £16 million, slightly more than the £15 million paid to Roma for Dani Osvaldo in October 2013.[6][7]

In the 2016–17 season, Boufal scored only one League Cup goal and one Premier League goal; his strike in Saints' 26 October 2016 1–0 win over Sunderland in the fourth round of the League Cup won Southampton's Goal of the Season award.[8][9]

On 21 October 2017, Boufal scored a virtuoso 85th-minute goal[10] in a home tie against West Bromwich Albion to lead his team to a 1–0 victory and send them into the top half of the Premier League. Having come on as a substitute in the 80th minute, he gained possession deep within his own half and took the ball past six opposing players before sending it past keeper Ben Foster from just inside the box.[11] This goal was voted the 2017–18 Premier League Goal of the Season.[12]

In July 2018, Boufal joined La Liga side Celta Vigo on loan for the 2018–19 campaign.[13]

After returning to Southampton for the 2019–20 season, he played in 10 of his team's 13 league games before injuring his toe at his home, when he ran into a kitchen table.[14]

Angers

On 5 October 2020, Boufal returned to his first club Angers on a free transfer.[15]

International career

Boufal made his debut for the Moroccan first team on 26 March 2016 starting in a 1–0 African Cup of Nations qualification victory against Cape Verde.[16]

Boufal withdrew from Morocco's squad for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations due to injury.[17] He was also unexpectedly omitted from the final squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup by coach Hervé Renard.[18]

Boufal represented Morocco at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. He was one of two Moroccan players to fail to score in their 4–1 penalty shootout defeat to Benin in the Round of 16.[19]

Career statistics

Club
As of 22 November 2020[20]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Angers B 2012–13 CFA 2 225———225
2013–14 70———70
Total 295———295
Angers 2012–13 Ligue 2 201000—30
2013–14 2804000—320
2014–15 1641020—194
Total 464602000544
Lille 2014–15 Ligue 1 1430020—163
2015–16 29111051—3512
Total 43141071005115
Southampton 2016–17[21] Premier League 24100312[lower-alpha 1]0292
2017–18[22] 2623010—302
2019–20[23] 2003120—251
Total 703616120845
Celta (loan) 2018–19[24] La Liga 35300——353
Angers 2020–21 Ligue 1 3100——31
Career total 227301311522025733
  1. Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International
As of match played 15 November 2019.[25]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Morocco 201630
201720
201830
201980
Total160

Honours

Lille

Southampton

Individual

References
  1. "Acta del Partido celebrado el 18 de mayo de 2019, en Vigo" [Minutes of the Match held on 18 May 2019, in Vigo] (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  2. "Sofiane Boufal: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  3. "Games played by Sofiane Boufal in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  4. "Games played by Sofiane Boufal in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  5. "Sofiane Boufal joins Southampton from Lille on five-year contract". Southampton F.C. 29 August 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  6. Thomas, Lall (29 August 2016). "Southampton confirm signing of Sofiane Boufal - Sky sources believe it to be for club record £16m". Sky Sports. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  7. "Sofiane Boufal: Southampton break transfer record to sign midfielder from Lille". BBC Sport. 29 August 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  8. "Southampton 1 – 0 Sunderland". BBC Sport. 26 October 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  9. "Boufal wins Goal of the Season". Southampton F.C. 6 May 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  10. Fisher, Ben (21 October 2017). "Sofiane Boufal wonder goal gives Southampton win against West Brom". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  11. Reddy, Luke (21 October 2017). "Southampton 1 – 0 West Bromwich Albion". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  12. "Boufal wins Carling Goal of the Season". Premier League. 19 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  13. "Boufal set to join Celta Vigo on loan". BBC Sport. 20 July 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  14. "Sofiane Boufal: Southampton midfielder injures toe running into kitchen table". BBC Sport. 28 November 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  15. "Boufal completes Angers move". www.southamptonfc.com. 5 October 2020.
  16. "Cape Verde Islands vs. Morocco - 25 March 2016". soccerway.com. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  17. "Afcon 2017: Sofiane Boufal of Southampton misses out for Morocco". BBC. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  18. "Sofiane Boufal overlooked for Morocco World Cup squad". ESPN. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  19. "Africa Cup of Nations: Morocco 1-1 Benin (Benin win 4-1 on pens)". BBC. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  20. "S. Boufal". Soccerway. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  21. "Games played by Sofiane Boufal in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  22. "Games played by Sofiane Boufal in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  23. "Games played by Sofiane Boufal in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  24. "Games played by Sofiane Boufal in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  25. "Sofiane Boufal". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  26. McNulty, Phil (26 February 2017). "Manchester United 3–2 Southampton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  27. "Boufal claims October Carling Goal of the Month". Premier League.
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