Damien Plessis
Encyclopedia
Damien Plessis is a French footballer of Réunionais origin, who plays for Greek
side Panathinaikos. He is also the younger brother of professional footballer Guillaume Plessis
.
, France, Plessis started his career at Olympique Lyonnais
. Plessis signed for Lyon at the age of 15, and was considered to be one of the team's most promising youngsters, following in the footsteps of Karim Benzema
and Hatem Ben Arfa
.
said of Plessis after having signed him, "He is a good player, big and strong, and we're sure he'll do well for us. He's only a young boy with plenty of time to work on his game but it depends on his progress how quickly he can force his way into the first team".
Plessis made his debut for Liverpool on 5 April 2008 in the 1–1 away draw against Arsenal F.C.
. Rafa Benítez described his performance by saying "Today was the debut for Damien Plessis. We knew when we signed him that he was a quality player. He's played really well for the reserves, and to play as well as he did today in this stadium, it shows we are going in the right direction and in time he will be fighting with the likes of Gerrard and Spearing for a first team place."
For the start of the 2008–2009 season Plessis was given the new number 28 shirt once worn by Steven Gerrard
when he was breaking into the Liverpool first team as formal recognition of his part in the first team squad. He made his first performance for the season against Standard Liege
in the UEFA Champions League
. This game also marked his debut in the competition. He also started the first match of the season against Sunderland F.C. but he only played 45 minutes because of a knock and fellow midfielder Xabi Alonso
came on to replace him.
On 23 September 2008, Plessis played in the Carling Cup game against Crewe Alexandra. He scored his first senior goal for the club in a Carling Cup match against Tottenham Hotspur on 12 November 2008 when he headed down a corner from Ryan Babel
.
Plessis signed an extension to his Liverpool contract, in October 2009, that should have kept him at Anfield until 2012.
On 12 August 2010, Plessis' shirt number, 28, was taken by new signing Christian Poulsen
.
. Plessis was becoming a first team regular, before he fell out with the manager. He was such a promising player when he signed with the club, lot's was expected from him but his performance was average and never satisfied the manager or the fans. This way he didn't manage to get any playing time at all finishing the season with just 8 appearances. At the end of the season he was expected to leave the club since he was not part of the manager's plans for the following season. In July 2011 Plessis went on trial with Leicester City FC. However, Sven Goran Eriksson confirmed that the trial was not very successful and was a very short trial. He was later linked with FC Augsburg who were just promoted to the Bundesliga as well as being rumoured to be in talks with 1860 Munich. Eventually he didn't reach an agreement with any team and stayed at Panathinaikos.
, at the 2007 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship
, reaching the semifinal.
Plessis made his debut as a substitute for the French Under 21's
on 6 September 2008
*This Is Anfield Player Profile
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
side Panathinaikos. He is also the younger brother of professional footballer Guillaume Plessis
Guillaume Plessis
Guillaume Plessis is a footballer. He is also the older brother of current Panathinaikos midfielder Damien Plessis....
.
Olympique Lyonnais
Born in Neuville-aux-BoisNeuville-aux-Bois
Neuville-aux-Bois is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France.It's the birthplace of Panathinaikos F.C. defensive midfielder Damien Plessis.-See also:*Communes of the Loiret department...
, France, Plessis started his career at Olympique Lyonnais
Olympique Lyonnais
Olympique Lyonnais is a French association football club based in Lyon. They play in France's highest football division, Ligue 1. The club was formed as Lyon Olympique Universitaire in 1899, according to many supporters and sport historians, but was nationally established as a club in 1950. The...
. Plessis signed for Lyon at the age of 15, and was considered to be one of the team's most promising youngsters, following in the footsteps of Karim Benzema
Karim Benzema
Karim Benzema is a French international footballer who currently plays for Real Madrid in the Spanish La Liga. He primarily plays as a striker whose influence can extend out to the wings and is known for his technical ability, powerful style of play, and vast goal-scoring ability...
and Hatem Ben Arfa
Hatem Ben Arfa
Hatem Ben Arfa is a French association football player who plays for English club Newcastle United in the Premier League. He plays as a winger, preferably on the left side, and an attacking midfielder...
.
Liverpool
Plessis signed a three-year contract for Liverpool on the last day of the transfer window in August 2007 and initially played for the reserve team, it was rumoured that he was purchased for a fee nearing £2.5million . Liverpool manager Rafael BenítezRafael Benítez
Rafael "Rafa" Benítez Maudes is a football manager, and former player. He is currently unemployed, after leaving as manager of Internazionale in December 2010....
said of Plessis after having signed him, "He is a good player, big and strong, and we're sure he'll do well for us. He's only a young boy with plenty of time to work on his game but it depends on his progress how quickly he can force his way into the first team".
Plessis made his debut for Liverpool on 5 April 2008 in the 1–1 away draw against Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
. Rafa Benítez described his performance by saying "Today was the debut for Damien Plessis. We knew when we signed him that he was a quality player. He's played really well for the reserves, and to play as well as he did today in this stadium, it shows we are going in the right direction and in time he will be fighting with the likes of Gerrard and Spearing for a first team place."
For the start of the 2008–2009 season Plessis was given the new number 28 shirt once worn by Steven Gerrard
Steven Gerrard
Steven George Gerrard MBE is an English footballer who plays for and captains Premier League club Liverpool. He also has 89 caps for the England national team. He has played much of his career in a centre midfielder role, but he has also been used as a second striker and right winger...
when he was breaking into the Liverpool first team as formal recognition of his part in the first team squad. He made his first performance for the season against Standard Liege
Standard Liège
Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège (Dutch: Standard Luik [], German: Standard Lüttich , is a Belgian football club from the city of Liège....
in the UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
. This game also marked his debut in the competition. He also started the first match of the season against Sunderland F.C. but he only played 45 minutes because of a knock and fellow midfielder Xabi Alonso
Xabi Alonso
Xabier "Xabi" Alonso Olano is a Spanish World Cup-winning footballer who plays for Real Madrid as a midfielder.Alonso began his career at Real Sociedad, the main team of his home region Gipuzkoa. After a brief loan period at Eibar he returned to Sociedad where then manager John Toshack appointed...
came on to replace him.
On 23 September 2008, Plessis played in the Carling Cup game against Crewe Alexandra. He scored his first senior goal for the club in a Carling Cup match against Tottenham Hotspur on 12 November 2008 when he headed down a corner from Ryan Babel
Ryan Babel
Ryan Guno Babel is a Dutch football player who currently plays for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. He can play as a left winger and as a striker. Babel began his career at AFC Ajax in 1998, working his way up through the youth team and into the senior squad...
.
Plessis signed an extension to his Liverpool contract, in October 2009, that should have kept him at Anfield until 2012.
On 12 August 2010, Plessis' shirt number, 28, was taken by new signing Christian Poulsen
Christian Poulsen
Christian Bjørnshøj Poulsen is a Danish footballer who plays for Evian in Ligue 1. He has played for a number of European clubs, winning the Danish Superliga championship with F.C...
.
Panathinaikos
On 31 August 2010, Panathinaikos bought the player from Liverpool on an undisclosed fee. After signing, Plessis stated that he was happy to be the back up of his football idol Gilberto SilvaGilberto Silva
Gilberto Aparecido da Silva, commonly known as Gilberto Silva, is a Brazilian footballer. He currently plays for Grêmio.Gilberto was raised in a poor family and as a child he balanced playing football with various labour jobs. He began his football career in 1997 with América Mineiro, where good...
. Plessis was becoming a first team regular, before he fell out with the manager. He was such a promising player when he signed with the club, lot's was expected from him but his performance was average and never satisfied the manager or the fans. This way he didn't manage to get any playing time at all finishing the season with just 8 appearances. At the end of the season he was expected to leave the club since he was not part of the manager's plans for the following season. In July 2011 Plessis went on trial with Leicester City FC. However, Sven Goran Eriksson confirmed that the trial was not very successful and was a very short trial. He was later linked with FC Augsburg who were just promoted to the Bundesliga as well as being rumoured to be in talks with 1860 Munich. Eventually he didn't reach an agreement with any team and stayed at Panathinaikos.
International
Plessis has played for the French Under-19 teamFrance national youth football team
The France national youth football team are the national under-20, under-19, under-18, under-17 and under-16 football teams of France and are controlled by the Fédération Française de Football. The youth teams of France participate in tournaments sanctioned by both FIFA and UEFA and also...
, at the 2007 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship
2007 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship
-Group B:-------------------------Knockout stage:-Semi-finals:---------Final:-----Teams:-Top goalscorers:-External links:* at uefa.com...
, reaching the semifinal.
Plessis made his debut as a substitute for the French Under 21's
France national under-21 football team
The France national under-21 football team , known in France as Les Espoirs , is the national under-21 football team of France and is controlled by the French Football Federation. The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years...
on 6 September 2008
Statistics
Correct as of 30 October 2009 Premier League |
FA Cup FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's... |
League Cup League Cup In association football, a League Cup or Secondary Cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament to be called "League Cup" was held in Scotland in 1946/47 and was entitled the Scottish... |
Europe UEFA The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer.... |
Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals | App | Goals |
| Liverpool (Premier League) |
2007–08 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2008–09 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2009–10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Liverpool total | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 1 | |
| Panathinaikos Panathinaikos FC Panathinaikos Football Club is a Greek professional football club based in Athens. Founded in 1908, they play in the Super League Greece and are one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Greek football history. They have won 20 Greek Championships and 17 Greek Cups.Panathinaikos is the most... (Premier League) |
2010–11 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Career totals | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 1 | ||
External links
*This Is Anfield Player Profile