Sébastien Puygrenier
Encyclopedia
Sébastien Nicolas Puygrenier (born 28 January 1982) is a French football player. He is a centre back, who currently plays for Zenit St. Petersburg.
, Puygrenier began his career at Stade Rennais
, Puygrenier made his Ligue 1
debut in the 4–1 defeat at Lyon
in 2003. He started the next two matches, but these were to be his last games for the club before joining Nancy on loan for the 2003–04 season.
After playing 27 games in Ligue 2
that season, Puygrenier spent a further season on loan at Nancy, with 20 appearances as the club won promotion. League rules prevented him from staying on loan at a rival Ligue 1 club so he was signed permanently in 2005. Puygrenier scored his only league goal to date on 28 August in the 6–0 win over his old club. He also scored Nancy's opener in the 3–0 win over Feyenoord Rotterdam
in the UEFA Cup
. He was voted Fans' Player of the Year for 2006–07, and named in the Ligue 1 2007–08 team of the year the following season, where he helped Nancy stay unexpectedly in the top 3 for most of the season.
, but struggled to hold down a regular first-team berth. As Portuguese centre-halves Bruno Alves and Fernando Meira joined the club, it became increasingly evident that Puygrenier's future lay outside of St. Petersburg, and a string of loan deals followed - firstly to Bolton Wanderers and then two spells at Monaco in Ligue 1. After failing to impress in France, Monaco declined the option to recruit Puygrenier permanently, and he returned to Zenit who made it known that he was instantly available for transfer, even being described as 'definitely a mistake of our scouts' by general director Maxim Mitrofanov, who also criticised the defender for refusing to lower his wage demands in order to engineer a move away from the club despite having no prospects of achieving any playing time and not being considered a part of the Zenit squad by manager Luciano Spalletti.
on loan for the rest of the season. His first goal for Bolton came on 31 January, in a 3–2 home victory over Tottenham Hotspur
. It was Bolton's 4000th goal in the top division of English football.
France
Born in LimogesLimoges
Limoges |Limousin]] dialect of Occitan) is a city and commune, the capital of the Haute-Vienne department and the administrative capital of the Limousin région in west-central France....
, Puygrenier began his career at Stade Rennais
Stade Rennais FC
Stade Rennais Football Club is a French association football club based in Rennes. The club was founded in 1901 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the top tier of French football. Rennes plays its home matches at the Stade de la Route de Lorient located within the city...
, Puygrenier made his Ligue 1
Ligue 1
Ligue 1 , is the French professional league for association football clubs. It is the country's primary football competition and serves as the top division of the French football league system. Ligue 1 is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Professionnel, the other being Ligue 2....
debut in the 4–1 defeat at Lyon
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...
in 2003. He started the next two matches, but these were to be his last games for the club before joining Nancy on loan for the 2003–04 season.
After playing 27 games in Ligue 2
Ligue 2
Ligue 2 , formerly known as Division 2, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Professionnel , the other being Ligue 1, the country's top football division...
that season, Puygrenier spent a further season on loan at Nancy, with 20 appearances as the club won promotion. League rules prevented him from staying on loan at a rival Ligue 1 club so he was signed permanently in 2005. Puygrenier scored his only league goal to date on 28 August in the 6–0 win over his old club. He also scored Nancy's opener in the 3–0 win over Feyenoord Rotterdam
Feyenoord Rotterdam
Feyenoord is a Dutch professional football club located in Rotterdam. Along with Ajax and PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord is one of the "big three" clubs in the Netherlands. These three clubs and Utrecht and Roda JC are the only clubs never to have been relegated from the Dutch first division...
in the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
. He was voted Fans' Player of the Year for 2006–07, and named in the Ligue 1 2007–08 team of the year the following season, where he helped Nancy stay unexpectedly in the top 3 for most of the season.
Zenit St. Petersburg
On 31 July 2008, he signed a four year contract with Zenit St. Petersburg. He took part in the team's victory in the 2008 UEFA Super Cup2008 UEFA Super Cup
The 2008 UEFA Super Cup was the 33rd UEFA Super Cup, a football match played between the winners of the previous season's UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup competitions. The 2008 competition was contested by Manchester United of England, who won the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League, and Zenit St....
, but struggled to hold down a regular first-team berth. As Portuguese centre-halves Bruno Alves and Fernando Meira joined the club, it became increasingly evident that Puygrenier's future lay outside of St. Petersburg, and a string of loan deals followed - firstly to Bolton Wanderers and then two spells at Monaco in Ligue 1. After failing to impress in France, Monaco declined the option to recruit Puygrenier permanently, and he returned to Zenit who made it known that he was instantly available for transfer, even being described as 'definitely a mistake of our scouts' by general director Maxim Mitrofanov, who also criticised the defender for refusing to lower his wage demands in order to engineer a move away from the club despite having no prospects of achieving any playing time and not being considered a part of the Zenit squad by manager Luciano Spalletti.
Loan to Bolton Wanderers
In January 2009, he joined Bolton WanderersBolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
on loan for the rest of the season. His first goal for Bolton came on 31 January, in a 3–2 home victory over Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
. It was Bolton's 4000th goal in the top division of English football.
External links
- Career Stats at lfp.fr