Benoît Cheyrou
Cheyrou training with Marseille in 2010
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Benoît Cheyrou | ||
| Date of birth | 3 May 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Suresnes, France | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
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Current team
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Toronto FC | ||
| Number | 8 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1987–1997 | Racing Paris | ||
| 1997–1999 | Lille | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1999–2004 | Lille | 100 | (2) |
| 2004–2007 | Auxerre | 98 | (6) |
| 2007–2014 | Marseille | 219 | (21) |
| 2015– | Toronto FC | 42 | (1) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 1999–2000 | France U19 | 4 | (0) |
| 2000 | France U20 | 3 | (0) |
| 2002–2004 | France U21 | 15 | (1) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of October 23, 2016. ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of March 11, 2009 |
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Benoît Cheyrou (born 3 May 1981) is a French football player who plays for Toronto FC in Major League Soccer. He plays as a central midfielder and often acts as a deep-lying playmaker for the attack. Cheyrou is known for his vision, distribution, and assists. He is a former French youth international having represented his nation at under-19, under-20, and under-21 level. Cheyrou is the younger brother of former French international Bruno Cheyrou, who formerly played for English club Liverpool, and is currently without a club. The younger Cheyrou earned his first call up to the national team on 25 February 2010, but is yet to play for France.
Cheyrou began his career at his hometown club Racing Club de France, which served as a family tradition among the Cheyrou household as his grandfather, father, and older brother trained there as young players as well. It is also the place where Cheyrou's father met his mother. During his time as a youth at the club, Cheyrou often played against the Paris Saint-Germain youths who were considered more rich and professional than Racing, which led to Cheyrou developing a minor grudge with the Parisian giants. Following Bruno's departure to RC Lens, the younger Cheyrou stayed behind until securing a move to second division club Lille. That same year, his elder brother joined him at the club.
Cheyrou trained in the club's youth system for two years before earning promotion to the senior team for the 1999–2000 season. He made his professional debut on 3 September 1999 appearing as a substitute in a 2–0 victory over Toulouse. Four days later, he made his first professional start playing the entire match in a 1–0 victory over Wasquehal. Cheyrou remained a fixture in the team until the end of the year before suffering injury. He returned to the team for the 2000–01 season with Lille now playing in Division 1. Cheyrou only made 8 league appearances as he was again limited due to injury. The next season saw Cheyrou's appearances increased to 23 league matches with the midfielder also making four appearances in the UEFA Cup. Following the departure of his brother to Liverpool, Cheyrou's importance in the team increased. On 5 October 2002, he scored his first professional goal in a 3–0 victory over Marseille after having appeared as a substitute three minutes prior. After alternating between the bench and first eleven, by mid-season, Cheyrou became a fixture in the starting eleven helping Lille finished in 5th position, thus qualifying for the UEFA Intertoto Cup. In his final season with Lille, Cheyrou appeared in 27 league matches scoring one goal, which came against Guingamp in a 3–1 defeat.
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