Gueïda Fofana
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gueïda Fofana | ||
| Date of birth | 16 May 1991 | ||
| Place of birth | Le Havre, France | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Playing position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1998–2001 | Mont-Gaillard | ||
| 2001–2009 | Le Havre | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2009–2011 | Le Havre | 64 | (4) |
| 2011–2017 | Lyon | 72 | (4) |
| 2011–2016 | Lyon B | 8 | (0) |
| Total | 144 | (8) | |
| National team | |||
| 2006–2007 | France U16 | 13 | (2) |
| 2007–2008 | France U17 | 18 | (4) |
| 2008–2009 | France U18 | 9 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | France U19 | 13 | (1) |
| 2010–2012 | France U20 | 17 | (2) |
| 2012 | France U21 | 2 | (1) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Gueïda Fofana (French pronunciation: [ɡejda fɔfana]; born 16 May 1991) is a former French football player. He was a French youth international and has captained at all levels of youth. In 2010, Fofana captained the France team that won the 2010 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship on home soil. He operates as a defensive midfielder, but can also play as a defender and is known for his physical style of play. Fofana had been compared to Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira, however he was forced to retire on 18 January 2017 due to ongoing injury problems.
Fofana began his career playing for hometown club ES Mont-Gaillard. The youngster drew the interest of Le Havre, which he initially rejected preferring to play with his friends and remain close to his family. However, after constant inquiries, Fofana accepted and joined the club at age 12. While in the club's training center, Fofana developed into youth international and one of the club's most promising prospects, alongside the now-departed Paul Pogba, captaining several of the team's youth squads. In 2008, he signed an élite contract until June 2011. In the 2008–09 season, despite being 17 years old, he appeared on the bench as a senior team player for several matches, though he didn't make an appearance, mainly due to dealing with the rigorous effects of a herniated disc. The club suffered relegation from Ligue 1 in the 2008–09 season and, for the 2009–10 season, Fofana began training with the first team on a permanent basis.
In the club's first competitive match of the new campaign, Fofana appeared on the bench in the club's 2–1 loss to Tours in the Coupe de la Ligue. He made his professional debut on 18 August 2009 in a league match against Tours appearing as a substitute in the 78th minute. Le Havre, again, lost to Tours 2–0. Fofana earned his first start on 26 September 2009 playing the entire 90 minutes in the club's 2–0 victory over Metz. On 26 November, Fofana scored his first professional goal in the club's 1–0 victory over AC Ajaccio. Two weeks later, Fofana earn his first professional red card after accumulating two yellow cards in only 26 minutes in a 1–0 defeat to Clermont. He finished the campaign with 31 total appearances and one goal.
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