Younès Belhanda
Belhanda with Dynamo Kyiv in 2013
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 25 February 1990 | ||
| Place of birth | Avignon, France | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Playing position | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
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Current team
|
Nice (on loan from Dynamo Kyiv) | ||
| Number | 5 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1997–1998 | RC Aramonais | ||
| 1998–2003 | MJC Avignon | ||
| 2003–2009 | Montpellier | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2009–2013 | Montpellier | 127 | (26) |
| 2013– | Dynamo Kyiv | 56 | (8) |
| 2016 | → Schalke 04 (loan) | 15 | (2) |
| 2016– | → Nice (loan) | 28 | (3) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2010 | France U20 | 4 | (0) |
| 2010– | Morocco | 32 | (3) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12:42, 06 May 2017 (UTC). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15 October 2015 |
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Younès Belhanda (born 25 February 1990) is a French-born Moroccan professional footballer who currently plays for French Ligue 1 club Nice on loan from Dynamo Kyiv, and the Morocco national team.
Belhanda was born in Avignon, a commune in southeastern France, but was raised in nearby Aramon. He is of Moroccan descent (from Taza) through his parents and has five other siblings. Belhanda began his football career playing for hometown club Racing Club Aramon. He spent one year at the club before joining MJC Avignon, a local cultural center based in his birthplace. The center offered a variety of activities, which included football. While at the club, Belhanda was utilized as a libero and mentored by trainer Jean-Christophe Gleyze. The player has admitted that Gleyze played a huge part in determining his future stating "He is more than a coach. Since my father worked and I lived in the Gard, it was him who took me to training and my home for three years. Without him and MJC Avignon, I would never have been spotted by other clubs".
At the age of 13, Belhanda was scouted by several professional clubs, most notably Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier, and Saint-Étienne. Despite Marseille being the most enticing club, Belhanda declined the opportunity stating "the club is not known for its training center". He ultimately decided to join Saint-Étienne, but changed his mind after discussing the move with his parents, who recommended that he join Montpellier in order to remain close to home.
While in Montpellier's youth academy, Belhanda was converted into a defensive midfielder. He spent five years in the club's academy developing alongside fellow youth teammates Benjamin Stambouli, Abdelhamid El Kaoutari, and Rémy Cabella. Towards the end of the 2007–08 season, Belhanda was promoted to the club's reserve team, which was playing in the Championnat de France amateur (CFA), the fourth level of French football. In the ensuing season, he simultaneously played on the reserve team and with the club's under-19 team in the Coupe Gambardella, the national youth cup competition in France. In the latter competition, Montpellier won the title, capturing its second Gambardella cup. Belhanda appeared in all six matches the team contested. In the final, he played the entire match as Montpellier defeated Nantes 2–0.
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