 Yannis Tafer | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1991-02-11)11 February 1991 (age 34) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Grenoble, France | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Winger[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Racing-Union | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 10 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1997–2004 | Échirolles | ||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2008 | Lyon | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2008–2012 | Lyon | 10 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | →Toulouse (loan) | 16 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2012–2014 | Lausanne-Sport | 56 | (9) | ||||||||||||||
| 2014–2019 | St. Gallen | 124 | (22) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019 | ES Sahel | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2020 | Neuchâtel Xamax | 8 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021– | Racing-Union | 11 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | France U17 | 19 | (11) | ||||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | France U18 | 8 | (7) | ||||||||||||||
| 2009–2010 | France U19 | 14 | (6) | ||||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | France U20 | 11 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 25 November 2015 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 14 August 2021 | |||||||||||||||||
Yannis Tafer (French pronunciation:[janistafɛːʁ], born 11 February 1991) is a French professionalfootballer who plays as awinger for Luxembourger clubRacing-Union.
He is aFrance youth international having represented the countryunder-17,under-18, andunder-19 level. Tafer was the top scorer at the2008 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship leading the tournament with four goals and played on the under-19 team that won the2010 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship.
Tafer was born in the city ofGrenoble in theRhône-Alpesregion to an Algerian father, who emigrated to France fromConstantine, and a Portuguese mother.[2][3] He began his football career with a local club in the region,FC Échirolles. After spending seven years with his childhood club, Tafer signed anaspirant (youth) contract with the then three-time championsOlympique Lyonnais.
Following the2007–08 season, Tafer signed his first professional contract with Lyon agreeing to a three-year contract until 2011.[4] For the2008–09 season, he was placed on Lyon's first-team squad and was assigned the 34 shirt, though he was reassigned to the number 29. Tafer was a key participant in the club's preseason tour playing in four of the five matches contested. He scored three goals in the preseason netting one each againstsecond division clubNîmes,Romanian clubRapid București, and fellowLigue 1 clubNancy.
Despite being on the first-team, Tafer was limited to playing mostly on the club'sChampionnat de France amateur team appearing in 15 matches scoring five goals, which included a brace againstRCO Agde and goals against rivalsSaint-Étienne andAS Lyon Duchère.[5][6][7] On 24 January 2009, Tafer made his professional debut in the club'sCoupe de France match againstConcarneau coming on as a substitute in the 75th minute. In the match, he was instrumental in the club's 5th goal after taking a pass and shooting the ball, which went off the post. TeammateKader Keïta quickly pounced on the rebound and converted the goal. Lyon won the match 6–0.[8] Two weeks later, Tafer made his league debut making a one-minute cameo appearance in a 3–1 victory overNice.[9] Tafer made two more league appearances being relegated back to the amateur team.
For the2009–10 season, Tafer's playing time was slightly increased. On 26 September 2009 in his season debut, he scored his first professional goal againstToulouse after appearing in the match as ahalftime substitute. The goal drew the match at 1–1 and Lyon won the match after a late second-half goal fromBafétimbi Gomis.[10] Two months later, he assisted onCésar Delgado's goal in a 2–0 victory overBoulogne.[11] On 13 January 2010, Tafer made his first career start in a 3–0 win overMetz in theCoupe de la Ligue playing the entire match.[12]
On 24 August 2010, Lyon confirmed that the club had loaned out Tafer to fellow Ligue 1 clubToulouse. The loan was for the entire 2010–11 season and had a buyout option for€4 million.[13] His signing was cited as a replacement for the departedAndré-Pierre Gignac, who joinedMarseille.[14] Tafer was presented to the media by the club on 25 August and was given the number 10 shirt, formerly worn by Gignac.
On 25 July 2012, following his release from Lyon, Tafer signed a three years contract with Swiss clubLausanne-Sport.[15]
On 5 June 2014, Tafer moved toFC St. Gallen signing a three-year contract until 2017.[16]
On 12 July 2019, it was confirmed, that Tafer had joined Tunisian clubÉtoile Sportive du Sahel.[17]
Xamax confirmed on 4 January 2020, that Tafer had signed a deal until the end of the season with the club, with an option for one further year.[18]
On 2 February 2021, he signed withRacing-Union in Luxembourg.[19]
Tafer is aFrance youth international having playedunder-17,under-18, andunder-19 level. He made his youth international debut with the under-17 team on 2 October 2007 againstSwitzerland. Tafer scored a brace in the team's 4–0 victory.[20] On 4 December 2007, Tafer scored both goals in the team's 2–1 win overTurkey.[21] At theAlgarve Cup inPortugal, he helped the team to a 2nd-place finish by scoring his fifth goal of the campaign in the team's 4–2 win againstDenmark.[22] In the Elite Round portion of qualification for the2008 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship, Tafer scored a double againstIsrael in the team's second group stage match.[22][23] France finished the round unbeaten, which led to qualification to the UEFA-sanctioned tournament. At the tournament, Tafer led all players with four goals scored. He scored all of his goals in the group stage netting one against theRepublic of Ireland, another one againstSpain, and two goals againstSwitzerland.[24] France later reached the final where they were defeated 4–0 by Spain.[25][26] Tafer finished the campaign with the under-17s appearing in 19 matches and scoring a team-high 11 goals.
With theunder-18 team, Tafer scored a team-leading seven goals in only eight matches. On 25 March 2009, he scored ahat trick againstGermany in a 4–3 victory.[27] On 13 June, Tafer converted another hat trick, this time againstEngland in a 4–2 victory. The match was played atWembley Stadium in front of 15,000 spectators and the victory resulted in the team being presented the Fallenhero Trophy byThe Football Association chairmanTrevor Brooking.[28][29] Forunder-19 duty, Tafer was again called upon bycoachFrancis Smerecki making his first appearance with the team at the 2009 edition of theSendaï Cup. Beginning with the team's 2–1 victory overBelgium, Tafer scored a goal in four straight matches. On 7 June 2010, he was named to Smerecki's 18-man squad to participate in the2010 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship. In the tournament, he scored the opening goal in the team's 1–1 draw withEngland. The draw assured the club a place in the semi-final portion of the competition where France defeatedCroatia 2–1.[30] In the final, Tafer appeared as a halftime substitute and assisted on the team's opening goal scored byGilles Sunu. France had been trailing 1–0 prior to the equalizer. France won the match 2–1 following a late goal from Tafer's domestic teammateAlexandre Lacazette. The title is the country's second UEFA Under-19 championship.
Due to France's victory at the UEFA Under-19 championship, the nation qualified for the2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup, which meritedunder-20 team appearances for Tafer. After missing the team's opening match of the season againstPortugal, he made his under-20 debut in the team's 1–0 win overMontenegro. On 17 May 2011, Tafer scored his first goal for the team in its 3–3 draw with theUnited States netting France's opening goal. In the return match two days later, he scored the game-winning goal in a 2–1 win. Tafer later participated in the2011 Toulon Tournament with the under-20 team and scored a goal in a 4–1 group stage win overMexico. On 10 June, Tafer was named to the 21-man squad to participate in the U-20 World Cup. He made his debut in the competition on 30 July 2011 in the team's 4–1 defeat to the hostsColombia appearing as a substitute.[31] Tafer is also eligible to representAlgeria andPortugal at international level.
Yannis is the cousin ofAziz Tafer, who is a former professional footballer.[32] Yannis cites his idols as former teammate and mentorKarim Benzema and formerBrazilian internationalRonaldo.[4]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Lyon | 2008–09 | Ligue 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |
| 2009–10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 11 | 1 | |||
| 2011–12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 10 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 | ||
| Toulouse (loan) | 2010–11 | Ligue 1 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 17 | 0 | |
| Lausanne | 2012–13 | Swiss Super League | 23 | 1 | 4 | 4 | — | — | — | 27 | 5 | |||
| 2013–14 | 33 | 8 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | 37 | 9 | |||||
| Total | 56 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 64 | 14 | ||
| St. Gallen | 2014–15 | Swiss Super League | 29 | 8 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | 33 | 10 | |||
| 2015–16 | 16 | 5 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | 18 | 7 | |||||
| 2016–17 | 35 | 8 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 37 | 8 | |||||
| 2017–18 | 20 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 22 | 1 | |||||
| 2018–19 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 26 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 124 | 22 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 136 | 26 | ||
| Career total | 206 | 32 | 21 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 232 | 41 | ||
Lyon
France U19
France U20
