Laurent Ciman

Laurent Franco Ciman (born 5 August 1985) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Major League Soccer club Toronto FC and the Belgium national team.

Laurent Ciman
Ciman with Belgium in 2011
Personal information
Full name Laurent Franco Ciman[1]
Date of birth (1985-08-05) 5 August 1985
Place of birth Farciennes, Belgium
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s) Defender
Club information
Current team
 Toronto FC
Number 26
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2008 Charleroi 85 (3)
2008–2010 Club Brugge 16 (0)
2009–2010 → Kortrijk (loan) 34 (2)
2010–2015 Standard Liège 152 (6)
2015–2017 Montreal Impact 85 (2)
2018 Los Angeles FC 22 (3)
2018 Dijon 9 (0)
2019–2020 Toronto FC 29 (0)
National team‡
2004–2008 Belgium U21 5 (0)
2008 Belgium Olympic 1 (0)
2010– Belgium 20 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 28 October 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 6 June 2018

Club career

Ciman began his career in the youth system of Charleroi and made his first team debut in 2004. His play with Charleroi attracted the interest of the top Belgian clubs. Ciman was transferred from Charleroi to Club Brugge in June 2008 and signed a three-year contract for the Belgian team, he was loaned to Kortrijk for the 2009–10 season. On 16 June 2010, he joined Standard Liège on a four-year contract.[3] Upon joining Standard, Ciman established him as a starter and helped the club capture the 2010–11 Belgian Cup. He made 194 appearances for the club, scoring eight goals, before leaving the club in the winter of 2015.

Ciman playing for Montreal Impact on September 24, 2017 against Atlanta United

Ciman signed a three-year deal with Major League Soccer club Montreal Impact on 22 January 2015.[4] In his first season with the team, he was named MLS Defender of the Year.[5] In July 2016, he was included in the roster for the 2016 MLS All-Star Game.[6]

On 12 December 2017, Ciman was traded to MLS expansion side Los Angeles FC in exchange for Raheem Edwards and Jukka Raitala.[7]

On 28 August 2018, Ciman joined Ligue 1 club Dijon FCO on a two-year contract. The transfer fee paid to LAFC was reported as $500,000.[8] Just 4 months later, Ciman had his contract at Dijon terminated by mutual consent.[9] On 27 December 2018, he returned to MLS, signing with Toronto FC.[10]

International career

Ciman was a member of the Belgian squad which came fourth at the 2008 Olympics.

Ciman also played for the National U21 side and was called up by national coach Georges Leekens for the friendly match against Bulgaria on 19 May 2010, during which he made his debut.

On 13 May 2014, Ciman was named in Belgium's squad for the 2014 World Cup.[11] He was unused in the tournament, in which Belgium reached the quarter-finals. In the next major tournament, UEFA Euro 2016 he was also part of the squad. This time, he played in the opening game of the competition, a 2–0 defeat to Italy.[12]

In May 2018, he was named as an alternate for Belgium’s squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.[13]

Personal

Ciman is married to Diana and has two children, a daughter named Nina and a son named Achille. His daughter has autism, and he moved to Montreal in 2015, as the city had better supports for his daughter than his native Belgium.[14][15] He continued to live in the city even while playing for Toronto.[16] In 2020, Ciman obtained Canadian Permanent Residency status, allowing him to be counted as a domestic player for MLS purposes.[17]

Career statistics

International
As of 6 June 2018[18]
Belgium
YearAppsGoals
201020
201160
201410
201671
201730
201810
Total201

Goals
As of match played 5 June 2016. Belgium score listed first, score column indicates score after each Ciman goal.[19]
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 5 June 2016King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium11 Norway3–23–2Friendly

Honours

Club

Club Brugge

Standard Liège

Montreal Impact

Toronto FC

Individual

References
  1. "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: List of players: Belgium" (PDF). FIFA. 14 July 2014. p. 4. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  2. "Laurent Ciman Profile". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  3. Marcos au FC Bruges Ciman au Standard -lesoir.be (in French)
  4. "Impact signs centre back Laurent Ciman to multi-year deal". Montreal Impact. 22 January 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  5. "MLS Defender of the Year - Laurent Ciman". mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  6. "Villa, Pirlo and Kaka headline MLS All-Star squad to face Arsenal". FourFourTwo. 17 July 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  7. "Impact acquires Jukka Raitala and Raheem Edwards". Impact Montreal. 12 December 2017.
  8. "Belgium international Laurent Ciman exits LAFC for move to Dijon". ESPN FC. 29 August 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  9. "Ciman verbreekt al na een paar maanden zijn contract bij Dijon" [Ciman terminates contract with Dijon after just a few a months]. sporza.be. 24 December 2018. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
  10. "Toronto FC Select Ciman with Top Allocation Ranking". Toronto FC. 27 December 2018.
  11. "Adnan Januzaj included in Belgium's World Cup squad". BBC Sport. 13 May 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  12. Andy Hunter (13 June 2016). "Emanuele Giaccherini and Graziano Pellè seal Italy win over Belgium". theguardian.com. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  13. "Vincent Kompany included in Belgium's World Cup squad despite injury". The Guardian. 4 June 2018.
  14. Tremblay, Olivier (24 June 2015). "Family First: Montreal Impact's Laurent Ciman uproots life to give autistic daughter the care she needs". Major League Soccer.
  15. Baxter, Kevin (11 February 2018). "Laurent Ciman was trying to lay roots in Montreal before a trade sent him to LAFC to build an expansion team". LA Times.
  16. "Veteran defender Laurent Ciman steps up for Toronto FC in playoffs". Sportsnet. 28 October 2019.
  17. "Laurent Ciman maintenant résident permanent : tout faire pour sa fille autiste" [Laurent Ciman now permanent resident: doing everything for his autistic daughter] (in French). 14 January 2020.
  18. "Laurent Ciman". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman.
  19. Laurent Ciman at Soccerway
  20. "Doelpunt Sonck bezorgt Club zege op Brugse Metten". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). 19 July 2009.
  21. "Impact's CONCACAF Champions League trophy chances dashed after home defeat". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  22. "Seattle Sounders are 2019 MLS Cup champions: Rave Green win second MLS title". Major League Soccer. 10 November 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  23. "2015 AT&T MLS All-Star Game Roster". Major League Soccer. 13 July 2015. Archived from the original on 15 July 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
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