Yohann Lacroix
Yohann Lacroix (born February 1, 1985) is a French former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Yohan Lacroix | ||
| Date of birth | February 1, 1985 | ||
| Place of birth | Thonon-les-Bains, France | ||
| Height | 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1999–2003 | Auxerre | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2003–2008 | Lille | 3 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | → L'Entente SSG (loan) | 23 | (0) |
| 2008–2009 | Thrasyvoulos | 13 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | Étoile FC | 41 | (0) |
| 2011–2012 | Tampines Rovers | 27 | (0) |
| 2012 | Étoile FC | 0 | (0) |
| 2013-2015 | Crusaders | 28 | (0) |
| 2014 | → Ballymena United (loan) | 14 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 4 May 2013 | |||
Club career
Born in Thonon-les-Bains, France, Lacroix began his career in the junior ranks of Auxerre. In 2003, he signed with Lille OSC and worked his way up through the ranks into the first team, signing a professional contract in 2005. He made his first appearance for the Lille first team, playing in a UEFA Intertoto Cup match against Dinamo Minsk in 2004. He was loaned to Championnat National side L'Entente SSG for the 2006-07 season where he made 23 appearances.
After a stint in Greece, he tried his adventure in Singapore by signing with Étoile FC. With this club, he won the League Cup and the Singapore championship title in 2010. He set a new league clean sheet record by not conceding a single goal for 1,045 minutes in the season.
In June 2011 he joined top Singapore club Tampines Rovers with whom he won the championship for a second time, ending a seven-year title drought for the Rovers. With this new success, he became the first player in the history of the Singapore Premier League to win the league title both with a foreign franchise (Étoile FC in 2010) and a local franchise (Tampines Rovers in 2011).[2]
In January 2012 he signed a three-year contract with his former team Étoile FC. A few days before the championship began the franchise in disagreement with the Football Association of Singapore decided to withdraw from the Singapore Premier League.
After an injury to their number one keeper Sean O'Neill against Linfield on 12 January 2013, Crusaders of Northern Ireland signed Lacroix and Craig Hyland in time for the club's next match against Ballymena United.[3] In doing so, he became the first French player to represent the club. With Hyland departing after one game, Lacroix made his debut in a 2–1 victory over Linfield in the Irish Cup on 22 January 2013.
He rapidly became a fan's favorite and Crusaders' supporters developed a chant for him during his time at Seaview; "Don't sell Lacroix", to the tune of Billy Ray Cyrus' song Achy Breaky Heart. On 1 January 2014 he joined Ballymena United on loan.[4]
Post-playing career
During his playing career, he studied a Master of Science in Sports Business at the Ulster Business School in Belfast. Shortly after graduated, he retired from professional football to join UEFA marketing agency CAA Eleven in January 2015. He now works for the commercial department of the International Olympic Committee based in Lausanne, Switzerland.
References
External links
- Yohann Lacroix – French league stats at LFP (also available in French)
- Yohann Lacroix Interview
- Yohann Lacroix, a footballer like no other