Damien Albert René Perquis (born 10 April 1984)[3] is a former professional footballer and current assistant coach of Gazélec Ajaccio's B-team.

Damien Perquis
Perquis with Gazélec Ajaccio in 2018
Personal information
Full name Damien Albert René Perquis[1]
Date of birth (1984-04-10) 10 April 1984 (age 40)
Place of birth Troyes, France
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
Gazélec Ajaccio B (assistant)
Youth career
INF Clairefontaine[2]
Troyes
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2003 Troyes B 2 (0)
2003–2005 Troyes 62 (3)
2005–2008 Saint-Étienne 23 (1)
2007–2008Sochaux (loan) 23 (1)
2008–2012 Sochaux 123 (10)
2012–2015 Real Betis 32 (0)
2015–2016 Toronto FC 37 (2)
2016–2017 Nottingham Forest 17 (2)
2017–2019 Gazélec Ajaccio 42 (0)
International career
2005 France U21 3 (0)
2011–2013 Poland 14 (1)
Managerial career
2020– Gazélec Ajaccio B (assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

A defender, he represented France at youth level, before acquiring Polish citizenship and playing for Poland at senior level. He retired in June 2020, after an 18-year professional career.[4]

Personal life

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Perquis was born in Troyes, France. He is of Polish descent by way of his grandmother, Józefa Bierła.[5][6] His Polish ancestors were from Strzyżewko, in central Poland.[7] He is married, and has two children.[8]

Club career

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Troyes

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Perquis came up through the Troyes AC youth system. He played in Ligue 2 with Troyes AC for 2 years, where he was rated as one of the best defenders of the league.

Saint-Étienne

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In 2005, he signed for Ligue 1 club AS Saint-Étienne as a free agent. In two seasons, he failed to impress with the club and was loaned to Sochaux. After some initial troubles, he finally found his form and became a regular in the starting line-up.

Sochaux

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In 2008, Sochaux bought the player outright. He made a total of 146 appearances for the club, scoring eleven goals, before leaving the club in the summer of 2012.

Real Betis

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In the summer of 2012, Perquis joined Real Betis in Spain. He suffered through various injury problems while in Spain, and was limited to 32 league matches in his three years with Betis.

Toronto FC

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Perquis was released by Betis and signed with Toronto FC of Major League Soccer on 26 January 2015. He mutually agreed to part ways with the club on 12 July 2016.[9]

Nottingham Forest

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On 22 July 2016, Perquis signed a two-year deal with Nottingham Forest.[10] On 27 August 2016, he scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 home win against Leeds United.[11] On 24 July 2017, Perquis and Nottingham Forest agreed to mutually terminate his contract at the club.[12]

Gazélec Ajaccio

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In 2017, Perquis moved to Gazélec Ajaccio in the Ligue 2, where he played for two years.[13]

International career

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In December 2008, he declared his interest in playing for the Poland national team.[14] Franciszek Smuda, manager of Poland, confirmed that information in July 2010.[15] In January 2011, it was reported that Perquis had filed his application for confirmation of citizenship.[16] However, his family had lost some required documents, and Perquis resigned for applying for confirmation of citizenship.[17] Smuda had to request that the Polish president Bronislaw Komorowski approve his application for citizenship.[18] Perquis received Polish citizenship on 1 September 2011.[7]

On 6 September 2011, Perquis made his international debut during a 2–2 friendly draw against Germany in Gdańsk. He scored his first goal on 26 May 2012, in a 1–0 friendly win against Slovakia. He was selected to the final squad for the UEFA Euro 2012.

Coaching career

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After announcing his retirement from football on social medias on 15 June 2020, Perquis was appointed assistant coach of Gazélec Ajaccio's reserve team.[19]

Career statistics

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Club

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Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[20][a]
Club Season League National cup League cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Saint-Étienne 2005–06 Ligue 1 15 0 0 0 0 0 15 0
2006–07 Ligue 1 8 1 0 0 0 0 8 1
2007–08 Ligue 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 23 1 0 0 0 0 23 1
Sochaux (loan) 2007–08 Ligue 1 23 1 0 0 0 0 23 1
Sochaux 2008–09 Ligue 1 36 2 0 0 0 0 36 2
2009–10 Ligue 1 34 3 3 0 0 0 37 3
2010–11 Ligue 1 35 5 3 0 0 0 38 3
2011–12 Ligue 1 18 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 22 0
2012–13 Ligue 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 123 10 7 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 133 10
Real Betis 2012–13 Primera División 10 0 4 0 14 0
2013–14 Primera División 13 0 1 0 8 0 22 0
2014–15 Segunda División 9 0 3 2 12 2
Total 32 0 8 2 0 0 8 0 0 0 48 2
Toronto 2015[21] MLS 25 1 1[22] 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 26 1
2016 MLS 12 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 1
Total 37 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 38 2
Nottingham Forest 2016–17 Championship 17 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 19 2
Gazélec Ajaccio 2017–18 Ligue 2 22 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 24 0
2018–19 Ligue 2 20 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 1[b] 0 24 1
Total 42 0 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 48 1
Career total 297 16 20 3 4 0 10 0 1 0 332 19
  1. ^ Soccerway does not provide any statistics for Perquis' career before the 2005–06 season.
  2. ^ Appearance in relegation play-offs

International

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Appearances and goals by national team and year[20]
National team Year Apps Goals
Poland 2011 6 0
2012 8 1
2013 1 0
Total 14 1
Score and result list Poland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after Perquis goal.
International goal scored by Damien Perquis
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 26 May 2012 Hypo-Arena, Klagenfurt, Austria   Slovakia 1–0 1–0 Friendly

References

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  1. ^ "Acta del Partido celebrado el 08 de marzo de 2014, en Sevilla" [Minutes of the Match held on 08 March 2014, in Seville] (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. Retrieved 8 June 2020.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ Davidson, Neil (10 March 2016). "Toronto FC defender Damien Perquis wears his heart on his sleeve". The Globe and Mail. The Canadian Press. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  3. ^ (French pronunciation: [damjɛ̃ pɛʁkis], Polish: [ˈdamjɛn ˈpɛrkʲis]
  4. ^ Davidson, Neil (15 June 2020). "Former Toronto FC defender Damien Perquis retires after 18-year career". The Globe and Mail. The Canadian Press.
  5. ^ Kołodziejczyk, Michał (1 September 2011). "Damien Perquis już w Warszawie". Rzeczpospolita (in Polish). Archived from the original on 4 October 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  6. ^ "Le rêve polonais de Damien Perquis". L'Est Eclair (in French). 14 August 2009. Archived from the original on 16 August 2009. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
  7. ^ a b "Reprezentacja. Damien Perquis ma polskie obywatelstwo" [National team: Damien Perquis has Polish citizenship]. Gazeta Wyborcza (in Polish). 1 September 2011. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  8. ^ Kaliszuk, Maciej (16 January 2011). "Perquis: "Chcę zdążyć na mecz z Francją"" [I want to make it in time for the France match]. Przeglad Sportowy (in Polish). Archived from the original on 24 March 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  9. ^ "Toronto FC terminate Damien Perquis' contract". The Canadian Press. 12 July 2016.
  10. ^ "Forest sign former Betis defender Perquis". Nottingham Forest F.C. 2 July 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  11. ^ "Forest 3–1 Leeds". nottinghamforest.co.uk. 27 August 2016.
  12. ^ "Nottingham Forest FC".
  13. ^ "Le défenseur Damien Perquis poste son CV sur Linkedin" [Defender Damien Perquis posts his CV on LinkedIn]. L'Équipe (in French). 30 August 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  14. ^ "Chce grać dla Polski, o której nic nie wie". Przegląd Sportowy (in Polish). 30 December 2008. Archived from the original on 26 July 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
  15. ^ "Damien Perquis zagra dla Polski". Wirtualna Polska (in Polish). 23 July 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
  16. ^ "Damien Perquis closer to Poland NT". Polish Football Online. 18 January 2010. Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
  17. ^ "Damien Perquis jest już polskim obywatelem - Sport - polskieradio24.pl". polskieradio24.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  18. ^ Kołtoń, Roman (1 September 2011). "Prezydent zajęty, więc trwa ukrywanie Damiena Perquisa". Interia.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  19. ^ DAMIEN PERQUIS NOUVEL ADJOINT DE LA RÉSERVE DU GAZÉLEC AJACCIO !, actufoot.com, 5 May 2020
  20. ^ a b "D. Perquis". Soccerway. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  21. ^ "Damien Perquis Player Profile". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  22. ^ "Toronto FC 3 (3), Montreal Impact 2 (3) Canadian Championship Match Recap". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
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