Laurent Franco Ciman (born 5 August 1985) is a Belgian former professional footballer who played as a defender. He currently serves as an assistant coach for CF Montréal in Major League Soccer.
 Ciman with Toronto FC in 2020 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Laurent Franco Ciman[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 5 August 1985 | ||
| Place of birth | Farciennes, Belgium | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | CF Montréal (assistant coach) | ||
| 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) |
| Total | 432 | (16) | |
| International career | |||
| 2004–2008 | Belgium U21 | 5 | (0) |
| 2008 | Belgium Olympic | 1 | (0) |
| 2010–2018 | Belgium | 20 | (1) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2021– | CF Montréal (assistant) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career
editCharleroi
edit
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.
Club Brugge
editCiman 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.
Standard Liège
editOn 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.
Montreal Impact
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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]
LAFC
editOn 12 December 2017, Ciman was traded to MLS expansion side Los Angeles FC in exchange for Raheem Edwards and Jukka Raitala.[7] On April 29, 2018 Ciman scored the first goal in LAFCs newly opened Banc of California Stadium on a free kick in the 93rd minute.[8]
Dijon
editOn 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.[9] Just 4 months later, Ciman had his contract at Dijon terminated by mutual consent.[10]
Toronto FC
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On 27 December 2018, he returned to MLS, signing with Toronto FC.[11] Following the 2020 season, Toronto chose not to renew his contract.[12]
International career
edit
Ciman was a member of the Belgium 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.[13] 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.[14]
In May 2018, he was named as an alternate for Belgium’s squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.[15]
Coaching career
editOn February 24, 2021 CF Montréal announced Ciman as a new assistant coach for the club.[16]
Personal
editCiman 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.[17][18] He continued to live in the city even while playing for Toronto.[19] In 2020, Ciman obtained Canadian Permanent Residency status, allowing him to be counted as a domestic player for MLS purposes.[20]
Career statistics
editInternational
editSource:[21]
| Belgium | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2010 | 2 | 0 |
| 2011 | 6 | 0 |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 |
| 2016 | 7 | 1 |
| 2017 | 3 | 0 |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 20 | 1 |
- Belgium score listed first, score column indicates score after each Ciman goal.[22]
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 June 2016 | King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium | 11 |  Norway |
3–2 | 3–2 | Friendly |
Honors
editClub Brugge
- Bruges Matins: 2009[23]
Standard Liège
Montreal Impact
- CONCACAF Champions League: Runner-up 2014–15[24]
Toronto FC
- MLS Eastern Conference: 2019
- MLS Cup: Runner-up 2019[25]
Individual
References
edit- ^ "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: List of Players: Belgium" (PDF). FIFA. 14 July 2014. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 February 2020.
- ^ "Laurent Ciman Profile". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
- ^ Marcos au FC Bruges Ciman au Standard -lesoir.be (in French)
- ^ "Impact signs centre back Laurent Ciman to multi-year deal". Montreal Impact. 22 January 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
- ^ "MLS Defender of the Year - Laurent Ciman". mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
- ^ "Villa, Pirlo and Kaka headline MLS All-Star squad to face Arsenal". FourFourTwo. 17 July 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
- ^ "Impact acquires Jukka Raitala and Raheem Edwards". Impact Montreal. 12 December 2017.
- ^ mlssoccer. "LAFC happy to find "perfect ending" in home opener despite uneven display | MLSSoccer.com". mlssoccer. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
- ^ "Belgium international Laurent Ciman exits LAFC for move to Dijon". ESPN FC. 29 August 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Toronto FC Select Ciman with Top Allocation Ranking". Toronto FC. 27 December 2018.
- ^ "Toronto FC Announces Off-season Roster Moves". Toronto FC. 30 November 2020.
- ^ "Adnan Januzaj included in Belgium's World Cup squad". BBC Sport. 13 May 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
- ^ Andy Hunter (13 June 2016). "Emanuele Giaccherini and Graziano Pellè seal Italy win over Belgium". theguardian.com. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
- ^ "Vincent Kompany included in Belgium's World Cup squad despite injury". The Guardian. 4 June 2018.
- ^ Bogert, Tom (24 February 2021). "CF Montréal fan-favorite Laurent Ciman returns as assistant coach". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Veteran defender Laurent Ciman steps up for Toronto FC in playoffs". Sportsnet. 28 October 2019.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Laurent Ciman at National-Football-Teams.com
- ^ Laurent Ciman at Soccerway
- ^ "Doelpunt Sonck bezorgt Club zege op Brugse Metten". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). 19 July 2009.
- ^ Gordon, Sean (29 April 2015). "Impact's CONCACAF Champions League trophy chances dashed after home defeat". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
- ^ "Seattle Sounders are 2019 MLS Cup champions: Rave Green win second MLS title". Major League Soccer. 10 November 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2019.
- ^ "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.
External links
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