Romain Saïss

Romain Ghanem Paul Saïss (Arabic: رومان غانم سايس‎; born 26 March 1990) is a professional footballer who plays for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers and captain of the Morocco national team as a defender or a midfielder.

Romain Saïss
Saïss with Morocco at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Full name Romain Ghanem Paul Saïss[1]
Date of birth (1990-03-26) 26 March 1990
Place of birth Bourg-de-Péage, France
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[2]
Playing position(s) Defender, midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Number 27
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2011 Valence 13 (4)
2011–2013 Clermont 48 (1)
2013–2015 Le Havre 61 (3)
2015–2016 Angers 35 (2)
2016– Wolverhampton Wanderers 110 (8)
National team‡
2012– Morocco 41 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:29, 2 April 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23:58, 19 November 2019 (UTC)

He began his career for Valence, then played for Le Havre and Clermont of Ligue 2, and Angers of Ligue 1 before joining Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2016.

A full international since 2012, Saïss has earned over 40 caps for Morocco. He represented the nation at two Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, and the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Early career

Saïss began his senior career with Olympique de Valence in the Championnat de France Amateur 2 (fifth-tier), and supplemented his €500 monthly salary with washing up at his parents' restaurant. At 21, he signed his first professional contract with Clermont Foot in Ligue 2.[3]

In June 2013, Saïss moved across Ligue 2 to Le Havre AC on a two year deal.[4] When it ended, he joined Ligue 1 side Angers on a two-year contract.[5]

Wolverhampton Wanderers

On 30 August 2016, Saïss moved to England, joining Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers for an undisclosed fee on a four-year deal.[6] He made his debut on 17 September in a 2–0 win at Newcastle United.[7] In the game, he was subjected to racial abuse by opponent Jonjo Shelvey, who was given a five-match ban and £100,000 fine by The FA in December.[8]

He scored his first goal for the club on 30 September 2017 in a 4–0 win against Burton Albion.[9]

Following Wolves's promotion to the Premier League in 2018, Saïss made his debut Premier League appearance as a substitute in a 1–1 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford on 22 September 2018.[10] His first start in the Premier League came in a 1–2 defeat away to Cardiff City at the Cardiff City Stadium on 30 November.[11]

Saïss scored his first Premier League goal for Wolves in a 1–1 draw with Fulham at Craven Cottage on 26 December 2018.[12] On 21 February 2019 he agreed a new contract until the summer of 2021.[13]

On 25 July 2019 Saïss made his debut appearance in UEFA European club football competition as a late substitute in Wolves's 2–0 home win against Crusaders in the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League Second Qualifying Round[14] and on 24 October he scored his first goal in such a competition when he opened a 2–1 away win at Slovan Bratislava in the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League group stage.[15]

International career

Saïss, who was born and raised in France, chose to represent the Morocco national team, for which he qualified through ancestry. He is currently the captain of the national team. He made his debut in a 1–0 friendly loss to Togo in November 2012.[4]

Saïss was in the Moroccan squad that reached the quarter-finals of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon. He scored his first international goal in their 3–1 group win over Togo.[16]

In June 2018 he was named in Morocco's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia[17] and featured in Morocco's games in the tournament against Iran and Spain.

After the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, in which Morocco made the last 16, Saïss became the captain of the Atlas Lions.[18]

Personal life

Saïss is a Muslim and observes fasting in the month of Ramadan.[19]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 27 June 2020[20]
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Valence 2010–11 CFA 2 13400——134
Total 13400——134
Clermont 2011–12 Ligue 2 1711000—181
2012–13 3100020—330
Total 4811020—511
Le Havre 2013–14 Ligue 2 2710010—281
2014–15 3421010—362
Total 6131020—643
Angers 2015–16 Ligue 1 3521010—372
Total 3521010—372
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2016–17[21] Championship 2401000—250
2017–18[22] 4241010—444
2018–19[23] Premier League 1925020—262
2019–20[24] 2822000121423
Total 113890301211379
Career total 270181208012130119

International
As of match played 19 November 2019[25][26]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Morocco 201210
201300
201400
201500
201670
2017131
2018110
201990
Total411

International goals
Scores and results list Morocco's goal tally first.[25]
GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.20 January 2017Stade d'Oyem, Oyem, Gabon Togo2–13–12017 Africa Cup of Nations

Honours

Wolverhampton Wanderers

References
  1. "2018/19 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 3 September 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  2. "2018 FIFA World Cup Russia – List of Players" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  3. Masi, Joseph (7 April 2019). "Big Interview: Wolves' Romain Saiss washed pots, now he is dreaming of lifting the FA Cup". Express & Star. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  4. "Romain Saïss au HAC pour 2 ans" [Romain Saïss to HAC for 2 years] (in French). Le Havre AC. 27 June 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  5. "Romain Saïss signe deux ans à Angers" [Romain Saïss signs for two years at Angers]. L'Equipe (in French). 3 July 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  6. "Romain Saiss: Wolves sign Angers midfielder for undisclosed fee". BBC Sport. 30 August 2016.
  7. "Newcastle 0–2 Wolves". BBC Sport. 17 September 2016.
  8. "FA reveals reasons for racial abuse ban for Newcastle's Jonjo Shelvey". The Guardian. Press Association. 23 December 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  9. "Burton Albion 0–4 Wolverhampton Wanderers". BBC Sport. 30 September 2017.
  10. Bysouth, Alex (22 September 2018). "Manchester United 1–1 Wolves: Joao Moutinho earns visitors draw at Old Trafford". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  11. Pritchard, Dafydd (30 November 2018). "Cardiff City 2–1 Wolverhampton Wanderers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  12. Skelton, Jack (26 December 2018). "Fulham 1–1 Wolves: Aleksandar Mitrovic 'wants to cry' after missing chances in draw". BBC Sport.
  13. Hatfield, Luke (21 February 2019). "Romain Saiss signs new Wolves deal". Express & Star. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  14. "Europa League: Wolves beat gritty Crusaders 2–0 on European return". BBC Sport. 25 July 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  15. Johnston, Neil (24 October 2019). "Slovan Bratislava 1–2 Wolves: Raul Jimenez hits winner in Europa League". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  16. "Morocco fight back to beat Togo and keep Africa Cup of Nations hopes alive". The Guardian. Reuters. 20 January 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  17. "Morocco announce 23-man World Cup squad". African Football. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  18. Boyle, Paul (27 December 2019). "Romain Saïss: 'Nuno does a fantastic job. It's normal other teams want him'". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  19. Edwards, Joe (24 April 2020). "Hard to be home alone admits Wolves' Romain Saiss". Express & Star. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  20. "R. Saïss". Soccerway. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  21. "Games played by Romain Saïss in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  22. "Games played by Romain Saïss in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  23. "Games played by Romain Saïss in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  24. "Games played by Romain Saïss in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  25. "Romain Saïss". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman.
  26. "Games played by Romain Saiss in 2018/2019". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  27. Anderson, John, ed. (2018). Football Yearbook 2018–2019. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 386–387. ISBN 978-1-4722-6106-9.
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