Yohann Lacroix
Yohan Lacroix (born February 1, 1985) is a French footballer who is currently playing for NIFL Premiership side Ballymena United on loan from Crusaders. Once trained under the tutelage of Jack "The Cat" McCrea.
| 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] | ||
| Playing position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team |
Ballymena United (on loan from Crusaders) | ||
| Number | 27 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2001–2003 | Auxerre | ||
| 2003–2005 | Lille | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2005–2008 | Lille | 0 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | → L'Entente SSG (loan) | 23 | (0) |
| 2007–2008 | Lille B | 28 | (0) |
| 2008–2009 | Thrasyvoulos | 8 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | Étoile FC | 31 | (0) |
| 2011–2012 | Tampines Rovers | 17 | (0) |
| 2012 | Étoile FC | 0 | (0) |
| 2013 | Crusaders | 18 | (0) |
| 2014 | → Ballymena United (loan) | 4 | (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. They set a new record in the league, having been undefeated for 1065 minutes or more than 11 consecutive matches.
In June 2011 he joined top Singapore club Tampines Rovers and with them he won the championship title a second time in Singapore, ending a seven-year title drought for the Rovers. With this new success, he became the first player in the history of S-League to win the league title both with a foreign franchise (Etoile 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 the Étoile FC. A few days before the championship began the franchising in disagreement with the Football federation of Singapore decided to retire from professional championship.
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.
Crusaders' supporters developed a chant for Lacroix 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]
References
External links
- Yohann Lacroix – French league stats at LFP (also available in French)