El Fardou Ben Nabouhane

El Fardou Mohamed Ben Nabouhane (Arabic: الفردو محمد بن نبوهان (Serbian Cyrillic: Ел Фардоу Мохамед Бен Набоухане;; born 10 June 1989), known as El Fardou Ben, Ben Nabouhane or simply Ben, is a Comorian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Cypriot First Division club APOEL and the Comoros national team.

El Fardou Ben Nabouhane
Ben Nabouhane with Red Star Belgrade in 2018
Personal information
Full name El Fardou Mohamed Ben Nabouhane
Date of birth (1989-06-10) 10 June 1989
Place of birth Passamainty, Mayotte
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 APOEL
Number 31
Youth career
2000–2006 JS Saint-Pierroise
2006–2008 Le Havre
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2010 Le Havre 8 (0)
2008–2010 → Le Havre B (loan) 64 (17)
2010–2013 Vannes 92 (22)
2013–2015 Veria 61 (25)
2015–2018 Olympiacos 2 (0)
2016 → Levadiakos (loan) 12 (2)
2016–2017 → Panionios (loan) 34 (9)
2018–2023 Red Star Belgrade 132 (65)
2023– APOEL 12 (2)
International career‡
2014– Comoros 37 (17)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12 June 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22 September 2022

Club career

Early career

Born in Passamainty in the French overseas collectivity of Mayotte, Ben moved to the island of Réunion to play for the Réunion Premier League club JS Saint-Pierroise. In 2006, he joined Le Havre.

After spending one year in the reserves, El Fardou was promoted to the senior squad. He made his professional debut and start for Le Havre on 3 March 2008 in a Ligue 2 match against Troyes AC, playing 72 minutes before being substituted.[2] He made one more appearance that season and though he did not contribute that much, he still received a winner's medal as Le Havre were crowned Ligue 2 champions and were promoted to Ligue 1 for the 2008–09 season.

Ben did not see much time in Ligue 1 play early on, instead playing in the reserves. He received his first call up to the squad for their Coupe de la Ligue match against Rennes, held on 12 November 2008. In the match, which he started, he scored his first professional goal in the 15th minute, contributing to Le Havre's 2–1 win over Rennes.[3] He made his Ligue 1 debut just three days later in a match against Paris Saint-Germain.

Veria

After three years playing for Ligue 2 side Vannes OC, he signed a two-year contract with Greek Super League side Veria. He made his debut with the club in an away draw against Platanias in August 2013. He was named Superleague's second top scorer during the 2013–14 Superleague Greece season as he scored 15 goals with Veria.[4] During his second season at Veria he scored his first season goal in a home victory against Xanthi, also grabbing an assist during that match as well as during the second matchday against OFI. He got injured for two weeks and he returned to the pitch as a substitute against PAS Giannina. Ben scored against Xanthi in a 2–2 away draw, while he also assisted the second goal with which Nikos Kaltsas equalized the score. On 17 January 2015, Ben scored twice against OFI in a 4–1 home victory and he was eventually named as the MVP of the 19th matchday.[5] He was also offered a three-year contract extension after the OFI away victory, with triple wages, but it was rejected as the player demanded higher wages. His contract was set to expire on 30 June 2014. On 20 April 2015 Ben also scored twice against Asteras Tripoli in a 4–0 home victory, also assisting one.[6] In the second season, 2014–15 Superleague Greece with the club, he went on to score ten goals and assist eight.

Olympiacos

In July 2015, Ben signed a contract with Greek giants Olympiacos on a free transfer from Veria.[7] According to newspapers rumours Levadiakos was not the only Greek club interested in signing Ben, with Platanias also considering signing him in the January transfer window. The Comoros international suffered a serious cruciate ligament injury in May[8] and was surplus to requirements for Olympiacos manager Marco Silva.[9] On 29 December 2015, since he did not manage to earn a single appearance with the club, he signed a six-month contract with Levadiakos until the end of 2015–16 season.[10] On 10 January 2016, in his first appearance with his new club, he scored in a 3–1 away loss against Olympiacos.[11]

On 8 July 2016, he signed a two-year contract with Panionios for the 2016–17 season, on loan from Olympiacos.[12] On 3 December 2016, in his 9th appearance with the club he scored the only goal for his team in a 1–1 away draw against Platanias. He finished the 2016–17 season as the top scorer and MVP of the club.

On 26 July 2017, after his loan at Panionios expired, Ben scored a brace for Olympiacos in a 3–1 victory against Partizan in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round.[13][14] With only ten appearances with the club in all competitions in the first half of the 2017–18 season, Ben attracted the interest of Serbian club Red Star Belgrade, which offered him a three-year contract.[15] On 19 December 2017, the Comorian international striker was dropped from the Olympiacos first-team squad after deciding not to extend his contract.[16]

Red Star Belgrade

On 12 January 2018, Ben signed a 2+1⁄2-year contract with Red Star Belgrade.[17] The transfer fee was estimated to be €500,000. His contract, which runs until 2020, is worth €1 million plus bonuses.[18]

On 29 August 2018, Ben scored twice, each time from an assist by Miloš Degenek, in the 2–2 draw with Red Bull Salzburg; as a result Red Star Belgrade qualified to the group stage of the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League.[19] On 28 November 2018, he scored his first UEFA Champions League goal in a 3–1 defeat against Napoli in the 2018–19 season.[20] On 29 October 2020, he scored a brace in a 5–1 win over Slovan Liberec in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League.[21]

APOEL

On 16 January 2023, Ben officially joined Cypriot side APOEL on a permanent deal, signing a contract until May 2025 with the club.[22]

International career

On 5 March 2014, he made his international début with Comoros, in a friendly against Burkina Faso.[23] Subsequently sidelined with a serious injury with his club, he returned to action to help his national team reach the qualifying competition of a major international tournament for the first time in their history, a goal they have been pursuing since 2007. On 24 March 2016, it was Ben who scored the only goal of the Africa Cup of Nations preliminary qualifying round match against Botswana, his country's first-ever win in a competitive international.[24]

In January 2022, Ben was selected to the Comoros squad at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, the country's first ever appearance in a major tournament.[25][26] On 18 January 2022, he scored the first goal in the final group stage match at the tournament, in a 3–2 win against Ghana. The result eliminated Ghana and earned his nation a berth in the knockout stages.[27][28]

Career statistics

Club
As of 16 January 2023[29]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Le Havre 2007–08 Ligue 2 2000000020
2008–09 Ligue 1 5010001[lower-alpha 1]171
2009–10 Ligue 2 1000000010
Total 80100011101
Vannes 2010–11 Ligue 2 24300002[lower-alpha 1]0263
2011–12 Championnat National 351111002[lower-alpha 1]03812
2012–13 338000000338
Total 92221100409723
Veria 2013–14 Super League Greece 33151000—3415
2014–15 28102000—3010
Total 61253000—6425
Levadiakos (loan) 2015–16 Super League Greece 1222000—142
Panionios (loan) 2016–17 Super League Greece 3492000—369
Olympiacos 2017–18 Super League Greece 202062—102
Red Star Belgrade 2017–18 Serbian SuperLiga 1480020—168
2018–19 241741147—4225
2019–20 21132160—2914
2020–21 291220116—4218
2021–22 331353142—5218
2022–23 1120040—152
Total 132651355115—19685
Career total 341123246571751427147
  1. Appearances in Coupe de la Ligue

[30]

International
Scores and results list Comoros' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ben Nabouhane goal.
List of international goals scored by El Fardou Ben Nabouhane[23]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
124 March 2016Stade Said Mohamed Cheikh, Mitsamiouli, Comoros Botswana1–01–02017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
211 November 2016Stade El Menzah, Tunis, Tunisia Togo1–12–2Friendly
32–1
426 March 2017Stade Anjalay, Belle Vue Maurel, Mauritius Mauritius1–01–12019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
58 September 2018Stade Said Mohamed Cheikh, Mitsamiouli, Comoros Cameroon1–01–12019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
616 October 2018Stade Said Mohamed Cheikh, Mitsamiouli, Comoros Morocco1–02–22019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
72–2
817 November 2018Stade de Moroni, Moroni, Comoros Malawi1–02–12019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
912 October 2019Stade de Montbauron, Versailles, France Guinea1–01–0Friendly
1015 November 2020Stade Omnisports de Malouzini, Moroni, Comoros Kenya1–02–12021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
111 September 2021Stade Omnisports de Malouzini, Moroni, Comoros Seychelles5–17–1Friendly
126–1
137–1
1413 November 2021Sapanca Atatürk Stadyumu, Sapanca, Turkey Sierra Leone1–02–0Friendly
152–0
1618 January 2022Roumdé Adjia Stadium, Garoua, Cameroon Ghana1–03–22021 Africa Cup of Nations
177 June 2022National Heroes Stadium, Lusaka, Zambia Zambia0–12–12023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

Honours

Red Star Belgrade

Individual

References
  1. "El Fardou Ben Nabouhane". Red Star Belgrade. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  2. "Troyes v. Le Havre Match Report". lfp.fr. Archived from the original on 16 March 2008. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  3. "Le Havre AC 2 – 1 Stade Rennes". go.com. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  4. "Στατιστικά: Γκολ". slgr.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  5. Ιαν. 2015 15:53, Επιμέλεια: Βαγγέλης Σταματόπουλος Δημοσίευση: 17. "Βέροια – ΟΦΗ 4–1". www.sport24.gr. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  6. Απρ. 2015 20:19, Επιμέλεια: Πέτρος Παπαμακάριος Δημοσίευση: 20. "Βέροια-Αστέρας Τρίπολης 4–0". www.sport24.gr. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  7. "Football : Greek Super League transfers in 2018/19 season". www.betinf.com. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  8. "Η αποθεραπεία του Μπεν". www.gazzetta.gr. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  9. "Platanias want to sign Mohamed Ben". www.sdna.gr. 28 November 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  10. "Olympiakos lend Ben to Levadiakos". www.sdna.gr. 29 December 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  11. Olympiakos break consecutive wins record Retrieved 10 January 2016
  12. Ιουλ. 2016 16:00, Επιμέλεια: Δημήτρης Σαμόλης Δημοσίευση: 08. "Δανείστηκε Μπεν ο Πανιώνιος". www.sport24.gr. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  13. Ιουλ. 2017 23:47, Επιμέλεια: Γιώργος Περπερίδης Δημοσίευση: 25. "Με ήρωα τον Μπεν άλωσε το Βελιγράδι ο Ολυμπιακός, 3–1 την Παρτίζαν". www.sport24.gr. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  14. UEFA.com. "UEFA Champions League – Partizan-Olympiacos". UEFA.com. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  15. Δεκ. 2017 14:19, Επιμέλεια: Αλέξης Βιρβίλης Δημοσίευση: 16. "Στην Ελλάδα ο Ερυθρός Αστέρας για Μπεν!". www.sport24.gr. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  16. "sportlike.gr". www.sportlike.gr. Archived from the original on 2 November 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  17. "Бен потписао!". FC Crvena Zvezda. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  18. "Έκλεισε στον Ερυθρό Αστέρα ο Μπεν". Newsbeast.gr. 10 January 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  19. "ЗВЕЗДА У ЕВРОПСКОЈ ЕЛИТИ: Од пакла до Лиге шампиона!". Večernje novosti (in Serbian). 29 August 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  20. "Napoli 3–1 Crvena zvezda". UEFA. 28 November 2018.
  21. "Crvena zvezda 5–1 Liberec". UEFA. 29 October 2020.
  22. "Έναρξη συνεργασίας με El-Fardou Ben". APOEL FC (in Greek). 16 January 2023. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  23. El Fardou Ben Nabouhane at National-Football-Teams.com
  24. "Comoros Islands beat Botswana to record first-ever win". BBC Sport. 25 March 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  25. "Comoros achieve fairytale Nations Cup qualification". BBC Sport. 25 March 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  26. "@fedcomfootball". Twitter.
  27. Verri, Matt (18 January 2022). "Ghana vs Comoros: AFCON 2022 - LIVE!". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  28. "Comoros pulls off historic upset to knock out Ghana on AFCON debut". CNN. 19 January 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  29. "M. Ben Soccerway stats". Soccerway. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  30. "El Fardou Ben Nabouhane". footballdatabase.eu.
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