Fafà Picault

Fabrice-Jean "Fafà" Picault (born 23 February 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Major League Soccer club Nashville SC. Born in the United States, he represents the Haiti national team.

Fafà Picault[1]
Picault with the Philadelphia Union in 2017
Personal information
Full name Fabrice-Jean Picault[2]
Date of birth (1991-02-23) 23 February 1991
Place of birth New York, New York, United States
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Position(s) Forward, winger
Team information
Current team
 Nashville SC
Number 7
Youth career
2006–2011 Cagliari
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012 Tampa Bay Rowdies 18 (0)
2014 Fort Lauderdale Strikers 22 (12)
2015 Sparta Prague 0 (0)
2015–2017 FC St. Pauli 22 (4)
2017–2019 Philadelphia Union 89 (21)
2020 FC Dallas 18 (3)
2021–2022 Houston Dynamo 61 (18)
2023– Nashville SC 20 (4)
International career‡
2016–2018 United States 2 (0)
2023– Haiti 5 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15 July 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16 October 2023

Early life

Picault was born to Haitian immigrants[3] in New York City.[4]

Picault comes from a multigenerational soccer lineage. His grandfather played for the Haiti national team, while his father Leslie played professional indoor soccer with the Philadelphia Fever in the MISL.[5][6][4]

He grew up in the Upper West Side, near Riverbank State Park along the Hudson River, where he played his first game.[4]

At the age of nine, his parents moved with him to Miami for a change of life. When he was sixteen, he moved to Italy to begin his youth career, where he learned Italian and connected with the culture.[4]

Club career

Picault started his career with the youth and reserve team of Italian club Cagliari, but later parted ways with the club after five years.[4] He has commented on being subjected to frequent racism during his time in Sardinia.[7]

Tampa Bay Rowdies

He later attended the NASL player combine in 2012 and impressed scouts working for Tampa Bay Rowdies, and later signed a one-year deal with the club. Picault is known for his quickness and pace combined with his vision and technical abilities.[8]

Prior to starting his career with the Rowdies, Picault suffered a broken foot bone causing him to be sidelined through the preseason and first month and a half of the regular season. He made his professional debut in a 3–2 victory against Atlanta Silverbacks on May 19, 2012.[9] Making 18 appearances in league play, Picault helped the Rowdies win Soccer Bowl 2012, but would register no goals.

After the end of the 2012 NASL Season, the Rowdies declined the contract option for Picault.[10]

Fort Lauderdale Strikers

He returned for a second spell in the NASL with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers ahead of the 2014 season.[7][11] He made his debut for the Strikers on April 12 in a 2–0 win over Ottawa Fury. He scored his first goal for Fort Lauderdale on April 26 to help the Strikers to a 3–2 win over Indy Eleven.[12] Picault would experience a breakout season with the Strikers, hitting 12 goals in 24 appearances during the 2014 season, second best in the NASL that season.[13] The Strikers reached Soccer Bowl 2014, but ultimately lost to the San Antonio Scorpions.[14]

Sparta Prague

In January 2015, he moved to Czech team Sparta Prague.[15] He was released by Prague on June 17, 2015.[16] He never made a league appearance for the club, but came on in the 84th minute in a Czech Cup match against Jablonec. During his stay with Sparta he played mostly with the U21 side.

FC St. Pauli

In September 2015, Picault signed a one-year contract with German 2. Bundesliga club FC St. Pauli with the option of a one-year extension.[17] He made his debut for St. Pauli on September 14 in a 2–0 win over MSV Duisburg, picking up an assist in the game. On March 11, 2016, Picault scored his first goal for St. Pauli in a 4–3 loss to SC Paderborn. He scored twice on April 16 to give St. Pauli a 2–0 win over VfL Bochum.[18] He ended his first season in Germany with four goals and one assist from 16 appearances as he helped St. Pauli finish 4th in the table.[19]

In April 2016, his contract was extended until June 2018.[20]

In the 2016–17 Season, Picault made six appearances with one assists in league play as well as two appearances in the DFB-Pokal before being sold in the winter.[21]

Philadelphia Union
Picault warming up for the Union before a game in August 2017.

On February 2, 2017, Picault returned to the United States and signed with MLS side, Philadelphia Union.[22] He made his MLS debut as a substitute in the Union's home opener against Toronto FC.[23] In May, Picault scored his first goal for the Union in a dominant 4–0 performance against D.C. United.[24] In Philadelphia's next game, Picault scored again in a 2–0 win over the Houston Dynamo. On October 22, in the final game of the regular season, he scored twice and had an assist as the Union defeated Orlando City 6–1, a performance that earned him a spot in the MLS Team of the Week.[25][26] Picault ended the regular season with seven goals and three assists from 28 appearances, along with two appearances in U.S. Open Cup play.[27][12] Despite a strong first season from Picault, the Union missed out on the playoffs after finishing 8th in the Eastern Conference.[28]

Ahead of the 2018 season, Picault received a three-match suspension for offensive language exchanged with Pierre da Silva during a preseason, closed–door scrimmage with Orlando City.[29] On April 7, he made his first appearance of the season in Philly's 4th game, picking up an assist in a 1–1 draw with the San Jose Earthquakes.[30] After the game, Picault was named to the bench for the MLS Team of the Week.[31] He scored his first goal of the season on June 2 in a 3–1 loss to Atlanta United. On September 19, Picault scored three minutes into stoppage time to give the Union a 1–0 win against the Seattle Sounders. He scored two goals and had one assist on October 6 to help the Union defeat Minnesota United 5–1, a performance that saw him named to the MLS Team of the Week.[30][32] Picault ended the regular season with ten goals and five assists from 29 appearances, helping the Union qualify for playoffs.[27] In Philadelphia's first game of the playoffs, Picault played the full game in a 3–1 loss to NYCFC.[30] Picault also made four appearances and recorded one assist in Open Cup Play, helping the Union reach the final, where they lost 3–0 to the Houston Dynamo.[12]

On May 1, 2019, Picault scored his first goal of the 2019 season in a 2–0 win over FC Cincinnati.[33] During the regular season, Picault made 32 appearances, scored four goals, and recorded four assists as the Union finished 3rd in the Eastern Conference to qualify for the playoffs again.[27][34] Facing off with the New York Red Bulls in Philly's opening game of the playoffs, Picault came off the bench and scored in the 78th minute to level the score at 3. He then got the assist on Marco Fabián goal in extra time as the Union won 4–3. In Philadelphia's next match, Picault got the start, but was unable to replicate his heroics as the Union lost 2–0 to Atlanta United.[33]

FC Dallas

On November 26, 2019, Picault was traded to FC Dallas in exchange for $300,000 of 2020 General Allocation Money.[35] He made his Dallas debut on February 29 in a 2–0 win over the Philadelphia Union. On August 29, Picault scored his first goal for Dallas in a 3–2 win against Minnesota United.[36] Two days later he was named to the MLS Team of the Week.[37] On October 31, Picault scored twice and picked up an assist to give Dallas a 3–0 win over the Houston Dynamo, a performance that saw him named to the Team of the Week for the second time of the season.[27][38] In a shortened season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Picault played in 18 of a possible 23 regular season games while scoring three goals and adding two assists.[27] He helped Dallas finish 5th in the Western Conference and qualify for the playoffs. Picault started both of Dallas's playoff games as they reached the Conference Semifinals, where they lost 1–0 to the Seattle Sounders.[36]

Houston Dynamo

On December 17, 2020, Picault was traded to the Houston Dynamo, Dallas's Texas Derby rivals, in exchange for $275,000 of General Allocation Money, plus a potential $50,000 GAM in additional performance incentives.[39] He made his Dynamo debut on April 16, starting in a 2–1 win over the San Jose Earthquakes to open the season. On May 8, Picault scored his first goal for Houston in a 1–1 draw against his former club, FC Dallas. He scored two goals on September 11 in a 3–0 win against Austin FC.[40] His performance against Austin saw him named to the MLS Team of the Week.[41] Picault ended the season with 31 appearances, 11 goals, and five assists.[27] He was named Dynamo MVP and Dynamo Players' Player of the Year.[42] Despite a good season for Picault, it was a poor year for Houston, finishing last in the Western Conference and missing out on the playoffs.[43]

Picault scored his first and second goals of the 2022 season on April 2, helping Houston to a 3–1 win against Inter Miami.[44] He was named to the Team of the Week following the match.[45] He scored another brace on September 13 as the Dynamo beat the New England Revolution 3–1, once again being included in the Team of the Week.[44][46] Picault ended the regular season with 7 goals and 3 assists in 30 appearances as Houston finished 13th in the West, failing to qualify for the playoffs again.[27][47]

Nashville SC

On November 9, 2022, Picault was traded to Nashville SC in exchange for $50,000 of 2023 General Allocation Money, $50,000 of 2024 GAM, and up to a conditional $150,000 in 2024 GAM.[48]

International career

Early Haiti call-up

On September 9, 2014, Picault, along with Fort Lauderdale Strikers teammate James Marcelin, was called up to the Haiti national team to face Chile in an international friendly at Lockhart Stadium.[49] He did not make an appearance.

United States

Picault was called up to the United States senior team for a May 22, 2016 friendly against Puerto Rico and made his debut in second half of that game.[50][51] He won his second cap on October 11, 2018 in a friendly against Colombia.[51]

Haiti

On June 19, 2023, Picault was included in Haiti's 23-man roster for the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Picault started and played 84 minutes in his debut in Haiti's 2–1 win over Qatar.

Personal life

Picault has maintained a connection with his Haitian roots and holds passports from both the United States and Haiti.[52]

Picault is also very fond of Haitian cuisine and music; he especially enjoys cooked plantain and his friends and cousin are even part of a Haitian band. He speaks seven languages, five in which he is fluent in: English, Creole, French, Italian and Spanish, while speaking a little Portuguese, and German.[4]

During his time in Italy, he maintained close relationships with players who now play in the Serie A and has an Italian agent.[4]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 22 February 2023[53][54][55]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[lower-alpha 1] League cup[lower-alpha 2] Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Tampa Bay Rowdies2012NASL 1802010—210
Fort Lauderdale Strikers2014NASL 22120020—2412
Sparta Prague2014–15Czech First League 0010——10
FC St. Pauli 2015–16 2. Bundesliga 16400——164
2016–17 6020——80
Total 224200000244
Philadelphia Union2017Major League Soccer 28720——307
2018 29104010—3410
2019 3241021—355
Total 89217031009922
FC Dallas2020Major League Soccer 183—20—203
Houston Dynamo2021Major League Soccer 3111———3111
2022 30720——327
Total 61182000006318
Nashville SC2023Major League Soccer 0000000000
Career total 23058140810022052
  1. Includes U.S. Open Cup, Czech Cup and DFB-Pokal
  2. Includes NASL Playoffs and MLS Cup Playoffs

International
As of matches played 15 October 2023[51]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
United States 201610
201700
201810
Total20
National teamYearAppsGoals
Haiti 202350
Total50

Honours

Tampa Bay Rowdies

Individual

References
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  2. "Fabrice-Jean Picault Personenprofil". DFB (in German). Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  3. Brian Sciaretta (December 15, 2009). "Picault emerging in Italy's Primavera". Yanks Abroad. Archived from the original on September 27, 2013. Retrieved September 10, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. Zeitlin, Dave, ed. (July 10, 2017). "They call me Fafa: 10 Things with Philly's globetrotting speedster Picault". MLS. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  5. Michelle Kaufman (September 25, 2014). "Fort Lauderdale Strikers' 'Fafa' Picault back home after chasing dream in Italy". miamiherald.com. Miami Herald. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
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  8. "Home - nasl.com".
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