Samuel Souprayen

Samuel Souprayen (born 18 February 1989) is a French professional footballer who plays for A-League club Melbourne City. He plays as a centre back capable of playing on the left side of defense, as well. He is a former France youth international having earned caps with the under-18, under-19, under-20, and under-21 teams. Souprayen played with the under-20 team at the 2009 Mediterranean Games.

Samuel Souprayen
Souprayen with Auxerre in 2019
Personal information
Date of birth (1989-02-18) 18 February 1989
Place of birth Saint-Benoît, Réunion
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team
 Melbourne City
Number 26
Youth career
1998–2002 CASCOL Oullins
2002–2008 Rennes
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2011 Rennes 24 (0)
2009–2010 → Dijon (loan) 31 (0)
2010–2011 Rennes B 7 (1)
2011–2015 Dijon 124 (2)
2013 Dijon B 1 (0)
2015–2018 Verona 83 (0)
2018–2021 Auxerre 50 (0)
2021–2023 Botev Plovdiv 57 (1)
2023– Melbourne City 0 (0)
International career
2006–2007 France U18 6 (0)
2007–2008 France U19 10 (0)
2009 France U20 2 (0)
2009–2010 France U21 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10 July 2023

Club career

Souprayen was born in Saint-Benoît, Réunion, but grew in the city of Lyon in the Rhône-Alpes region. He began his football career with CASCOL Oullins in the commune of Oullins. He later joined the youth academy of Stade Rennais. At Rennes, he was captain of both the youth sides that won the under-18 championship for the 2006–07 season, and the Coupe Gambardella in 2008.[1] On 17 July 2008, he signed his first professional contract agreeing to a three-year deal through 2011.[2] He was officially promoted to the senior team for the 2008–09 season and was assigned the number 4 shirt by manager Guy Lacombe.

Though on the first team, Souprayen only saw playing time with the club's Championnat de France amateur team appearing in 31 matches, starting 30 of them, helping the side finish 1st among professional clubs in their group, thus qualifying for the playoffs, where they lost to Lyon in the semi-finals.[3] After playing with the reserves for the first four matches of the 2009–10 season, Rennes decided it would be best to send the player on loan to Ligue 2 club Dijon FCO for the entire season.[4] At Dijon, Souprayen was assigned the number 19 shirt and made his professional debut on 11 September in the club's 1–0 win over Bastia playing the entire 90 minutes.[5]

Following the season, on 15 May, Rennes manager Frédéric Antonetti confirmed that Souprayen would return to the team and that he would be heavily relied upon for the 2010–11 season.[6] On 21 July, Rennes rewarded the player with a two-year contract extension tying him to the club until 2013.[7] After featuring in only 16 league matches in the 2010–11 season, in June 2011, Souprayen signed a four-year contract with newly promoted first division club Dijon. The defender had previously spent the 2009–10 season on loan at the club.

On 17 August 2018, Souprayen signed with French club Auxerre.[8]

On 23 July 2021, Souprayen signed a two-year contract as a free agent with Bulgarian First League club Botev Plovdiv.[9]

International career

Born in Réunion, Souprayen is of Malgasy descent. Souprayen has played with both the under-18 team and the under-19 team playing with the squad that fail to qualify for the 2008 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship. On 26 May 2009, he was named to the under-20 squad to play in the 2009 Mediterranean Games. He participated in two of the team's four matches as France finished in 4th-place position.

References
  1. "Samuel Souprayen". Stade Rennais Online (in French). Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  2. "Samuel Souprayen passe pro". Stade Rennais Online (in French). Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  3. "Réserves, demi-finale : Lyon élimine Rennes aux tirs au but". Stade Rennais Online (in French). Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  4. "Samuel Souprayen prêté à Dijon". Archived from the original on 19 July 2011.
  5. "Dijon v. Bastia Match Report".
  6. "Antonetti "compte sur Brahimi"". France Football. 1 June 2010. Archived from the original on 4 June 2010. Retrieved 24 June 2010.
  7. "Souprayen prolonge de deux ans". L'Equipe. 21 July 2010. Archived from the original on 23 July 2010. Retrieved 21 July 2010.
  8. "Ufficiale: Verona, ceduto Souprayen all'Auxerre a titolo definitivo" (in Italian). Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  9. "Ботев със сериозен трансфер – привлече Самуел Супрайен" (in Bulgarian). botevplovdiv.bg. 23 July 2021.
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