Fouad "Fred" Bachirou (born 15 April 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Cyprus First Division side Omonia.

Fouad Bachirou
Bachirou in 2012
Personal information
Date of birth (1990-04-15) 15 April 1990 (age 33)
Place of birth Valence, France
Height 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
Omonia
Number 19
Youth career
0000–2006 USA Clichy
2006–2008 Paris Saint-Germain
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2010 Paris Saint-Germain CFA[1] 22 (1)
2010–2014 Greenock Morton 117 (2)
2014–2017 Östersunds FK 86 (2)
2018–2020 Malmö FF 58 (0)
2020–2021 Nottingham Forest 1 (0)
2021– Omonia 58 (0)
International career
2014– Comoros 35 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 28 February 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 24 June 2022

He previously played for Paris Saint-Germain reserves, Greenock Morton in Scotland, Swedish sides Östersund and Malmö FF, and EFL Championship side Nottingham Forest. Born in France, he represents Comoros at international level.

Career edit

Paris Saint-Germain edit

Born in Valence, Bachirou started his career in the youth teams at local side Football Club de la Place de Clichy, before winning a move to Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain, where he played in the CFA side in the French third division – scoring once against UJA Maccabi Paris Métropole.[2]

Greenock Morton edit

Bachirou transferred to Greenock Morton in July 2010, after a trial spell at the club.[3] He made his competitive debut for Greenock Morton in a Scottish Challenge Cup match against Dumbarton on 25 July 2010.[4] In June 2011, Bachirou signed a new one-year contract at Morton.[5] After over 50 appearances for the club, Bachirou scored his first goal in a 2–2 draw with Queen of the South on 7 April 2012.[6] Bachirou stated he would not be seeking a new contract with the club in May 2012.[7] On 17 August 2012, Bachirou made a U-turn and re-signed for the club,[8] after rejecting a move to league rivals Hamilton Accies.[9]

In September 2013, he signed a contract extension until summer 2015.[10]

Östersunds FK edit

Bachirou made a surprise move to Östersunds FK in August 2014.[11] He made his debut from the bench away to promoted club Husqvarna FF.[12] During his time at Östersund they managed to get a promotion to Allsvenskan, win the Swedish Cup and qualify for the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League.

Malmö FF edit

 
Bachirou playing for Malmö FF in 2018.

On 9 January 2018, Swedish champions Malmö FF confirmed the transfer of Bachirou for an estimated fee of around 7 million SEK (roughly £600,000).

Nottingham Forest edit

On 26 August 2020, Bachirou joined EFL Championship side Nottingham Forest for an undisclosed transfer fee.[13] He made his first-team debut in a 1–0 EFL Cup defeat to Barnsley. Despite being Sabri Lamouchi's 'priority target' during the summer transfer window, Bachirou made only three appearances for Forest during the 2020–21 season.[14][15] At the end of the season, Bachirou was told that he was not in Chris Hughton's plans and was free to leave the club.[16]

Omonia FC edit

On 16 August 2021, Bachirou joined Cypriot First Division side Omonia Nicosia on a free transfer.[17] In two years, he helped the club win the Cypriot Cup twice.[18]

International career edit

In February 2014, Bachirou received a call-up to the Comoros national team for their friendly against Burkina Faso.[19] Bachirou played for 90 minutes as Comoros recorded a respectable 1–1 draw in Marseille, France.[20]

He made his first competitive appearance, and won his second cap, in the first leg of an Africa Cup of Nations first round qualifier away to Kenya in Nairobi.[21] Bachirou started the match but could not prevent Comoros from suffering a 1–0 defeat.

Personal life edit

Bachirou is a Muslim, and his parents hail from the Comoros.[22] In 2019, he married his Scottish fiancée, Debbie.

Career statistics edit

Club edit

As of 22 July 2023[23]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
PSG Reserves 2008–09 CFA 12 1 12 1
2009–10 CFA 10 0 10 0
Total 22 1 0 0 0 0 22 1
Greenock Morton 2010–11 Scottish First Division 19 0 7 0 26 1
2011–12 Scottish First Division 30 1 6 0 36 1
2011–12 Scottish First Division 33 1 5 0 38 0
2013–14 Scottish Championship 35 0 6 0 41 0
Total 117 2 24 0 0 0 141 2
Östersunds FK 2014 Superettan 10 0 1 0 11 0
2015 Superettan 29 0 0 0 38 0
2016 Allsvenskan 22 1 1 0 23 1
2017 Allsvenskan 25 1 6 0 12 1 43 2
Total 86 2 8 0 12 1 102 3
Malmö FF 2018 Allsvenskan 22 0 7 0 13 0 42 0
2019 Allsvenskan 24 0 4 0 14 0 42 0
2020 Allsvenskan 12 0 4 0 2 0 18 0
Total 58 0 15 0 29 0 102 0
Nottingham Forest 2020–21 EFL Championship 1 0 2[a] 0 3 0
Omonia 2021–22 Cypriot First Division 21 0 6 0 6 0 33 0
2022–23 Cypriot First Division 21 0 7[b] 0 3 0 31 0
2023–24 Cypriot First Division 0 0 1[c] 0 0 0 1 0
Total 42 0 14 0 9 0 64 0
Career total 326 5 63 0 50 1 439 6

Honours edit

Östersunds FK

Malmö FF

Omonia

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Includes appearances in the FA Cup and the EFL Cup
  2. ^ Includes appearance in the 2022 Cypriot Super Cup and appearances in the 2022-23 Cypriot Cup
  3. ^ Includes appearance in the 2023 Cypriot Super Cup and appearances in the 2023-24 Cypriot Cup
  1. ^ "Fouad Bachirou joueur de Libre/Etranger – Foot National" (in French). Foot-National. 16 April 2012. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
  2. ^ "Football à Clichy : Des jeunes à haut niveau" (in French). Clichy Evenements. 22 July 2010. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
  3. ^ "ALBA EXTRA: Moore will go with the flow". Evening Times. 23 July 2010. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
  4. ^ "Morton sink Dumbarton 4–3 on penalties after stalemate". BBC Sport. 25 July 2010. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
  5. ^ Mitchell, Jonathan (4 June 2011). "Sean and Fred sign up for Ton". Greenock Telegraph. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
  6. ^ "Morton 2–2 Queen of the South: Plucky showing as Queens seek survival". The Scotsman. 8 April 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  7. ^ Mitchell, Jonathan (8 May 2012). "Fred: It's time to move on". Greenock Telegraph. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  8. ^ Mitchell, Jonathan (18 August 2012). "BREAKING NEWS: Bachirou back at Morton". Greenock Telegraph. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  9. ^ Tait, Chris (28 August 2012). "Happy to be Bach". Greenock Telegraph. Retrieved 28 August 2012.
  10. ^ Mitchell, Jonathan (27 September 2013). "EXCLUSIVE Duo pen new deals for Morton". Greenock Telegraph. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  11. ^ Mitchell, Jonathan (9 August 2014). "Bachirou make Sweden switch". Greenock Telegraph. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  12. ^ "HUSQVARNA VS. ÖSTERSUNDS FK 1 – 4". Soccerway. 16 August 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  13. ^ "Bachirou joins the Reds".
  14. ^ PA Media (5 September 2020). "Barnsley 1-0 Nottingham Forest". BBC Football. BBC. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  15. ^ Taylor, Paul. "Lamouchi's 'Plan B', a team of transfers and a subtle shift in balance at Forest". The Athletic. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  16. ^ Taylor, Paul. "How Chris Hughton plans to reshape Nottingham Forest's squad". The Athletic. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  17. ^ "Bachirou departs for Cyprus".
  18. ^ "Omonia beat Ethnikos on penalties to win Cyprus Cup | Cyprus Mail". cyprus-mail.com/. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  19. ^ Mitchell, Jonathan (26 February 2014). "Fred's delight at international call-up". Greenock Telegraph. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  20. ^ Mitchell, Jonathan (6 March 2014). "Bachirou's joy at international debut". Greenock Telegraph. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  21. ^ Mitchell, Jonathan (21 May 2014). "Bachirou earns his 2nd cap". Greenock Telegraph.
  22. ^ Mitchell, Jonathan, "An Interview With Fouad Bachirou", Greenock Morton F.C. official matchday programme
  23. ^ "Fouad Bachirou". soccerway.com. Soccerway. Retrieved 19 August 2019.

External links edit