Joël Yves Mall (Greek: Τζόελ Μαλ; born 5 April 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Swiss Super League side Servette. Born in Switzerland, he plays for the Cyprus national team after gaining citizenship in 2023.[1]

Joël Mall
Personal information
Full name Joël Yves Mall
Date of birth (1991-04-05) 5 April 1991 (age 33)
Place of birth Baden, Switzerland
Height 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
Servette
Number 1
Youth career
2005–2008 Aarau
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2015 Aarau 114 (0)
2015–2017 Grasshoper 35 (0)
2017–2018 Darmstadt 5 (0)
2018–2019 Pafos 27 (0)
2019–2021 Apollon Limassol 23 (0)
2021 AEK Larnaca 16 (0)
2021–2023 Olympiakos Nicosia 64 (0)
2023– Servette 26 (0)
International career
2011–2012 Switzerland U-20 5 (0)
2023– Cyprus 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 27 May 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18 June 2023

Career

edit

Mall attracted media attention in November 2014 when he pulled off a spectacular double save in a game against FC Zürich. Zürich were awarded a penalty which was taken by Amine Chermiti. Mall saved the initial shot but it rebounded back to Chermiti who shot again, but Mall saved the second shot as well. Incredibly Chermiti then had a third shot at goal but this time it was acrobatically hooked off the line by defender Igor N'Ganga.[2] Mall was under contract with FC Aarau and was used there from the 2008/09 season for the reserve team in the 5th division. At the beginning of the 2011/12 season he ousted Sascha Studer as first-team goalkeeper in the Challenge League , through the club's promotion he then played in the Super League from the 2013/14 season. He made his professional debut in the top flight on 21 March 2010 in an away game against Neuchâtel Xamax the game was lost 1:2.

In June 2015, Mall moved from Super League relegated FC Aarau to record champions Grasshopper Club Zurich and signed a two-year contract.

On 1 June 2017 Mall moved from Grasshopper Club Zürich to Bundesliga relegated SV Darmstadt 98. There he made his first competitive appearance in the 3-4 home defeat against 1. FC Nürnberg on 16 October 2017 (10th matchday) because first-choice goalkeeper Daniel Heuer Fernandes broke his finger in training. After Heuer Fernandes' recovery, he injured his own shoulder which left him only No. 3 by the end of the season.

This eventually saw a move to Cyprus for Paphos FC in 2018 and a year later he moved to Apollon Limassol within the league . He joined AEK Larnaka in early 2021 and Olympiakos Nicosia in mid-year.

On 21 June 2023, he returned to Switzerland, joining previous season's runners-up Servette FC.[3] He made his first team debut in the second leg of Servette's Champions League qualifying match away against K.R.C. Genk, coming on in the 59th minute to replace injured Jérémy Frick.[4] Mall made seven saves during the remainder of the game,[5] which was instrumental in getting his team into a penalty shoot-out with a score of 2–2 after extra time, as Genk were unable to score against Mall. In the shoot-out, two Genk shooters missed the goal and Servette qualified for the third round of Champions League qualifying against Glasgow Rangers.

International career

edit

Mall is a former youth international for Switzerland, and appeared for the Switzerland U-20 team.

On 1 June 2023, after being awarded the country's citizenship, he was called up to the Cyprus National Team.[6] On 17 June 2023, he made his debut in a 1–2 loss against Georgia in UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying.[7] He played his second senior international game on 20 June 2023, a 1–3 loss to Norway.

Career statistics

edit

Club

edit
As of 3 August 2023[8]
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Aarau 2009–10 Swiss Challenge League 2 0 0 0 2 0
2010–11 0 0 0 0 0 0
2011–12 28 0 2 0 30 0
2012–13 34 0 4 0 38 0
2013–14 Swiss Super League 16 0 1 0 17 0
2014–15 34 0 0 0 34 0
Total 114 0 7 0 121 0
Grasshoper 2015–16 Swiss Super League 19 0 1 0 20 0
2016–17 16 0 2 0 5 0 23 0
Total 35 0 3 0 5 0 43 0
Darmstadt 2017–18 2. Bundesliga 5 0 0 0 5 0
Pafos 2018–19 Cypriot First Division 27 0 5 0 32 0
Apollon Limassol 2019–20 20 0 2 0 8 0 30 0
2020–21 3 0 0 0 1 0 4 0
Total 23 0 2 0 9 0 34 0
AEK Larnaca 2020–21 Cypriot First Division 16 0 16 0
Olympiakos Nicosia 2021–22 30 0 2 0 32 0
2022–23 34 0 5 0 39 0
Total 64 0 7 0 71 0
Servette 2023–24 Swiss Super League 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
Career total 284 0 24 0 15 0 0 0 323 0

International

edit
As of match played 20 June 2023[9]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps CS
Cyprus 2023 2 0

Honours

edit

Servette FC

References

edit
  1. ^ "Joël Mall wird Nationalspieler – und könnte bald in der Champions League auflaufen". sport.ch. 10 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  2. ^ "FC Aarau goalkeeper pulls off penalty wonder save as striker misses all three attempts in same game as sickening tackle". The Independent. 18 November 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  3. ^ "Joël Mall débarque à Genève". Servette FC. 21 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  4. ^ "Genk-Servette". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  5. ^ "Rückkehrer Joël Mall: Er kam, sah und wurde zum Helden". srf.ch (in Swiss High German). Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen. 3 August 2023. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  6. ^ "Συνεχίζεται η προετοιμασία για τον αγώνα με τη Γεωργία".
  7. ^ "Ήττα της Εθνικής με 2-1 από τη Γεωργία". cfa.com.cy (in Greek). Cyprus Football Association. 18 June 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  8. ^ Joël Mall at Soccerway  
  9. ^ Joël Mall at Soccerway  
  10. ^ "Servett FC 9:8 FC Lugano". Schweizer Cups Football (in German). 2 June 2024. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
edit