Pierre-Yves Hamel (born 3 February 1994) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 2 club Paris FC.

Pierre-Yves Hamel
Hamel in 2015
Personal information
Date of birth (1994-02-03) 3 February 1994 (age 30)
Place of birth Brest, France
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
Paris FC
Number 17
Youth career
2001–2007 RC Lesneven
2007–2009 FC Landerneau
2009–2014 Rennes
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2015 Rennes B 38 (19)
2015–2016 Avranches 2 (0)
2016–2017 Lorient B 32 (8)
2016–2022 Lorient 121 (43)
2021–2022Clermont (loan) 17 (0)
2022– Paris FC 35 (10)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15 January 2024

Career edit

Early career edit

Born in Brest and having grown up in nearby Lesneven, Hamel played for RC Lesneven and FC Landerneau as a youth player before joining the academy of Rennes. While at Landerneau, Hamel was also training at the PEF Ploufragan, a centre which produced future Lorient teammate Sylvain Marveaux.[2] He played in the Coupe Gambardella, an under-19 tournament, with Rennes in 2012.[3] Hamel made his debut with the reserves in 2013 in the CFA2, the fifth-tier of French football. That summer, Hamel took part in an under-21 tournament in Ploufragan, in which Rennes was victorious and Hamel was voted best player.[4] He spent the next season with the reserves, captaining the side and scoring 7 goals in 14 games, missing half the season with injury. Hamel signed his first professional contract in April 2014.[5]

Hamel was not involved in the first-team by manager Philippe Montanier and had a loan request denied, instead playing with the reserves, scoring 8 goals in 20 games.[6] At the end of the season, his contract was not renewed, and Hamel signed with US Avranches in the third-tier.[7] He appeared from the start on the opening day against Béziers, but did not play for the first-team after August, and left the club in the winter.

Lorient edit

On 7 January 2016, Hamel signed with FC Lorient of Ligue 1, and was assigned to the reserves in the fourth-tier, where he was reunited with former trainer at the Rennes academy Régis Le Bris.[2] He scored 3 goals in 12 games, and began the next season with the reserves as well. Hamel was given his senior Lorient debut by manager Sylvain Ripoll on 15 October against Nantes, scoring off the bench in a 1–2 defeat.[8] On 29 January 2017, Hamel signed a contract extension with Lorient, keeping him at the club until 2019.[9] Hamel made four appearances with the first-team in all competitions, but played in 19 games for the reserves, scoring five goals. Lorient were relegated to Ligue 2 after losing a play-off with Troyes.

Behind Gaëtan Courtet and then Majeed Waris at centre-forward, Hamel was given an opportunity in the 2017–18 Coupe de France, where he scored a hat-trick against seventh-tier side Stella Maris Douarnenez on 12 November.[10] Hamel was given his first start of the season the following week by manager Mickaël Landreau, scoring a brace along with an assist against Brest in a 4–2 victory. He scored in his next appearance against Nîmes, winding up with 7 goals in his first 10 starts. On 14 March 2018, Hamel signed another contract extension, this time until 2021.[11] He finished the season with 10 goals in 29 appearances, enough to lead the team, as Lorient finished the season in seventh.

Hamel scored 10 goals in the first half of the 2018–19 season, having cemented a role as Lorient's preferred centre-forward. He scored his first goal after a two-month drought against Red Star, setting off a run of five goals in four matches.[12] He finished the season as Lorient's top scorer with 19 goals, good for third in the league, as the club finished in sixth, level on points with the promotion play-off places.

Hamel signed another extension with Lorient after three games of the 2019–20 season, until 2023.[13] He had just three goals entering November, but finished the first half of the season with seven goals. The emergence of Yann Kitala somewhat cut into his playing time, and at the time of the suspension of the season, Hamel had 9 goals in 26 games, second behind Yoane Wissa, but did have a career high 5 assists. Lorient were promoted to Ligue 1 as champions, ending a three-year spell outside of the top-flight.

Loan to Clermont edit

On 31 August 2021, he joined Clermont on loan for the 2021–22 season.[14]

Paris FC edit

On 24 June 2022, Hamel signed a four-year contract with Paris FC.[15]

Style of play edit

Often compared to Thomas Müller, Hamel describes his game as taking place in the last thirty metres, making a difference with his movement.[16]

Personal life edit

Hamel comes from a footballing family; his maternal grandfather played in Division 1 with Rennes, while both his father and paternal grandfather played at US Avranches.[2] He grew up supporting Brest, where his father was a youth coach. He initially played handball before football, and can speak Breton. When Pape Paye left Lorient in 2017, Hamel claimed his shirt number of 29, which he wears to represent his home department of Finistère.[10]

Career statistics edit

As of 7 March 2020[17]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Avranches 2015–16 Championnat National 2 0 2 0
Lorient 2016–17 Ligue 1 3 1 0 0 1 0 4 1
2017–18 Ligue 2 29 10 1 1 2 0 32 11
2018–19 37 19 0 0 1 0 38 19
2019–20 26 9 2 0 1 1 29 10
Total 95 39 3 1 5 1 103 41
Career total 97 39 3 1 5 1 105 41

References edit

  1. ^ "Pierre-Yves Hamel". Paris FC. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Canivenc, Clovis (30 September 2018). "PORTRAIT – PIERRE-YVES HAMEL, BRETON PUR BEURRE". MaLigue2.
  3. ^ Duhault (4 January 2012). "Revoilà la Coupe Gambardella !". Stade Rennais Online.
  4. ^ Delanoë, Régis (29 July 2013). "ON ÉTAIT AU TOURNOI NATIONAL U21 DE PLOUFRAGAN". So Foot.
  5. ^ "Contrats : Hamel va passer pro, les autres stagiaires non conservés". Stade Rennais Online. 12 April 2014.
  6. ^ "Pierre-Yves Hamel, ultimes défis". Ouest France. 4 April 2015.
  7. ^ Hébert, Clément (23 June 2015). "Pierre-Yves Hamel perpétue la tradition familiale à Avranches". Ouest France.
  8. ^ "Pierre-Yves Hamel, numéro 29, forcément..." Ouest France (in French). 17 November 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  9. ^ "FC Lorient. Pierre-Yves Hamel a prolongé son contrat de deux ans". Ouest France. 29 January 2017.
  10. ^ a b Huchet, Arnaud (17 November 2017). "Pierre-Yves Hamel, numéro 29, forcément..." Ouest France.
  11. ^ "Pierre-Yves Hamel prolonge à Lorient jusqu'en 2021". L'Équipe. 14 March 2018.
  12. ^ Cogné, Baptiste (15 February 2019). "Ligue 2. Le FC Lorient poursuit sa belle série face au Red Star". Ouest France.
  13. ^ "PIERRE-YVES HAMEL PROLONGE JUSQU'EN 2023". FC Lorient. 12 August 2019.
  14. ^ "PIERRE-YVES HAMEL, NOUVEAU RENFORT" (in French). Clermont. 31 August 2021.
  15. ^ "Pierre-Yves Hamel joins Paris FC". Paris FC. 24 June 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  16. ^ Gavard, Clément (3 September 2018). "PIERRE-YVES HAMEL : « J'AI RETROUVÉ LE FOOTBALL QUE J'AIMAIS »". So Foot.
  17. ^ Pierre-Yves Hamel at Soccerway. Retrieved 10 May 2020.

External links edit