Jean-Christophe Bahebeck (born 1 May 1993) is a French professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a forward for Palmaflor. He is described as a player who is "very fast with both feet" and is a good striker of the ball. Despite beginning his career as a

striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...

, he plays primarily as a winger. Bahebeck is a former French youth international having earned caps for several age group teams.

Club career

Early career

Bahebeck was born in the commune of Saint-Denis in the

Île-de-France The Île-de-France (, ; literally "Isle of France") is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France. Centred on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the country and often called the ''Région parisienne'' (; en, Pa ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

. He is the younger brother of Red Star Saint-Ouen

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

Rosère Manguélé Rosère Manguélé (born 22 May 1985) is a French former professional footballer, who played as a midfielder, and chairman of amateur club US Persan 03. Career Manguélé was born in Saint-Denis Early in his career he played two games on the ...

. Manguélé previously played professionally with Châteauroux. Bahebeck began his football career in September 2000 at the age of seven playing for local club ''Club Sportif Municipal de Persan'' in the Val d'Oise commune of

Persan Persan () is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department, Île-de-France, northern France. Persan–Beaumont station has rail connections to Pontoise, Creil, Sarcelles and Paris. Population See also *Communes of the Val-d'Oise department The fo ...

. He spent almost three years training at the club before signing his first license with nearby club ''Union Sportive Persan'' in October 2003. While training at Persan, Bahebeck was supervised by club coach Denis Diaz. In 2006, while playing with Persan, Bahebeck was spotted by Paris Saint-Germain officials who offered him a trial at the club. While attending the club's detection camp, he participated in a local tournament held in

Sens Sens () is a commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France, 120 km from Paris. Sens is a sub-prefecture and the second city of the department, the sixth in the region. It is crossed by the Yonne and t ...

that was composed of professional teams and responded by scoring "four or five goals" in the competition. Despite the performance, Bahebeck remained at Persan after it was suggested by his club coaches that he remain in the Val d'Oise department to be with his family and his team for at least one more year. He was later enticed by both

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fran ...

and

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture ...

, but remained keen on joining Paris Saint-Germain stating it was his preference.

Paris Saint-Germain

Bahebeck began his Paris Saint-Germain career in the club's youth academy at the Camp des Loges. He was placed on the club's under-14 team and immediately developed a reputation of a serial goalscorer.

2010–11 season

Ahead of the 2010–11 season, Bahebeck was promoted to the club's reserve team in the

Championnat de France amateur The Championnat National 2, commonly known as National 2 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur (CFA), is a football league competition. The league serves as the fourth tier of the French football league system behind Ligue 1, Ligu ...

, the fourth level of French football. He was also placed onto the club's squad for the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

being assigned the number 37 shirt by manager Antoine Kombouaré. Bahebeck made his amateur debut on 8 August 2010 in a 1–0 victory over Bourg-Péronnas. The following week, he scored his first goal with the team in a 4–1 win over

Monts d'Or Azergues Grand Ouest Association Lyonnaise Football Club (''short'': GOAL FC, or Goal FC) is a French association football club founded in 2000. It took its current name in 2020 when Monts d'Or Azergues Foot merged with smaller amateur clubs ''Tassin FC'' ...

. On the next match day, Bahebeck scored the team's lone goal in a 3–1 defeat to Villefranche. From October to January, he scored five goals in seven appearances, which included both goals in a 2–1 victory over the reserve team of Nancy and the game-winning goal in a win over Jura Sud. As a result of his performances during the campaign, Bahebeck was linked with moves to English clubs Manchester City and Chelsea who sought to acquire the player on a free transfer as he did not have a professional contract at the time. For his performances with the reserve team, Bahebeck was also rewarded with a call up to the club's senior team by Kombouaré and trained with the team during the winter break in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria ...

. Following the conclusion of the winter break, he was sent back down to the reserve team. In late January 2011, Bahebeck returned to the senior team and appeared on the bench in league match against Arles-Avignon. After appearing in the reserve team's 2–0 return victory over Villefranche, he was called back to the senior team. Bahebeck trained with the team ahead of its

Coupe de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and professio ...

quarter-final tie against

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...

on 2 March 2011. He made his professional debut in the match appearing as a substitute late in the second half. The match eventually went into

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only ...

drawn at 0–0 and, in the 108th minute, Bahebeck scored the game-winning goal in a 2–0 victory. Following the season, on 23 June 2011, Bahebeck signed his first professional contract agreeing to a three-year deal with Paris Saint-Germain.

2011–12 season

As a result of his professional contract and performance the previous season, Bahebeck was promoted to the senior team permanently and made his season debut on 6 August 2011 in the team's opening 1–0 league defeat to

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town ('' commune'') and seaport in the Morbihan department of Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginning around 3000 BC, settlements in the area of Lorient are attested by the presen ...

. On 18 August, he made his European debut in the team's first leg

playoff round tie against

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small land ...

er club Differdange. In the match, Bahebeck scored his first goal of the season netting the team's second in a 4–0 away win.

Troyes (loan)

On 3 August 2012, Bahebeck moved on loan to newly promoted Ligue 1 side

Troyes Troyes () is a commune and the capital of the department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within the Champagne wine region and is near ...

for the 2012–13 season. He chose his jersey numbers 19, the same number as his age.

Valenciennes (loan)

On 21 June 2013, Bahebeck moved on loan to Ligue 1 side

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a ...

for the 2013–14 season.

Saint-Étienne (loan)

On 11 August 2015, Bahebeck was loaned to

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the Loire department in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Saint-Étienne is the ...

for the 2015–16 season.

Pescara (loan)

On 22 August 2016, Bahebeck moved abroad for the first time in his senior career; joining newly promoted

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Copp ...

side

Pescara Pescara (; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Abruzzese, Pescàrë; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Pescarese, Piscàrë) is the capital city of the Province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo Regions of Italy, region of Italy. It is the most populated ci ...

on a season-long loan for the 2016–17 season.

Utrecht

On 12 August 2017, Bahebeck was sent on a season-long loan to

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is ...

club FC Utrecht. On 31 August 2018, the last day of the 2018 summer transfer window, he joined the club on a permanent basis. He signed a two-year contract until 2020 with option an of two further years.

International career

Bahebeck is a French youth international having earned caps at under-16 and under-18 level. With the under-16 team, he only made two appearances, which came in the team's double friendly match against the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

in March 2009. Bahebeck failed to earn any caps at under-17 level under coach Guy Ferrier. Following the replacement of Ferrier with former assistant senior national team coach Pierre Mankowski for the 2010–11 season, he was called up to the under-18 team to participate in the 2010 edition of the Tournoi de Limoges to serve as a replacement of

Yaya Sanogo Yaya Sanogo (born 27 January 1993) is a French professional footballer who last played as a striker for Championship side Huddersfield Town. He has also played for Auxerre, Arsenal and Toulouse, and spent loan spells with Crystal Palace, Ajax a ...

who skipped the level. In the team's first match against

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...

, Bahebeck scored two goals in a 4–1 victory. In the team's next group stage match against

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

, he scored the opening goal in a 2–0 rout. He is also eligible to play for

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west- central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; th ...

Honours

Club

Paris Saint-Germain *

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. ...

: 2014–15 *

: 2014–15 * Coupe de la Ligue: 2014–15 * Trophée des Champions:

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

International

France U20 *

FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 when ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...

France U21 * Toulon Tournament runner-up:

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bahebeck, Jean-Christophe 1993 births Living people Sportspeople from Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis Association football forwards French footballers French sportspeople of Cameroonian descent Paris Saint-Germain F.C. players ES Troyes AC players Valenciennes FC players AS Saint-Étienne players Delfino Pescara 1936 players FC Utrecht players Ligue 1 players Serie A players Eredivisie players France youth international footballers France under-21 international footballers French expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands French expatriate sportspeople in Italy French expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Black French sportspeople FK Partizan players Serbian SuperLiga players Expatriate footballers in Serbia Footballers from Seine-Saint-Denis