Léandre Griffit (born 21 May 1984) 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 lea ...

who plays as a winger and is currently a free agent.

Career

Europe

Griffit was born in

Maubeuge Maubeuge (; historical or ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department in northern France. It is situated on both banks of the Sambre (here canalized), east of Valenciennes and ab ...

. He began his career in his native France with

Amiens SC Amiens Sporting Club (; commonly referred to as Amiens SC or simply Amiens) is a French association football club based in the northern city of Amiens in the Hauts-de-France region. The club was formed in 1901 and play in Ligue 2, the second d ...

, before moving to

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

in the Premiership in 2003. He only played seven games for Southampton and scored against

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

and

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

. He was loaned out to

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

and

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...

before being released. He then moved to Sweden and played for

IF Elfsborg Idrottsföreningen Elfsborg, more commonly known as IF Elfsborg or simply Elfsborg (), is a professional association football, football club based in Borås, Sweden, and is affiliated to the Västergötlands Fotbollförbund. They play in the Alls ...

where he only played 21 games and was loaned out to

IFK Norrköping Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna Norrköping, more commonly known as IFK Norrköping or simply Norrköping, is a Swedish professional association football, football club based in Norrköping. The club is affiliated to Östergötlands Fotbollför ...

in the 2007–08 season. In the summer of 2008 he went on an unsuccessful trial with

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...

. He then went on trial with

Neil Warnock Neil Warnock (born 1 December 1948) is an English football manager and former player who is currently football advisor at Torquay United. He is also a television and radio pundit. In a managerial career spanning five decades, Warnock has managed ...

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

and was signed, but only made a handful of appearances for the club before departing.

North America

After an unsuccessful trial with

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

club

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Established on December 15, 2005, the club was founded after their fo ...

, Griffit went on to sign with Houston's league rivals

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 cha ...

on 16 April 2010. Griffit made his first-team debut for the Crew on 6 July 2010 in the Black & Gold's 3–0 home triumph over the

USL-2 The USL Second Division (commonly referred to as USL-2) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, operated by United Soccer Leagues (USL). It was at the third tier of soccer in the United States, behind Major League Soccer ...

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are the oldest continuously operating professional socc ...

in the 2010 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Quarterfinals. He entered the match in the 76th minute and was credited with an assist on the Crew's third goal. He made his first MLS appearance on 24 July 2010 against the Dynamo, entering in the 87th minute, and scoring his first MLS goal three minutes later by collecting a rebound of a shot by

Guillermo Barros Schelotto Guillermo Barros Schelotto (; born 4 May 1973) is an Argentine football manager and former player who played as a forward. He is the current manager of Vélez Sarsfield. Barros Schelotto played 16 years of his professional career in the Argent ...

. On 15 July 2011, he was traded to

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

along with Andy Iro for

Tony Tchani Tony Ghislain Tchani (; born 13 April 1989) is a Cameroonian retired footballer who played as a midfielder. Youth and college soccer Tchani moved to the United States from his native Cameroon in 2004, settling in Norfolk, Virginia. He atten ...

. Griffit made his debut for Toronto in the

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...

group stage on 25 August against

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The franchise be ...

, he came on as a second half sub for Gianluca Zavarise. Griffit was waived by Toronto on 23 November 2011.

Personal

Griffit is married to Milena and they have a son, Enzo.

Career statistics

Honours

IF Elfsborg * 2006

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; ), also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan (, ) is a professional association football league in Sweden and the highest level of the Swedish football league system. Founded in 1924, it operates on a system of promotion and relegatio ...

champions

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Griffit, Leandre 1984 births Living people Footballers from Maubeuge French people of Martiniquais descent French men's footballers France men's under-21 international footballers Amiens SC players Southampton F.C. players Leeds United F.C. players Rotherham United F.C. players IF Elfsborg players IFK Norrköping players Crystal Palace F.C. players Columbus Crew players Toronto FC players Premier League players English Football League players Allsvenskan players Major League Soccer players Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Sweden Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States UR La Louvière Centre players French expatriate men's footballers French expatriate sportspeople in the United States Men's association football wingers French expatriate sportspeople in England French expatriate sportspeople in Sweden French expatriate sportspeople in Canada Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium French expatriate sportspeople in Belgium 21st-century French sportsmen