Pierrick Valdivia (born 18 April 1988) 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 ...

. A former graduate of the Olympique Lyonnais academy, he plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

Club career

Early career

Pierrick began his career with amateur side

AS Saint-Priest Association Sportive de Saint-Priest is a French association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their f ...

. After a couple of years at the club,

Olympique Lyonnais Olympique Lyonnais (), commonly referred to as simply Lyon () or OL, is a French professional association football, football club based in Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. With origins dating back to 1899, they were founded in 1950 and p ...

began inquiring for his services. However, after adhering to the advice of his father, Pierrick decided to remain at Saint-Priest for a few more years. Eventually, he moved to Lyon and quickly ascending the ranks in the

youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team if they show en ...

. Following the 2007–08 season, he signed his first professional contract agreeing to a one-year deal. He was officially promoted to the senior squad for the 2008–09 season and assigned the number 13 shirt. Though promoted, Pierrick spent the entire season playing 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 French football league system behind Ligue 1, Ligue 2 ...

where he regularly impressed. He appeared in 26 matches scoring 6 goals, which included a

hat trick A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mechan ...

against

CA Bastia Cercle Athlétique Bastiais or CA Bastia was a French football club from Bastia, Corsica. The team's highest point was playing in Ligue 2, the second tier of the French football league system, in 2013–14. Their historic home stadium was the ...

and a brace against his former club AS Saint-Priest. His impressive play helped the Lyon Reserves finish 1st among professional clubs in their group and also win the entire competition in the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

. Unfortunately, due to Lyon's midfield already engulfed with talent, he didn't make one appearance with the professional squad.

Sedan

Following the expiration of his contract, Pierrick looked for other destinations. He was linked to

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

club

FC Lorient Football Club Lorient Bretagne Sud (;), commonly referred to as FC Lorient (), is a French professional association football club based in Lorient, Brittany. The club was founded in 1926 and currently competes in Ligue 2, having been relegated f ...

before signing with

CS Sedan Ardennes Club Sportif Sedan Ardennes, commonly referred to as CS Sedan or simply Sedan (), is a football club based in Sedan, France. The club was formed in 1919 and plays its home matches at the Stade Louis Dugauguez located within the city. Despite ...

on 9 June 2009 agreeing to a three-year deal. He made his debut for the club on 1 August 2009 in a

Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a knockout cup competition in French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was established in 1993 and, unlike the Coupe de France ...

match coming on as a substitute in the 90th minute. He play the full

extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play 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 if the game is required t ...

session picking up a

yellow card Yellow card may refer to: * Yellow card (sport), shown in many sports after a rules infraction or, by analogy, a serious warning in other areas * Yellowcard, an American alternative rock band * Yellow Card Scheme, a United Kingdom initiative co ...

in the 108th minute as Sedan won 2–0.

Lens

In July 2012, Valdivia joined

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...

side

RC Lens Racing Club de Lens (), commonly referred to as RC Lens or simply as Lens, is a French professional football club based in the northern city of Lens in the department of Pas-de-Calais. The club's nickname, ''Les Sang et Or'' (), comes from i ...

on a three-year contract.

Sint-Truidense

In June 2016, it was announced that Valdivia had agreed a three-year contract with Belgian side

Sint-Truidense V.V. Koninklijke Sint-Truidense Voetbalvereniging (), commonly known as Sint-Truiden or STVV () or by their nickname De Kanaries (), is a Belgian professional association football, football club located in the city of Sint-Truiden in Limburg (Belgium) ...

Personal life

Valdivia is of Spanish descent, and is a fan of

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Valdivia, Pierrick 1988 births Living people People from Bron Men's association football midfielders French men's footballers French expatriate men's footballers French people of Spanish descent Sportspeople of Spanish descent Olympique Lyonnais players CS Sedan Ardennes players RC Lens players Sint-Truidense V.V. players Nîmes Olympique players En Avant Guingamp players Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players Belgian Pro League players Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Footballers from Lyon Metropolis 21st-century French sportsmen