Sofiane Djeffal (born 19 April 1999) 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

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 ...

for

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

club

Lexington SC Lexington Sporting Club is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 2021 as an expansion side in USL League One (the third division of the United States soccer league system), the clu ...

Career

Youth

Born in

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

, Djeffal spent 11 years within local

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 ...

side

FC Nantes Football Club de Nantes, commonly referred to as FC Nantes or simply Nantes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Naunnt''), is a French professional association football, football club based in Nantes in Pays de la Loire. The club was founded on 21 Ap ...

's youth academy, where he won a league title at the U17 level.

Oregon State Beavers

Ahead of the

2018 NCAA Division I men's soccer season The 2018 NCAA Division I men's soccer season was the 60th season of National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA championship men's College soccer in the United States, college soccer. The regular season began on August 24, 2018, and continue ...

, Djeffal signed a

National Letter of Intent The National Letter of Intent (NLI) is a document used to indicate a student athlete's commitment to participating in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) colleges and universities in the United States. The NCAA Eligibility Center manag ...

to play

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...

for the

Oregon State Beavers men's soccer The Oregon State Beavers men's soccer team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of Oregon State University and competes in the Pac-12 Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The team was founded in 1988 and has competed i ...

program. During his freshman year, Djeffal was an immediate starter in the squad, starting and playing in all 20 matches during his freshman season. During the freshman campaign, he had five goals and seven assists. At the end of his freshman season, he received numerous

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

and national accolades, including being named the Pac-12 Men's Soccer Freshman of the Year, being named to the All-Pac-12 First Team (best XI), and to the ''TopDrawer Soccer'' best XI. He remained a full-time starter in his sophomore season, starting and playing in all 16 matches his sophomore year, having three goals and six assists. During his junior year, he started 10 of the 11 matches, contributing to 6 goals and two assists. He was named to the All-Pac-12 First Team both his sophomore and junior season. During his senior year at Oregon State, Djeffal started in all 19 matches, contributing to six goals and six assists. Upon conclusion of the

2021 NCAA Division I men's soccer season The 2021 NCAA Division I men's soccer season was the 63rd season of NCAA championship men's college soccer. After the 2020 NCAA Division I men's soccer season was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 season partially returned to normal. ...

, Djeffal was named the Pac-12 Conference Men's Soccer Player of the Year and an semifinalist for the

Hermann Trophy The Hermann Trophy is awarded annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the United States's top men's and women's college soccer players. History In 1967, Bob Hermann, the president of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and th ...

, an annual award for the best college soccer player in the United States. While at college, Djeffal appeared for

USL League Two USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

side

Portland Timbers U23s Capital FC is an American soccer team based in Salem, Oregon, United States. Although founded in 2008 as part of the development system for the Portland Timbers USSF D2 organization, beginning in 2011 they were part of the development system fo ...

during their 2019 season, making two appearances.

D.C. United

On 11 January 2022, Djeffal was drafted in the second round with the 36th overall pick for D.C. United in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft. After impressing in preseason training, he signed a contract with United on 25 February 2022. On 26 February 2022, Djeffal made his professional debut for United, coming on in the final 26 minutes in a 3–0 win over

Charlotte FC Charlotte Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team is owned by David Tepper, who was awarded the e ...

. Following the 2022 season, his contract option was declined by D.C. United.

Austin FC

On 17 November 2022, Djeffal was selected by

Austin FC Austin FC is an American professional soccer club based in Austin, Texas. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 2018, the club began play in the 2021 season. Their home stadium is Q ...

with the first pick in the

MLS Re-Entry Draft The MLS Re-Entry Draft is an annual event in which Major League Soccer teams select players who are out of contract or have had their options declined by their current teams. Although the single-entity league does not have true free agency, the re- ...

Stage 1. He made his debut for the club on March 25, 2023, coming on as a substitution in the second half against the

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Founded in ...

. On 21 May 2023, Djeffal made his first start for Austin, replacing Jhojan Valencia in central midfield. On November 17, 2023, Austin FC announced they would not exercise the 2024 option for Djeffal.

Lexington SC

Djeffal transferred to

on 6 January 2025, ahead of the club's first season competing in the

Personal life

Djeffal was born in the northwest of France and is of Algerian descent.

Career statistics

Club

Honors

Individual * Pac-12 Conference Men's Soccer Player of the Year: 2021

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Djeffal, Sofaine 1999 births Living people Footballers from Nantes French men's footballers French sportspeople of Algerian descent All-American college men's soccer players Men's association football midfielders Austin FC players D.C. United draft picks D.C. United players Orange County SC players Oregon State Beavers men's soccer players Capital FC players San Antonio FC players Lexington SC players USL Championship players USL League Two players French expatriate men's footballers Major League Soccer players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States French expatriate sportspeople in the United States 21st-century French sportsmen