Guillaume Hoarau

Guillaume Hoarau (born 5 March 1984) is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker for Swiss club Sion.

Club Career

Early career

Hoarau started his football career at JS Saint-Pierroise in his native Reunion. In 1995, Le Havre AC scouts considered him too "thin" and signed his then-teammate Florent Sinama Pongolle. After gaining the attention of then-Le Havre manager Jean-Francois Domergue, Hoarau signed his first professional contract at the age of 20 for Le Havre in January 2004. He made his league debut on 12 May 2004 against Chateauroux in a 1–2 loss, coming on as a substitute.

Despite being signed, Hoarau spent the majority of his career under Domergue playing in the reserves, often earning brief call-ups to the senior squad, then quickly being sent down. He registered his first career goal in just the second match of the 2004–05 season in a 2–1 victory over Amiens. Despite this, his play was heavily limited following the firing of Domergue and the appointment of temporary manager Philippe Hinschberger. During the following season under new manager Thierry Uvenard, his playing time increased—he appeared in 28 matches, scoring five goals. The next season, he only made five appearances for Le Havre before being sent on loan to Gueugnon, where he made 21 appearances and scored eight goals.

Ligue 2 star

Under new manager Jean-Marc Nobilo, his fourth manager in four years, Hoarau was installed as the lead striker and flourished. Playing in all 38 league matches, he was top scorer with 28 goals and, at one point during the season, scored at least one goal in 12-straight matches. His performances led to the French media naming him the "Karim Benzema of Ligue 2", as Benzema was having a similar season in Ligue 1. His performances caught the eye of several Ligue 1 clubs, such as Auxerre, Marseille, and Paris Saint-Germain to name a few, as well as English clubs Arsenal, Blackburn Rovers and Chelsea, who likened the player to Pete

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