William Vainqueur

William Jacques Vainqueur (born 19 November 1988) is a French former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

He mostly played as a central or defensive midfielder position.

Born in Neuilly-sur-Marne, a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, Vainqueur joined Noisy-le-Grand FC at the age of 8.

In 2001, he moved to the youth system of AJ Auxerre and spent one year there, before being released.

After his release by Auxerre, he continued to train, to work on himself, leading to re–join Bussy-Saint-Georges FC.

There, he was discovered at the age 14 by FC Nantes.

However, joining FC Nantes saw him Vainqueur move away, as he saw them once every month.

Having progressed through the youth system at Nantes, Vainqueur made his senior debut during the 2006–07 Ligue 1 season, which came against Olympique de Marseille, where he started the match before coming off in the 69th minute for Miloš Dimitrijević, in a 0–0 draw on 18 February 2007.

He soon become involved in a number of matches following an absent of Alioum Saidou, though he faced setback with injury.

Although the club were eventually relegated to Ligue 2 at the end of the season, Vainqueur went on to make ten appearances for the side and signed his first professional contract with the Ligue 1 club shortly after.

However, ahead of the 2007–08 season, Vainqueur was sidelined for six months after rupturing his cruciate ligaments on his right knee while on duty for France U19.

By January, he returned to training after being on the sidelines.

However, he suffered another injury with a broken cruciate ligament.

He went on to make five appearances in the 2007–08 season, as FC Nantes were promoted back to Ligue 1 at the first attempt.

It wasn't until on 10 March 2008 when he made his first appearance of the season, coming on as a substitute, in a 1–0 win over Grenoble Foot.

In the 2008–09 season, Vainqueur didn't make his first appearance of the season on 20 September 2008, where he came on as a substitute, in a 2–0 win over Valenciennes.

However, he struggled for the most of the season on the substitute bench, as well as, his own injury concerns.

By the second half of the season, Vainqueur soon regained his first team place, in the defensive midfield position.

Despite suffering injuries and suspension during the 2008–09 season, FC Nantes were relegated back to Ligue 2 after finishing 19th on the table and he went on to make eighteen appearances in all competitions.

In the 2009–10 season, Vainqueur began to feature more in the first team and started in a number of matches.

In a 5–0 win over FC Istres on 21 August 2009, he was sent–off for a second bookable offence, having been booked twice during the match.

After serving a two match suspension, he returned to the first team on 18 September 2009, in a 1–1 draw against SC Bastia.

On 1 October 2009, Vainqueur signed a contract with the club, keeping him until 2013.

Then, on 23 October 2009, he scored his first goal of the side, in a 2–1 win over Dijon FCO.

Although he was sidelined on four more occasions this season, Vainqueur regained his first team place throughout the 2009–10 season, as he went on to make twenty–nine appearances and scoring once in all competitions.

After missing the start of the 2010–11 season, due to injury, Vainqueur made his first appearance of the season, where he started the whole game, in a 2–0 loss against Le Mans in the opening game of the season.

Shortly after, he suffered a thigh strain that saw him miss two matches.

Vainqueur returned to the first team on 20 September 2010, where he started and played 58 minutes, in a 2–1 loss against Reims.

On 10 December 2010, Vainqueur played a role against Le Havre when he was involved in a goal that led to opposition player Loïc Nestor scoring an own goal, which was the only goal of the game.

Despite being on the sidelines over injuries and suspensions, Vainqueur continued to be featured in the first team as the 2010–11 season progressed.

At the end of the season, he went on to make twenty–nine appearances in all competitions.

Then, in a 3–0 loss against Évian Thonon Gaillard on 29 January 2011, he was sent off in the 62nd minute for a professional foul that led him receiving a straight red card.

In the 2011–12 season, Vainqueur continued to feature in the first team for Nantes and appeared in every match by the end of August.

On 30 August 2011, Vainqueur was transferred to Belgian Pro League side Standard Liège, where he signed a five-year contract with the Belgian club.

The transfer move reportedly cost 1.7 million euros.

He was previously linked a move to clubs, such as, Olympiacos, AS Nancy and FC Lorient before he joined Standard Liège.

After starting out on the substitute bench, Vainqueur made his Standard Liège debut on 15 September 2011, where he started the whole game, in a 0–0 against Hannover 96 in the UEFA Europa League Group Stage.

Three days later, on 17 September 2011, Vainqueur made his league debut for the club, where he started the whole game, in a 3–0 loss against Genk.

Since joining the club, he quickly established himself in the starting eleven, playing in the defensive–midfield position.

It wasn't until on 18 January 2018 when Vainqueur scored his first goal for the club, in a 4–2 loss against Lierse, as Standard Liège lose 5–4 on aggregate in the quarter–finals of Belgian Cup.