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Younès Belhanda (born 25 February 1990) is a French-born Moroccan international footballer who currently plays for French Ligue 1 club Nice on loan from Dynamo Kyiv, and the Morocco national team.
Early life
Belhanda was born in Avignon, a commune in southeastern France, but was raised in nearby Aramon. He is of Moroccan descent (from Taza) through his parents and has five other siblings. Belhanda began his football career playing for hometown club Racing Club Aramon. He spent one year at the club before joining MJC Avignon, a local cultural center based in his birthplace. The center offered a variety of activities, which included football. While at the club, Belhanda was utilized as a libero and mentored by trainer Jean-Christophe Gleyze. The player has admitted that Gleyze played a huge part in determining his future stating "He is more than a coach. Since my father worked and I lived in the Gard, it was him who took me to training and my home for three years. Without him and MJC Avignon, I would never have been spotted by other clubs".
At the age of 13, Belhanda was scouted by several professional clubs, most notably Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier, and Saint-Étienne. Despite Marseille being the most enticing club, Belhanda declined the opportunity stating "the club is not known for its training center". He ultimately decided to join Saint-Étienne, but changed his mind after discussing the move with his parents, who recommended that he join Montpellier in order to remain close to home.
Club career
Montpellier
While in Montpellier's youth academy, Belhanda was converted into a defensive midfielder. He spent five years in the club's academy developing alongside fellow youth teammates Benjamin Stambouli, Abdelhamid El Kaoutari, and Rémy Cabella. Towards the end of the 2007–08 season, Belhanda was promoted to the club's reserve team, which was playing in the Championnat de France amateur (CFA), the fourth level of French football. In the ensuing season, he simultaneously played on the reserve team and with the club's under-19 team in the Coupe Gambardella, the national youth cup competition in France. In the latter competition, Montpellier won the title, capturing its second Gambardella cup. Belhanda appeared in all six matches the team contested. In the final, he played the entire match as Montpellier defeated Nantes 2–0.
2009–10 season
As a result of the under-19 team's cup success, several of the members of the squad were awarded professional contracts. Belhanda was among them and, on 27 July 2009, agreed to a three-year deal. He was, subsequently, promoted to the senior team by new incoming manager René Girard and assigned the number 29 shirt. Despite being brought up under a defensive mentality, Girard preferred to utilize Belhanda as an attacker by placing him on the left side of the team's 4–2–3–1 formation. Girard gave his reasons for converting Belhanda stating "his desire to get on the ball combined with excellent technique means he can play through the middle or on the wings". He subsequently likened the player to former France international Robert Pirès.
Belhanda made his professional debut in the team's opening league match of the 2009–10 season against Paris Saint-Germain. The match ended 1–1 with French media outlet La Provence describing the match as a "baptism of fire" for Belhanda. The midfielder admitted to having nerves declaring "I was playing against Makélélé, a player I admired when I was little. These are moments to live. I had pressure; I used to play in front of 200 or 300 people in the CFA". On 19 September 2009, Belhanda scored his first professional goal in a 4–2 defeat to Marseille at the Stade Vélodrome. In his next eight matches with the team, he featured as a starter. On 11 November, he assisted on Montpellier's only goal, scored by Víctor Montaño, in a 1–1 draw with Valenciennes. On 13 January 2010, Belhanda received his first red card after incurring a second yellow card in a 4–0 loss away to Monaco. After starting in the team's 1–0 win over Lens on 20 January,
2010–11 season
Belhanda opened the 2010–11 campaign by making his European debut on 29 July 2010 in the first leg of Montpellier's UEFA Europa League third qualifying round with Hungarian club Győri ETO. He started the match, but was substituted out after 71 minutes as the match finished 1–0. In the second leg, Montpellier were defeated losing on penalties after the match finished 1–0 in favor of Győri in regular and extra time. Belhanda appeared as a second-half substitute in the match and did not attempt a penalty in the shootout. On 19 August, he signed a two-year contract extension with Montpellier until 2014. In the league, Belhanda appeared as a substitute in the team's first two matches of the campaign. He made his first start on 22 August in a 0–0 draw with Caen. On 16 October, Belhanda scored his first goal of the season in a 2–0 victory over Sochaux. He went another two months without scoring before converting the opening goal in a 1–1 draw with Auxerre.
In the Coupe de la Ligue, Montpellier surprisingly reached the final of the competition. Belhanda appeared as a substitute in the team's first two matches of the competition, but was inserted as a starter in the team's 1–0 semi-final extra time win over Paris Saint-Germain. The win over Les Parisiens sent Montpellier to its first major final since the 1993–94 season when the club reached the final of the Coupe de France. In the final, Montpellier faced Marseille and were defeated 1–0 courtesy of a goal by Taye Taiwo. Belhanda played the entire match.
On 20 February 2011, Belhanda assisted on Olivier Giroud's first goal in Montpellier's 2–2 draw with Paris Saint-Germain. A month later, he scored the match-winning goal against the eventual league champions Lille.
2011–12 season
Following the disappointing campaign, Girard sought to change the team's style of play. One of his changes was to move Belhanda into the playmaker position just behind the striker. To coincide with the position switch, Belhanda was given the number ten shirt. The move was ultimately a success as Belhanda opened the campaign scoring two goals in his first three matches in wins over Auxerre and Rennes. On 27 August 2011, in a 2–1 defeat to Lyon, Belhanda received a straight red card after kicking out at Lyon midfielder Miralem Pjanić following a challenge. He returned to the team following the September international break and, after two matches, scored his third goal of the season in a 2–2 draw with Bordeaux. Two weeks later, Belhanda scored and assisted on a goal in a 3–1 away win against Caen. For his performances in the month of November, Belhanda was awarded the UNFP Player of the Month award.
Belhanda went scoreless for the next two months, though he did assist on an Olivier Giroud goal in a 3–1 win over Sochaux. On 21 December, in his final match before departing the club to participate in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, Belhanda scored the opening goal in a league match against Evian in the 47th minute. Minutes later, he assisted on a goal by Giroud to put Montpellier up 2–1. However, Montpellier were unable to retain the lead after conceding three second-half goals to lose 4–2. Belhanda returned to the team on 4 February 2012 appearing as a substitute in a 1–0 win over Brest. Fours days later, Belhanda returned to the starting lineup against Châteauroux in the Coupe de France. In the match, he scored the final goal in a 2–0 win. On 11 February, he converted a penalty in a 3–0 win against Ajaccio. A week later, against first place Paris Saint-Germain, Belhanda scored the equalizing goal just before half-time to draw the match at 1–1. The match eventually finished 2–2 after Montpellier and Paris Saint-Germain each scored a second-half goal.
On 20 May 2012, for the first time in the club's history, Montpellier HSC won the Ligue 1 title.
Dynamo Kyiv
On 1 July 2013, Ukrainian club Dynamo Kyiv announced the signing of Belhanda on a 5-year contract. Media reports had previously linked him with a move to Premier League sides Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham and Aston Villa. Belhanda was assigned shirt number 90. His contract with Montpellier was due to expire in June 2014, with his transfer fee believed to be in the region of €10 million.
He made his debut for Dynamo in a 1–1 draw against Volyn Lutsk coming on as a substitute on the 65th minute. On 4 August 2013, Belhanda scored his first goal for Dynamo Kyiv against Shakhtar Donetsk making it 1–1. Belhanda scored in his Europa League debut against FK Aktobe which would be the winning goal for Dynamo Kyiv. Belhanda scored a hat-trick against Metalurh Donetsk with Dynamo Kyiv winning the match 9–1..
In the 2014/15 season, Belhanda helped Dynamo reached the 1/4 final of the UEFA Europa League, getting eliminated by ACF Fiorentina 1-3 on aggregate, as well as winning the Ukrainian Premier League and the Ukrainian Cup. In the 2015/16 season, Belhanda helped Dynamo reach the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in 16 years.
Schalke 04 (loan)
On 5 January 2016, Belhanda was loaned out to German club FC Schalke 04 until the end of the season.
Nice (loan)
On 31 August 2016, Belhanda signed for French club Nice on loan.
Honours
Club
- Montpellier
- Ligue 1: 2011–12
- Dynamo Kyiv
- Ukrainian Premier League: 2014–15, 2015–16
- Ukrainian Cup: 2013–14, 2014–15
Individual
- Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2011–12
- Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year: 2011–12
- Ligue 1 Goal of the Year: 2011–12 vs. Marseille
- Marc-Vivien Foé Award: 2012
- ^ Younès Belhanda profile at Soccerway