Caroline Pizzala

Caroline Pizzala
Pizzala with PSG, 2013
Personal information
Full name Caroline Pizzala
Date of birth (1987-11-23) 23 November 1987 (age 37)
Place of birth Marseille, France
Height 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Olympique de Marseille
Number 20
Youth career
1994–1997 Marseille Sud d'Espagne
1997–2001 ASPTT Marseille
2001–2004 Celtic Marseille
2004–2005 CNFE Clairefontaine
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2006 CNFE Clairefontaine 22 (0)
2006–2007 Celtic Marseille 12 (3)
2007–2014 Paris Saint-Germain 127 (20)
2014–2020 Olympique de Marseille 123 (28)
International career
2007–2011 France 17 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14 October 2022 (UTC)

Caroline Pizzala (born 23 November 1987) is a French football player who plays for French club Olympique de Marseille of the Division 1 Féminine. She plays as a central midfielder and is a member of the France women's national football team.

Club career

Early career

Pizzala began her career playing for local club in her hometown before settling in at Celtic Marseille in 2001. While playing with Celtic, she was teammates with fellow international Louisa Necib. Both players were instrumental in helping the club win the Division 3 Féminine, the third level of French women's football in 2004. In the league's final match, Pizzala scored a goal in a 4–0 win over Le Mans.[1] In 2004, Pizzala and Necib were both selected to attend CNFE Clairefontaine, the women's section of the Clairefontaine academy. She spent three years at the academy and made 22 appearances scoring no goals in her final season. After departing the academy, Pizzala returned to Celtic Marseille and played with the club's senior team, who were now playing in D2 Féminine, the second division of football for women in France. With Celtic, she made 13 league appearances scoring two goals.

Paris Saint-Germain

Following the 2006–07 season, Pizzala signed with Paris Saint-Germain. Her inaugural season at the club saw Pizzala earn her international debut with France, though her domestic club struggled finishing mid-table. For the 2009–10 season, fellow internationals Camille Abily, Sonia Bompastor, and Élise Bussaglia joined Les Parisiens. The arrival of veterans have paid off for Paris Saint-Germain as the club reached first place in the league after the first ten matches. Pizzala appeared in all ten of those matches scoring two goals against Soyaux and La Roche-sur-Yon. In the 2009–10 edition of the Challenge de France, Pizzala scored two goals as Paris Saint-Germain reached the final. In the final, she scored a double as PSG cruised to a 5–0 victory over Montpellier. Pizzala finished the season with 25 total appearances and eight goals. Pizzala remained a starter for the 2010–11 season. She appeared in all 22 league matches scoring three goals as Paris Saint-Germain finished runner-up to the champions Lyon. The second-place finish resulted in Paris Saint-Germain qualifying for the UEFA Women's Champions League for the first time in the club's history.

Olympique de Marseille

After seven seasons in Paris, during the summer of 2014, she decided to not renew her contract with Paris Saint-Germain and return to her home town of Marseille to join Division 2 Féminine side Olympique de Marseille.[2] She helped the club win the Division 2 title in 2015–16, and gain promotion to Division 1 Féminine's following season.

International career

Pizzala had previously starred with the women's under-17 team helping France win the bronze medal at the 2003 European Youth Festival, an early incarnation of what is now the UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship.[3] In 2009, Pizzala appeared for her nation at the 2009 University Games, held in Belgrade, Serbia. Pizzala captained the team that finished in 4th-place position after losing 4–1 to Great Britain in the bronze medal match. On 1 November 2007, she earned her first cap with the senior women's national team in a match against Netherlands. Since making her debut, Pizzala has featured in only one competitive match for France; a 2–0 away win over Slovenia in qualifying for UEFA Women's Euro 2009. The rest of her appearances have been in friendly matches.

Career statistics

Club

Statistics accurate as of match played 14 October 2022

Club Season League Cup Continental Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
CNFE Clairefontaine 2005–06 22 0 0 0 – – 22 0
Total 22 0 0 0 – – 22 0
Celtic Marseille 2006–07 12 3 0 0 – – 12 3
Total 12 3 0 0 – – 12 3
Paris SG 2007–08 19 4 4 0 – – 23 4
2008–09 17 4 1 0 – – 18 4
2009–10 20 4 5 4 – – 25 8
2010–11 22 3 1 0 – – 23 3
2011–12 18 4 5 6 4 0 27 10
2012–13 14 0 5 0 – – 19 0
2013–14 17 1 3 1 – – 20 2
Total 127 20 24 11 4 0 155 31
Ol. Marseille 2014–15 21 6 4 0 – – 25 6
2015–16 22 8 0 0 – – 22 8
2016–17 19 4 1 0 – – 20 4
2017-18 21 1 3 0 – – 24 1
2018-19 24 7 1 0 – – 25 7
2019-20 16 2 1 0 – – 17 2
Total 123 28 10 0 – – 133 28
Career total 284 51 34 11 4 0 322 62

International

(Correct as of 25 August 2011)[4]
National team Season Apps Goals
France 2007–08 3 0
2008–09 4 0
2009–10 0 0
2010–11 9 0
2011–12 1 0
Total 17 0

Honours

Club

Celtic Marseille
  • Division 3 Féminine (1): 2003–04
Paris Saint-Germain
Olympique de Marseille
  • Division 2 Féminine (1): 2015–16

References

  1. ^ Caroline Finale D3 2003–2004 – Finale[permanent dead link‍]
  2. ^ "Caroline Pizzala, l'expérience discrète". Olympique de Marseille (in French). 2 September 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  3. ^ Caroline Pizzala : "Décrocher la médaille de bronze"
  4. ^ PIZZALA Caroline Archived 25 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine, French Football Federation, accessed 12 June 2011