William Gros

William Gros
Personal information
Date of birth	31 March 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth	St. Pierre, Réunion
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	FC Fleury 91
Youth career
	Le Havre
	JS Saint-Pierroise
Senior career*
Years	Team
2010–2014	Kilmarnock
2014	Oldham Athletic
2015–2016	Bangkok
2014–2015	Toulouse Rodéo
2016–2020	AS Vitré
2020–2022	FC Fleury 91
2022–	JS Saint-Pierroise
International career‡
2018–	Madagascar
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11:34, 27 November 2023 (UTC); ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 09:55, 2 February 2020 (UTC)

William Gros (born 31 March 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for JS Saint-Pierroise and the Madagascar national team.

Club career

Gros played in France for Le Havre and in his native Réunion for JS Saint-Pierroise before signing for Scottish club Kilmarnock in September 2010.^[2] After making a substitute appearance, he scored on his first start for the club in March 2011 against St Mirren.^[2] Gros signed a new three-year contract with the club in August 2013.^[3] In March 2014, following a lack of games, Gros announced he was considering his future at the club.^[4]

In June 2014 Gros went on trial with English club Oldham Athletic.^[5] On 21 July 2014, Gros signed a one-month contract with the club.^[6]^[7] Oldham manager Lee Johnson told Gros to prove his fitness in order to earn a longer contract with the club.^[8] Gros was released by the club on 21 August 2014.^[9]

He then returned to France, playing with Toulouse Rodéo and AS Vitré.^[10]

Gros then joined FC Fleury 91 in the summer of 2020.^[11]

Gros rejoined JS Saint-Pierroise in the summer of 2022.^{[citation needed]}

International career

Gros has distant Malagasy ancestry, a great-great-grandmother,^[12] a generation that usually exceeds those allowed by the FIFA eligibility rules (parents and grandparents). However, he was called up to the Madagascar national team on 11 August 2018.^[13] He made his professional debut for Madagascar in a 1–0 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification win over Equatorial Guinea on 16 October 2018.^[14]

Personal life

Gros was born to a Martiniquais father and a Réunionnais mother of Malagasy descent.^[15] He is the cousin of the footballers Vincent and Mathieu Acapandié.^[16]

Career statistics

As of 30 June 2019

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League		National cup		League cup		Other		Total
Club	Season	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Kilmarnock	2010–11^[17]	11	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	11	1
	2011–12^[18]	8	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
	2012–13^[19]	17	1	2	0	1	0	0	0	20	1
	2013–14^[20]	14	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	16	0
	Total	50	2	4	0	2	0	0	0	56	2
Oldham Athletic	2014–15^[21]	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	0
Toulouse Rodéo	2014–15^[10]	11	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	11	2
AS Vitré	2016–17^[10]	8	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	3
	2017–18^[10]	24	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	25	3
	2018–19^[10]	25	8	5	2	0	0	0	0	30	10
	Total	57	14	6	2	0	0	0	0	63	16
Career total		119	18	10	2	3	0	0	0	132	20

References

^ "William Gros". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
^ ^a ^b Alan Marshall (1 March 2011). "Kilmarnock chief Mixu Paatelainen: Starlet William Gros can be hit in SPL.. but fans must be patient". Daily Record. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
^ "Kris Boyd and William Gros sign new Kilmarnock contracts". BBC Sport. 1 August 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
^ "Kilmarnock striker William Gros considering future". The Scotsman. 21 March 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
^ Sheldan Keay (26 June 2014). "Oldham boss targeting Sidibe, Featherstone and Gros". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
^ "SIGNING: William Gros". Oldham Athletic A.F.C. 21 July 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
^ "Oldham Athletic: Amari Morgan-Smith & Willie Gros join". BBC Sport. 21 July 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
^ Matthew Chambers (17 July 2014). "Johnson seeks Gros profit". Oldham Evening Chronicle. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
^ "William Gros Released". Oldham Athletic A.F.C. 21 August 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e William Gros at Soccerway. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
^ "N2 : William GROS s'engage !". FC Fleury 91. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
^ "Football (N2) : William Gros, de l'AS Vitré, a la CAN en ligne de mire" [Football (N2): William Gros, from AS Vitre, has the AFCON in sight]. Actu. 20 September 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2019. It is from my great-great-grandmother that I hold my Malagasy origins.
^ "William Gros et Romain Métanire arrivent chez les Barea de Madagascar" (in French). Orange.mg. 12 August 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
^ "Football : William Gros, de l'AS Vitré, jouera la Coupe d'Afrique des Nations".
^ Sureau, Julien (11 March 2017). "Football. William Gros, attaquant de l'AS Vitré, globe-trotter du ballon rond" [Football. William Gros, AS Vitré striker, globe-trotter of the round ball] (in French). Actu. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
^ "FC Nantes : Mathieu Acapandié devient le plus jeune Réunionnais à devenir footballeur professionnel". Linfo.re.
^ "Games played by William Gros in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
^ "Games played by William Gros in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
^ "Games played by William Gros in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
^ "Games played by William Gros in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
^ "Games played by William Gros in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 October 2016.

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