Stéphane Sparagna

Marseille

Having joined Marseille's academy at the age of seven, Stéphane Sparagna spent his formative years developing his game in the club's La Commanderie academy. His progression into the first team was halted in September 2013, however, when he was forced to undergo surgery following a meniscus injury to his right knee which ruled him out for several months. Upon recovery, and following the appointment of former Argentina coach Marcelo Bielsa as manager, Sparagna made his noncompetitive début for Marseille alongside fellow academy graduate Jérémie Porsan-Clemente in a friendly clash with Benfica in July 2014.

2014–15 season

He was handed his Ligue 1 début by Bielsa on the opening day of the 2014–15 season in a 3–3 draw with Bastia. Sparagna started the match before being substituted at half-time for Brazilian Lucas Mendes with Marseille leading 2–1. He went on to make three further appearances for the senior side during the campaign, amassing a total of 73 minutes of playing time as Marseille ended the season in fourth place. At the end of the season Sparagna signed his first professional contract with l'OM, ending months of speculation linking him with a Bosman move to Premier League club Arsenal. Having lost Mathieu Flamini to Arsenal on a Bosman deal in 2008, Marseille were prompt to conclude a new deal with Sparagna in order to avoid a repeat occurrence.

2015–16 season

Sparagna featured prominently during the pre-season and started in Marseille's 2–0 win over Juventus in the annual Robert Louis-Dreyfus Trophy. He made his first competitive appearance of the 2015–16 campaign in an opening day defeat to Caen where he was booked in the 82nd minute of the match for a foul on Herve Bazile. On 17 September 2015 Sparagna made his Europa League début in a 3–0 win over Eredivisie side Groningen. Exactly three months later he made his Coupe de la Ligue début in a 3–2 win over Ligue 2 side Bourg-en-Bresse. During the match Sparagna was booked and gave away two penalties, both of which were converted by Lakdar Boussaha. Sparagna started the new year by making his Coupe de France début on 3 January 2016, coming on as a late substitute for the injured Paolo De Ceglie in a penalty shoot-out win over Caen.

He was demoted to the reserve side soon thereafter by manager Míchel, who had replaced Bielsa early in the season, and made only one more senior appearance for the campaign. Much of his absence in the second half of the season also came as a result of him suffering from glue ear, a condition which traps liquid behind the eardrum and affects hearing. Míchel confirmed that Sparagna had been suffering from the condition since the start of the season and had unsuccessfully undergone treatment in late 2015. In April he began a new cortisone treatment but was unable to return to the pitch for fear that he would fall short of doping regulations as a result of the medication. Míchel later revealed that his reluctance to play Sparagna, despite the risks involved had he done so, ultimately contributed towards him being sacked by Vincent Labrune and Margarita Louis-Dreyfus, who at the time were the president and owner of the club respectively. Sparagna ultimately made 15 appearances across all competitions as Marseille ended the season in 13th position in Ligue 1 and as runners-up in the Coupe de France.

2016–17 season: Loan to Auxerre

Following his lack of game time in the campaign before, Sparagna admitted during the off-season that he was considering a short term move away from Marseille in order to continue his development. On 24 July 2016, Ligue 2 side Auxerre announced that they had completed the signing of Sparagna on a season-long loan from Marseille, with no option of purchase being included in the deal. He made his début for the club in their opening Ligue 2 game on 30 July 2016, playing the full 90 minutes in a 0–0 draw with Red Star. On 19 August, Sparagna was sent off in the 92nd minute of a 1–0 loss to Clermont for committing a second bookable offense. It was the first time in his career that he had been dismissed at senior club level. The Ligue 2 disciplinary committee later handed Sparagna a three-match ban for his indiscretions, included in which was a one-match suspended sentence. On 21 October, having set up Gaëtan Courtet for Auxerre's equalizer just minutes before, Sparagna netted the first own goal of his career in the 83rd minute of the match to hand Strasbourg a 2-1 win.

French national youth teams

On 7 June 2015, Sparagna captained the France U20 squad to victory in the 2015 edition of the annual Toulon Tournament, scoring the winning goal from a Romain Habran corner in the final against Morocco. In doing so, he led France to their first victory in the tournament since 2008. Prior to scoring in the final, Sparagna had also netted from a free-kick in a 3–1 win over the USA in the tournament's opening game. Following his success at U20 level, he was awarded his début for France U21 on 15 November 2015 but was sent off for two bookable offences in a 2–2 draw with Macedonia.

Style of play

Sparagna has been described as an athletic and combative centre-back, with his uncompromising approach to tackling drawing early comparisons to the likes of Sergio Ramos and Thiago Silva. Marseille's former director for youth recruitment, Georges Prost, described him as a real competitor capable of controlled aggression and precision.

Club

¹ Includes Coupe de France matches. ² Includes Coupe de la Ligue matches. ³ Includes UEFA Europa League matches.

France U20

Personal life

On 10 May 2016, Sparagna took part in the second edition of the Marseille Live Poker Tournament, a tournament hosted by the club and broadcast in conjunction with online Poker giants, Winamax. He finished the tournament in 19th position, the highest of any of the Marseille players who took part.