Yohan Cabaye
Yohan Cabaye is a French former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
Cabaye began his football career playing for hometown club US Tourcoing at the age of six. After seven years developing in the club's youth academy, he joined professional club Lille. Cabaye spent six years in the club's youth academy before making his professional debut in the 2004–05 season helping Lille win the 2004 UEFA Intertoto Cup. He became a regular starter in the following season and participated in the UEFA Champions League for the first time under Claude Puel. Under manager Rudi Garcia, Cabaye developed into a playmaker and had his best season to date in the 2009–10 season scoring over 15 goals from the midfield position. In the 2010–11 season, he was a part of the Lille team that won the league and cup double.
In June 2011 following the end of the season, Cabaye joined English club Newcastle United on a five-year deal. On 29 January 2014, Newcastle accepted a £19 million offer for Cabaye from Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain. Cabaye joined, signing a three-year contract with the club. On 10 July 2015, he joined Crystal Palace. After signing for Dubai club Al-Nasr and later returning to France to play for Saint-Étienne, Cabaye announced his retirement in February 2021.
Cabaye was a former French youth international, having represented his nation at under-16, under-18, under-19, under-20, and under-21 level. At under-19 level, he played on the team that won the 2005 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. With the under-20 team, Cabaye played at the 2006 edition of the Toulon Tournament. At under-21 level, he served as captain of the team for a portion of his stint. In August 2010, Cabaye was called up to the senior team for the first time under new manager Laurent Blanc, and made his international debut on 11 August in a 2–1 friendly defeat against Norway. He went on to earn 48 caps and represented France at two UEFA European Championships and the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Early life
Cabaye was born in the northern commune of Tourcoing in the department of Nord. His father, Didier, is a former football player who now works in the health care field in the city of Roubaix. At the age of 16, Cabaye's father played for professional club Lens and spent a year there training before a double leg fracture abruptly ended his career at the club. After healing, he spent time playing for amateur clubs Stade Jean-Macé and US Tourcoing. The two clubs later merged to form Tourcoing FC.Cabaye has a younger brother, Geoffrey, who has played football in the lower divisions of the French and Belgian leagues, most notably with Tournai and Wasquehal. He is of Vietnamese descent through his paternal grandmother, and has stated he would like to visit the country, possibly to contribute to the development of football there. He later attended one of Vietnam's matches during the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. Cabaye is a Roman Catholic.
Club career
Early career
Cabaye began his football career playing for hometown club Tourcoing FC. He started out at the club at the age of six. Cabaye, initially, did not meet the age requirement to enter the club's youth academy, however, due to his father working at the club at the time, he was allowed entrance into the club's academy. Cabaye spent several years developing at the club and, after excelling in youth games, gained the attention of professional club Lille. In July 1998, he signed youth papers with Lille and was inserted into the club's academy. Cabaye developed quickly in the club's academy and, by the 2003–04 season, was playing on the club's reserve team in the Championnat de France amateur, the fourth level of French football. Cabaye appeared in ten matches and scored one goal in his first season with the team. In the next season, Cabaye rotated between the reserve team and the first team. He played in 15 matches and scored two goals with the reserve team helping the team finish in 2nd place in its group, which resulted in qualification to the league playoffs.Lille
2004–2008
Ahead of the 2004–05 season, Cabaye signed his first professional contract with Lille agreeing to a three-year deal. He trained with the team in the pre-season and participated in the 2004 UEFA Intertoto Cup, which Lille won, appearing in four matches. Cabaye was called up to the senior team for the first time under coach Claude Puel in November 2004. He made his league debut on 7 November 2004 in a league match against Istres. Cabaye started the match and played over 75 minutes in a 2–0 victory. He played with the team for the rest of the campaign contributing infrequently. On 21 December, Cabaye played 120 minutes in a 4–2 penalty shootout defeat to Strasbourg in the Coupe de la Ligue. Cabaye was one of two players who converted their penalty shots for Lille. On 20 February 2005, he received his first-ever red card in a 1–1 draw with Metz.Cabaye finished the campaign with 12 total appearances without scoring.
In the following season, Cabaye's playing time increased significantly as he appeared in 27 league matches, including 20 starts. Cabaye also played in the 2003–04 editions of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup playing in five total appearances in both competitions. He officially made his European debut on 14 September 2005 in a Champions League group stage match against Portuguese club Benfica. On 2 November, he appeared as a substitute in the team's 1–0 upset victory over English club Manchester United. In the league, Cabaye scored his first professional goal in a 3–2 defeat to Auxerre on 19 November. Cabaye's successful individual season was overshadowed by the team's performance as Lille finished in the top of the table, which resulted in the club qualifying for European competition for the third consecutive season. Midway through the season, Lille and Cabaye reached an agreement on a two-year contract extension, which was to expired in June 2010.
Cabaye struggled with ankle injuries in the 2006–07 campaign featuring in only five league matches in the first three months of the season. He scored his first goal of the year on 26 August 2006 in a 3–0 victory over Bordeaux. On 4 November, he scored his second goal of the season in another 3–0 victory, this time against rivals Valenciennes. Cabaye consistently appeared with the team in the league and Champions League before suffering a relapse of his previous ankle injury in a league match against Le Mans in March 2007. He was substituted out of the match and was subsequently rested for the rest of the season. Lille finished the season in 10th-place resulting in the club failing to qualify for European competition for the first time in three seasons.
Cabaye returned to action in the 2007–08 season appearing in 39 matches; 37 of which were starts. He scored a career-high seven goals in the league and assisted on several goals, as well. Lille went undefeated in all six matches Cabaye scored in, which were against such clubs as Bordeaux, Saint-Étienne, Metz, Le Mans, Caen, and Derby du Nord rivals Lens. Against Caen, Cabaye scored a double in a 5–0 thrashing. During the season, he signed another extension agreeing to a three-year deal until 2013. Included in the extension was a release clause of €75 million.
2008–2011
Ahead of the 2008–09 season, Puel departed the club for Lyon and Rudi Garcia was tipped to replace him. In Garcia's formation, Cabaye was paired in the midfield alongside new signing Florent Balmont who acted as a protector of Cabaye and a distributor of the ball along with defensive midfielder Rio Mavuba. Without the constant pressure of tracking back to defend, Cabaye was allowed to act as a playmaker for the talented trio of attackers Eden Hazard, Gervinho, and Pierre-Alain Frau. He appeared in 32 league matches starting them all as Lille finished in 5th place, thus returning to European competition in the next season. Cabaye scored five goals in the league and one in the Coupe de France, which came against amateur club Dunkerque in a 3–0 victory in the Round of 32.Cabaye had arguably one of the best seasons of his career in the 2009–10 season. He appeared in 46 total matches scoring a career-high 15 goals, seven of which were penalty conversions, and assisting on ten. Cabaye scored his first goal of the season on 31 October 2009 in a 2–0 win over Grenoble. In the next five league matches, he scored five goals; four penalty conversions against Valenciennes, Lyon, Monaco, and Saint-Étienne and one from open play against Bordeaux. On 13 February 2010, Cabaye assisted on two goals in 3–1 win against Boulogne. On 18 April, he scored a penalty, another goal in open play, and assisted on one in 4–0 victory over Monaco. His goal in open play against Monaco was nominated for the Goal of the Season. In the UEFA Europa League, Cabaye scored goals against Serbian club Sevojno in the qualifying rounds and Czech club Slavia Prague in the group stage as Lille reached the knockout stage of the competition. The club was eliminated by English club Liverpool in the Round of 16. Lille finished the campaign in fourth place having lost out on qualification to the UEFA Champions League on the final match day of the season.
In the 2010–11 season, Cabaye remained a fixture in the starting eleven under Garcia, however, unlike last season, the midfielder did not play as the primary play-maker as these duties were relinquished to wing forwards Hazard and Gervinho. On 24 October 2010, Cabaye scored his first goal of the campaign in a 3–1 defeat to Marseille. Three days later, he scored two goals, one from open play and another from the penalty spot, in a 4–1 win over Caen in the Coupe de la Ligue. After failing to score or assist on a goal in nearly two months, Cabaye provided assists for two Moussa Sow goals in a 6–3 hammering of Lorient in December 2010. In April 2011, Cabaye provided three assists in three league matches against Caen, Bordeaux, and Arles-Avignon. Cabaye also scored a goal in the match against the latter club. Lille went unbeaten in the three matches, which gave the club a four-point lead in the table heading into the final month of the season.
Cabaye was also instrumental in the team's advancement to the 2011 Coupe de France Final appearing in all five matches the team contested, four of them as a starter. In the final, Cabaye played the entire match as Lille defeated Paris Saint-Germain 1–0 at the Stade de France. A week later, Lille clinched the Ligue 1 title by drawing 2–2 away to Paris Saint-Germain, achieving the club's first league championship since the 1953–54 season and the club's first double since the 1945–46 season. The domestic cup and league title were the first two domestic honours of Cabaye's career.