Romain Saïss

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Romain Saïss
Romain Saïss (cropped).jpg
Saïss with Morocco at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Full name Romain Ghanem Paul Saïss[1]
Date of birth (1990-03-26) 26 March 1990 (age 31)
Place of birth Bourg-de-Péage, France
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[2]
Position(s) Defender, midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Number 27
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2011 Valence 13 (4)
2011–2013 Clermont 48 (1)
2013–2015 Le Havre 61 (3)
2015–2016 Angers 35 (2)
2016– Wolverhampton Wanderers 148 (11)
National team‡
2012– Morocco 47 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 10:39, 31 August 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 2 September 2021

Romain Ghanem Paul Saïss (Arabic: رومان غانم سايس‎; born 26 March 1990) is a Moroccan professional footballer who plays as a defender or a midfielder for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers and captains the Morocco national team.

He began his career with Valence, then played for Le Havre and Clermont of Ligue 2, and Angers of Ligue 1 before joining Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2016.

A full international since 2012, Saïss has earned over 40 caps for Morocco. He represented the nation at two Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, and the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Club career[]

Early career[]

Saïss began his senior career with Olympique de Valence in the Championnat de France Amateur 2 (fifth-tier), and supplemented his €500 monthly salary with washing up at his parents' restaurant. At 21, he signed his first professional contract with Clermont Foot in Ligue 2.[3]

In June 2013, Saïss moved across Ligue 2 to Le Havre AC on a two year deal.[4] When it ended, he joined Ligue 1 side Angers on a two-year contract.[5]

Wolverhampton Wanderers[]

On 30 August 2016, Saïss moved to England, joining Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers for an undisclosed fee on a four-year deal.[6] He made his debut on 17 September in a 2–0 win at Newcastle United.[7] In the game, he was subjected to racial abuse by opponent Jonjo Shelvey, who was given a five-match ban and £100,000 fine by The FA in December.[8]

He scored his first goal for the club on 30 September 2017 in a 4–0 win against Burton Albion.[9]

Following Wolves's promotion to the Premier League in 2018, Saïss made his debut Premier League appearance as a substitute in a 1–1 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford on 22 September 2018.[10] His first start in the Premier League came in a 1–2 defeat away to Cardiff City at the Cardiff City Stadium on 30 November.[11]

Saïss scored his first Premier League goal for Wolves in a 1–1 draw with Fulham at Craven Cottage on 26 December 2018.[12] On 21 February 2019 he agreed a new contract until the summer of 2021.[13]

On 25 July 2019 Saïss made his debut appearance in UEFA European club football competition as a late substitute in Wolves's 2–0 home win against Crusaders in the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League Second Qualifying Round[14] and on 24 October he scored his first goal in such a competition when he scored the opening goal of a 2–1 away win at Slovan Bratislava in the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League group stage.[15]

On 18 March 2021 it was announced that Saïss had triggered an automatic one-year extension to his existing contract with Wolves by making 20 starts in the Premier League during the 2020–21 season and would therefore remain with the club until June 2022.[16]

International career[]

Saïss, who was born and raised in France to a Moroccan father and a French mother, chose to represent the Morocco national team. He made his debut in a 1–0 friendly loss to Togo in November 2012.[4]

Saïss was in the Moroccan squad that reached the quarter-finals of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon. He scored his first international goal in their 3–1 group win over Togo.[17]

In June 2018, he was named in Morocco's 23-man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia,[18] and featured in Morocco's games in the tournament against Iran and Spain.

After the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, in which Morocco made the last 16, Saïss became the captain of the Atlas Lions.[19]

Personal life[]

Saïss is a Muslim and observes fasting in the month of Ramadan.[20]

Career statistics[]

Club[]

As of match played 11 September 2021[21]
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Valence 2010–11 CFA 2 13 4 0 0 — — 13 4
Total 13 4 0 0 — — 13 4
Clermont 2011–12 Ligue 2 17 1 1 0 0 0 — 18 1
2012–13 31 0 0 0 2 0 — 33 0
Total 48 1 1 0 2 0 — 51 1
Le Havre 2013–14 Ligue 2 27 1 0 0 1 0 — 28 1
2014–15 34 2 1 0 1 0 — 36 2
Total 61 3 1 0 2 0 — 64 3
Angers 2015–16 Ligue 1 35 2 1 0 1 0 — 37 2
Total 35 2 1 0 1 0 — 37 2
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2016–17[22] Championship 24 0 1 0 0 0 — 25 0
2017–18[23] 42 4 1 0 1 0 — 44 4
2018–19[24] Premier League 19 2 5 0 2 0 — 26 2
2019–20[25] 33 2 2 0 0 0 14 1 49 3
2020–21[26] 27 3 2 0 1 0 — 30 3
2021–22[27] 4 0 0 0 1 1 — 5 1
Total 149 11 11 0 5 1 14 1 179 13
Career total 306 21 14 0 10 1 14 1 343 23

International[]

As of match played 2 September 2021[28][29]
National team Year Apps Goals
Morocco 2012 1 0
2013 0 0
2014 0 0
2015 0 0
2016 7 0
2017 13 1
2018 11 0
2019 9 0
2020 1 0
2021 5 0
Total 47 1

International goals[]

Scores and results list Morocco's goal tally first.[28]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 20 January 2017 Stade d'Oyem, Oyem, Gabon  Togo 2–1 3–1 2017 Africa Cup of Nations

Honours[]

Club[]

Wolverhampton Wanderers

References[]

  1. ^ "2018/19 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 3 September 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  2. ^ "2018 FIFA World Cup Russia – List of Players" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  3. ^ Masi, Joseph (7 April 2019). "Big Interview: Wolves' Romain Saiss washed pots, now he is dreaming of lifting the FA Cup". Express & Star. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "Romain Saïss au HAC pour 2 ans" [Romain Saïss to HAC for 2 years] (in French). Le Havre AC. 27 June 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  5. ^ "Romain Saïss signe deux ans à Angers" [Romain Saïss signs for two years at Angers]. L'Equipe (in French). 3 July 2015. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  6. ^ "Romain Saiss: Wolves sign Angers midfielder for undisclosed fee". BBC Sport. 30 August 2016.
  7. ^ "Newcastle 0–2 Wolves". BBC Sport. 17 September 2016.
  8. ^ "FA reveals reasons for racial abuse ban for Newcastle's Jonjo Shelvey". The Guardian. Press Association. 23 December 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  9. ^ "Burton Albion 0–4 Wolverhampton Wanderers". BBC Sport. 30 September 2017.
  10. ^ Bysouth, Alex (22 September 2018). "Manchester United 1–1 Wolves: Joao Moutinho earns visitors draw at Old Trafford". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  11. ^ Pritchard, Dafydd (30 November 2018). "Cardiff City 2–1 Wolverhampton Wanderers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  12. ^ Skelton, Jack (26 December 2018). "Fulham 1–1 Wolves: Aleksandar Mitrovic 'wants to cry' after missing chances in draw". BBC Sport.
  13. ^ Hatfield, Luke (21 February 2019). "Romain Saiss signs new Wolves deal". Express & Star. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  14. ^ "Europa League: Wolves beat gritty Crusaders 2–0 on European return". BBC Sport. 25 July 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  15. ^ Johnston, Neil (24 October 2019). "Slovan Bratislava 1–2 Wolves: Raul Jimenez hits winner in Europa League". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  16. ^ Edwards, Joe (18 March 2021). "Exclusive: Wolves' Romain Saiss earns one-year contract extension". Express & Star. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  17. ^ "Morocco fight back to beat Togo and keep Africa Cup of Nations hopes alive". The Guardian. Reuters. 20 January 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  18. ^ "Morocco announce 23-man World Cup squad". African Football. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  19. ^ Boyle, Paul (27 December 2019). "Romain Saïss: 'Nuno does a fantastic job. It's normal other teams want him'". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  20. ^ Edwards, Joe (24 April 2020). "Hard to be home alone admits Wolves' Romain Saiss". Express & Star. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  21. ^ "R. Saïss". Soccerway. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  22. ^ "Games played by Romain Saïss in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
  23. ^ "Games played by Romain Saïss in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  24. ^ "Games played by Romain Saïss in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  25. ^ "Games played by Romain Saïss in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  26. ^ "Games played by Romain Saïss in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  27. ^ "Games played by Romain Saïss in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  28. ^ Jump up to: a b Romain Saïss at National-Football-Teams.com
  29. ^ "Games played by Romain Saiss in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  30. ^ Anderson, John, ed. (2018). Football Yearbook 2018–2019. London: Headline Publishing Group. pp. 386–387. ISBN 978-1-4722-6106-9.

External links[]

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