Name: Damien Perquis
Born: April 10, 1984, in Troyes, France
Position: Defender
Pro club: Toronto
Why is he in the news?
The France-born Polish centre-back signed with Toronto FC this week, adding some much-needed depth, muscle (he’s six-foot-one and weighs 165 pounds) and experience to the Reds’ defence.
He’s special because
He’s exactly what TFC needed: an experienced defender who can partner Steven Caldwell in the centre of the back line.
Last season, the Reds conceded a whopping 54 goals and saw their defensive depth further depleted following the recent move of Canadian international Doneil Henry to West Ham United.
Toronto badly required a centre back who’s been around the block—someone who Caldwell didn’t have to babysit while marshalling Reds’ back line. Perquis should fill that void.
Club career
Perquis came up through the youth system of French team Troyes, his hometown club. He made his debut for the senior team in 2003 before moving to fellow Ligue Un side Saint Etienne in 2005. Things didn’t quite work out with les verts, and he was loaned out to Sochaux where his career really began to flourish.
He impressed Sochaux so much that he signed a permanent deal in 2008, and stayed four more years at the club. In 2012 he moved to Spain when he joined Real Betis, but a rash of injuries limited to just over 30 league matches during his three years in Spain. Real Betis released him from his contract this month, paving the way for his move to TFC.
International career
Although born in France, Perquis plays internationally for Poland—he’s eligible to represent Poland through his grandmother.
Perquis earned his first of 13 caps for Poland in a 2011 friendly against Germany. He scored his first goal in a 2013 friendly versus Slovakia, and played in all three of Poland’s group stage games at Euro 2012.
His most famous moment
Perquis is pretty fearless. How fearless? He was once knocked out cold for Real Betis in a game against Malaga when attempting to make a headed clearance inside his penalty area.
Here’s an interesting fact
Perquis speaks French, English, Spanish and some Polish.
He also took the Ice Bucket Challenge:
Oh, and it’s pronounced “Pear-keese.”
He said it
Before signing with Toronto, Perquis talked to fellow Frenchman Vincent Nogueira (of the Philadelphia Union) and New England Revolution forward Charlie Davies about coming to MLS—both Nogueira and Davies played with Perquis at French club Sochaux.
“He (Davis) said ‘Bro, you must be here because the new football is here,’ so I said okay,” Perquis said.
What they’re saying about him
“He’s a leader. He’s aggressive. He’s a guy who doesn’t give away a lot of space to attackers, he gets tight. He’s challenging balls that are coming into forwards.” – Toronto FC coach Greg Vanney
“He’s sort of a no-nonsense fellow. He’s a guy who’s definitely going to have presence when there’s time to have presence on the attackers. That’s part of our strategy – we don’t want to concede space this year, we want to take away space and look to get the ball back as soon as we can.” – Vanney
“I’m over-the-moon excited about having Damien on our roster. Because this league is hard and there’s a lot of travel. People will get injured. You need leaders, people with experience and that’s what Damien brings.” – Toronto FC general manager Tim Bezbatchenko
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