Anicet Abel

Anicet Abel

Personal information
Full name	Anicet Abel Andrianantenaina
Date of birth	(1990-03-13) 13 March 1990 (age 34) [1]
Place of birth	Antananarivo, Madagascar
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Central midfielder
Team information
Current team	Maccabi Bnei Reineh
Number	58
Youth career
2002–2004	Ajesaia
2004–2008	Auxerre [2]
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2008–2011	Auxerre B	42	(4)
2011–2012	Chernomorets Burgas	11	(6)
2012–2013	CSKA Sofia	26	(6)
2013–2014	Botev Plovdiv	35	(10)
2014–2021	Ludogorets Razgrad	148	(11)
2021–2022	Future FC	5	(0)
2022–2023	Beroe	11	(0)
2023–	Maccabi Bnei Reineh	11	(0)
International career‡
2015–	Madagascar	18	(3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17 May 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20 July 2022 (UTC)

Anicet Abel Andrianantenaina (born 13 March 1990) is a Malagasy professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Israeli Premier League club Maccabi Bnei Reineh and captains the Madagascar national team.

Career

AJ Auxerre

Born in Antananarivo, Anicet began his career in his home town with Ajesaia. In 2004, he joined the youth ranks of AJ Auxerre and was promoted to the Auxerre B side by 2008. Anicet earned 42 appearances and scored four goals for Auxerre B in the Championnat de France amateur. His last goal came in a 2–0 home win against Lyon-Duchère, scoring at the 55th minute, after which he was subbed out in the 90th minute for Bernard Onanga Itoua. ^[2]

Chernomorets Burgas

On 8 September 2011, Anicet joined Bulgarian side Chernomorets Burgas on a free transfer. He signed a three-year deal. ^[3] Two days later, Anicet made his A Group debut in a 4–0 home win over Vidima-Rakovski. He scored his first goal in a Chernomorets shirt against Svetkavitsa on 17 September in a 3–0 away win, scoring from a shot from 20 meters out. ^[4] On 6 January 2012 he leaves Chernomorets with the pretext that he will retire. ^[5] Anicet became subject of a transfer dispute between CSKA Sofia and Chernomorets Burgas, after his announcing as a CSKA player on 23 January 2012. ^[6]

CSKA Sofia

On 19 July 2012, Anicet made his CSKA Sofia and European debut in a 0–0 away draw against ND Mura in the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League second qualifying round. On 19 August 2012, Anicet made his league debut in a 1–1 away draw against his previous club Chernomorets Burgas. ^[7] On 15 September 2012, he scored his first goal for the club in a 3–0 home win against Botev Vratsa. Scoring from the spot in the 26th minute, after Nilson was fouled inside the penalty area by Martin Vasilev. He scored his second goal for the club in the same match, after he headed-in at the 62nd minute mark from a cross from Sérginho. Till the end of the season he scored 6 league goals for the club in 26 appearances. ^[8]

Botev Plovdiv

On 26 June 2013, Anicet was surprisingly acquired by Botev Plovdiv prior to the start of the 2013–14 A Group season. ^[9] On 4 July 2013, he made his Botev Plovdiv debut in a 1–0 away win against Astana in the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League first qualifying round. On 21 July 2013, Anicet made his league debut in a 2–1 home win against Levski Sofia. Seven days later, on 28 July 2013, he scored his first goal for the club in a 7–1 home win against Pirin Gotse Delchev, heading in, five minutes into the second half from a cross from Boris Galchev, after he was subbed in at the end of first half for Mariyan Ognyanov. ^[10] On 14 September 2013, he scored his first brace for the club in a 2–0 derby home win over city rivals Lokomotiv Plovdiv, his first, a goal in the 18th minute from a pass from Todor Nedelev, and his second, finishing a counterattack in the 55th minute, started by club captain Veselin Minev. ^[11] During his spell in Plovdiv, Anicet established himself as an important player of the team, helping Botev reach the 2014 Bulgarian Cup Final and a Europa League spot with 10 goals in 35 appearances. ^[12]

Ludogorets Razgrad

Anicet in 2012

In July 2014, Anicet joined the defending champions Ludogorets Razgrad, as an aftermath of the financial uncertainty in Botev Plovdiv. ^[13] On 16 July 2014, Anicet made his Ludogorets and UEFA Champions League debut in a 4–0 home win against Luxembourgish side F91 Dudelange, after he was subbed in for Marcelinho at the 63rd minute mark. Three minutes later, he scored his first goal for the club, finishing low after being picked out by Virgil Misidjan. ^[14] On 19 July 2014, he made his league debut in a 1–0 away loss against Haskovo. On 23 August 2014, he scored his first league goal for Ludogorets in a 2–2 away draw against Lokomotiv Sofia. Anicet opened the scoring in the 9th minute, and later scored his second in the 83rd minute. ^[15] On 16 September 2014, he made his UEFA Champions League group stage debut in a 2–1 away loss to Premier League side Liverpool. ^[16] He helped Ludogorets win the league in his debut season, scoring 3 league goals in 22 appearances.

After winning the league again in the following season, Ludogorets qualified for the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League group stage, after beating OFK Titograd and Red Star Belgrade in the qualifiers. ^[17] Ludogorets finished third in the group, 1 point ahead of Basel and qualified for the Europa League knockout stage. ^[18] He played in both the matches against Danish Superliga side Copenhagen, as Ludogorets got knocked out of the tournament in the round of 32. ^[19]

On 20 July 2021 Anicet announced that he is leaving Ludogorets after 7 years, due to mutual agreement, thanking everyone at the club for his experiences there. ^[20]

Future FC

In late October 2021 he joined Egyptian Premier League club Future FC. ^[21] He only had 5 appearances for the club and did not score or assist in any goals.

Beroe

In August 2022, Anicet returned to Bulgaria, signing a contract with Beroe. ^[22]

Maccabi Bnei Reineh

On 24 January 2023 he signed for the Israeli Premier League club Maccabi Bnei Reineh. ^[23]

International career

His first call-up to the Madagascar national side was on 4 July 2007. ^[24] On 6 September 2015, Anicet made his national team debut in a 0–0 draw against Angola in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification. ^[25] One month later, on 13 October 2015, he scored his first ever senior international goal in a 2–2 draw against the Central African Republic in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification first round.

On 12 June 2019, he was named in Madagascar's 23-man squad for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt. ^[26] On 22 June 2019, at the 49th minute mark, in the opening match against Guinea, he rose at the near post and headed in from a corner to score Madagascar's first ever goal in the Africa Cup of Nations. He was subsequently voted as the Man of the Match for his performance. ^[27]

Career statistics

Club

As of 30 June 2023

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		Europe		Super Cup		Total		Ref.
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Auxerre B	2008–09	National 2	2	0	—		—		—		2	0	[ citation needed ]
	2009–10		21	3	—		—		—		21	3	[ citation needed ]
	2010–11		25	1	—		—		—		25	1	[28]
	Total		48	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	48	4	–
Chernomorets Burgas	2011–12	First League	11	6	1	0	—		—		12	6	[28]
	Total		11	6	1	0	0	0	0	0	12	6	–
CSKA Sofia	2012–13	First League	26	6	4	2	2	0	0	0	32	8	[28]
	Total		26	6	4	2	2	0	0	0	32	8	–
Botev Plovdiv	2013–14	First League	35	10	9	1	6	0	0	0	50	11	[28]
	Total		35	10	9	1	6	0	0	0	50	11	–
Ludogorets Razgrad	2014–15	First League	22	3	6	0	8	1	0	0	36	4	[28]
	2015–16		21	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	24	0	[28]
	2016–17	Parva Liga	25	1	5	1	11	0	0	0	41	2	[28]
	2017–18		24	5	2	0	14	1	1	0	41	6	[28]
	2018–19		15	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	16	0	[28]
	2019–20		22	1	2	0	12	1	0	0	36	2	[28]
	2020–21		21	1	5	1	7	0	1	0	34	2	[28]
	Total		148	11	22	2	53	3	3	0	226	16
Future	2021–22	Egyptian Premier League	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	[28]
	Total		5!0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
Beroe Stara Zagora	2022–23	Parva Liga	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	11	0	[28]
	Total		11!0	0	0	0	0	0	0	11	0
Maccabi Bnei Reineh	2022–23	Israeli Premier League	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	11	0	[28]
	Total		11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	11	0
Career total			297	37	36	5	61	3	3	0	395	45	–

International

As of 20 November 2019

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Madagascar	2015	5	1
	2017	1	0
	2019	9	2
Total		15	3

International goals

Scores and results list Madagascar's goal tally first.

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	13 October 2015	Mahamasina Municipal Stadium, Antananarivo, Madagascar	Central African Republic	2–1	2–2	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
2.	22 June 2019	Alexandria Stadium, Alexandria, Egypt	Guinea	1–1	2–2	2019 Africa Cup of Nations
3.	20 November 2019	Stade Général Seyni Kountché, Niamey, Niger	Niger	3–1	6–2	2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

Honours

Ludogorets Razgrad

• Bulgarian First League (7): 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21
• Bulgarian Supercup (2): 2018, 2019

Individual

National Team

• Man of the Match Guinea group B (1): Africa Cup Of Nations Egypt 2019 ^[29]
• Group Stage best squad (1): Africa Cup Of Nations Egypt 2019 ^[30]
• Man of the Match DR Congo round of 16 (1): Africa Cup Of Nations Egypt 2019 ^[31]
• Knight Order of Madagascar: 2019 ^[32]

Record

• First Malagasy player to play UEFA Champions League : 2014
• First Malagasy player to score a goal in UEFA Champions League (First match) : 2014 ^[33]
• First Malagasy player to score a goal in Africa Cup of Nations (First match) : 2019

Personal

In November 2020, Anicet was one of a number of Ludogorets players who tested positive for COVID-19. ^[34]

References

1. "Madagascar - A. Andrianantenaina - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
2. "ANICET ABEL ANDRIANANTENAINA". Mada Sport. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
3. "Нападател от Мадагасксар подписа с Черноморец". bTV. Archived from the original on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
4. "Черноморец с класика над Светкавица" (in Bulgarian). Burgas24. 17 September 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
5. Anicet decided to retire and get back in Madagaskar
6. "Черноморец иска изхвърляне на ЦСКА от А група" (in Bulgarian). Burgas24. 23 January 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
7. "Черноморец и ЦСКА не се победиха" (in Bulgarian). Burgas24. 19 August 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
8. "ЦСКА (София) - Ботев (Враца) 3:0 15 септември 2012" (in Bulgarian). CSKA Sofia. 15 September 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
9. "Ботев (Пд) взима Анисе" (in Bulgarian). Standart. 26 June 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
10. ""Ботев" (Пловдив) спря до 7 срещу "Пирин" (Гоце Делчев)" (in Bulgarian). Horizont. 29 July 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
11. "Ботев (Пловдив) победи Локомотив (Пловдив) с 2:0 в мач с два червени картона" (in Bulgarian). Focus Sport. 14 September 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
12. "Ludogorets secure double, fans pelt players with seats and stones". Eurosport. 15 May 2014. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
13. "Лудогорец представи новата си покупка" (in Bulgarian). Sportal.bg. 4 July 2014.
14. Georgiev, Stoyan (16 July 2014). "Ludogorets prove too much for Dudelange". UEFA . Retrieved 28 June 2019.
15. Ivanov, Victor (27 August 2014). "Лудогорец измъкна трудно точка от Локомотив в "Надежда"" (in Bulgarian). Nov Sport. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
16. Maddock, David (16 September 2014). "Stoppage time penalty from Steven Gerrard hands Reds huge let off". Daily Mirror . Retrieved 28 June 2019.
17. "Ludogorets, Crvena Zvezda Tied in Champions League Qualifier". Novinite. 27 July 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
18. René-Worms, Pierre (7 December 2016). "PSG miss out on top spot in 2-2 draw with Ludogorets". France 24 . Retrieved 28 June 2019.
19. "FC Cop'hagen 0 - 0 Ludogorets". Sky Sports. 23 February 2017. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
20. "Анисе се сбогува с Лудогорец" (in Bulgarian). sportal.bg. 20 July 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
21. Gbaguidi, Jacques Evrard (26 October 2021). "Egypte : Abel Anicet Andrianantenaina signe au Future FC" (in French). africafootunited.com. Archived from the original on 6 December 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
22. "Официално! Абел Анисе се завърна в Първа лига, подписа с Берое" (in Bulgarian). sportlive.bg. 5 August 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
23. Ben Dor, Doron (24 January 2023). "אניצ'ט אבל חתם בבני ריינה, נויוק שוחרר" (in Hebrew). ONE. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
24. "L'équipe Nationale prend forme" (in French). madagascar-tribune.com. Retrieved 4 July 2007.
25. "Анисе пред дебют за Мадагаскар". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
26. "قوائم أمم إفريقيا: مدافع ليون وفوافي على رأس أغلبية فرنسية باختيارات مدغشقر" [Africa Cup of Nations: Jérémy Morel and Paulin Voavy included in Madagascar's final squad]. FilGoal (in Arabic). 12 June 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
27. Homewood, Brian (23 June 2019). "Debutants Madagascar hold Guinea in Nations Cup". Alexandria: Reuters. Archived from the original on 24 June 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
28. Anicet Abel at Soccerway
29. "Homme du match: Et de deux pour Abel Anicet | NewsMada". 8 July 2019.
30. https://lexpress.mg/05/07/2019/can-2019-selection-africaine-anicet-et-carolus-dans-lequipe-type/ https://www.facebook.com/abelanicet/photos/a.617994878307923/2320060011434726/?type=3&theater
31. "Anicet encore une fois au top". 8 July 2019.
32. "Sportinter.tv".
33. "Ludogorets vs. F91 Dudelange - 16 July 2014 - Soccerway".
34. "Абел Анисе е с коронавирус, нови положителни проби и във втория отбор". sportlive.bg. 9 November 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2020.

External links

• "LFP Profile". Archived from the original on 2 October 2009. Retrieved 31 January 2009.
• Anicet Abel at National-Football-Teams.com
• Anicet Abel at Soccerway