Benjamin Nivet

Benjamin Nivet

Nivet in 2010
Personal information
Date of birth	(1977-01-02) 2 January 1977 (age 47)
Place of birth	Chartres, France
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1997–2000	Auxerre	13	(0)
1999–2000	→ Châteauroux (loan)	30	(5)
2000–2002	Châteauroux	54	(8)
2002–2007	Troyes	165	(32)
2007–2012	Caen	167	(24)
2012–2019	Troyes	226	(41)
Total		655	(110)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Benjamin Nivet (born 2 January 1977) is a French former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.

He began his career in 1997 with Auxerre, and is best known for his association with Troyes, whom he represented over 12 years in two separate spells, from 2002 to 2007 and later from 2012 until his retirement in 2019. Nivet holds the records at Troyes for most appearances and most goals for the club. ^[1]

Career

Born in Chartres, Nivet started his career as a youth with Auxerre. He made his first league appearances in the 1997–98 season. However, by the end of the following season, he had made only twelve further appearances and was sent on loan to Ligue 2 club Châteauroux for the 1999–2000 season, before making the move permanent for the next season. ^[1]

After establishing himself as a regular for Châteauroux, he made the step back up to Ligue 1 with Troyes in January 2002. Despite a slow start, Nivet established himself as a regular in the club's 2002–03 relegation season. Wearing the number 10 shirt, he proved an eye for goal, weighing in with 12 goals in Troyes' 2005–06 promotion season. He played at Troyes from 2002 to 2007.

He signed a three-year contract with Stade Malherbe Caen on 8 June 2007, a club newly promoted to Ligue 1.

After five years in Caen, he could not avoid relegation at the end of the 2011–12 season. A free agent, he returned to Troyes, promoted to Ligue 1, signing a one-year contract on 11 June 2012. ^[2] After four years with Troyes, he could not avoid relegation at the end of the 2015–16 season after a disastrous campaign which saw the club win only three matches and concede some heavy defeats, most notably a resounding 9–0 home loss to PSG, the club's biggest ever victory. ^[1]

On 8 January 2017, Nivet, who had turned 40 just six days before, played his 650th professional match and scored twice against his former club Auxerre in a 4–2 loss in the round of 64 of the 2016–17 Coupe de France. ^{[3] [4]} On 28 May 2017, the 40-year-old Nivet scored a late winner in the second leg of the promotion play-off against Lorient, which turned out to be the decisive goal that saw Troyes promoted to Ligue 1. ^[5]

In the top division, Nivet was only able to reach a rich vein of form towards the end of the 2017–18 season, when he registred one goal contribution for three matches in a row, including a goal against Olympique de Marseille on 15 April 2018, ^{[6] [7]} becoming, at the age of 41 years and 103 days, the oldest player to ever score in Ligue 1, thus breaking the previous record set by Vitorino Hilton on 7 February 2017, at the age of 39. ^[8] He then extented this record when he scored again just two weeks later, on 28 April, in a 3–1 win over Stade Malherbe Caen. ^[7]

In the spring of 2019, Nivet announced his retirement from professional football aged 42. ^[9] Nivet perhaps deserved to play in a more upscale club, but his loyalty to Troyes and his innate modesty prevent that. In fact, he even reportedly declined an offer from the City of Troyes to build a statue in his honour. ^[1]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition ^{[10] [11] [12]}

Club	Season	League			Cup [lower-alpha 1]		Other [lower-alpha 2]		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Auxerre	1997–98	Division 1	7	0	2	0	—		9	0
	1998–99		6	0	—		—		6	0
	Total		13	0	2	0	0	0	15	0
Châteauroux	1999–2000	Division 2	30	5	3	0	—		33	5
	2000–01		33	4	6	1	—		39	5
	2001–02		21	4	4	0	—		25	0
	Total		84	13	13	1	0	0	97	14
Troyes	2001–02	Ligue 1 [lower-alpha 3]	6	0	1	0	—		7	0
	2002–03		23	2	1	0	—		24	2
	2003–04	Ligue 2	35	6	4	1	—		39	7
	2004–05		32	12	3	1	—		35	13
	2005–06	Ligue 1	38	6	2	1	—		40	7
	2006–07		31	6	2	0	—		33	6
	Total		165	32	13	3	0	0	178	35
Caen	2007–08	Ligue 1	35	2	1	0	—		36	2
	2008–09		32	6	2	0	—		34	6
	2009–10	Ligue 2	36	6	4	0	—		40	6
	2010–11	Ligue 1	31	3	3	0	—		34	3
	2011–12		33	7	3	0	—		36	7
	Total		167	24	13	0	0	0	180	24
Troyes	2012–13	Ligue 1	37	10	3	0	—		40	10
	2013–14	Ligue 2	36	8	7	3	—		43	11
	2014–15		35	11	2	0	—		37	11
	2015–16	Ligue 1	34	3	2	1	—		36	4
	2016–17	Ligue 2	36	7	1	2	2	1	39	10
	2017–18	Ligue 1	26	2	3	2	0	0	29	4
	2018–19	Ligue 2	22	0	1	0	1	0	24	0
	Total		226	41	19	8	3	1	248	50
Career total			655	110	60	12	3	1	718	123

1. Includes Coupe de France, Coupe de la Ligue
2. Includes Ligue 1 relegation playoffs
3. Division 1 until 2002

References

1. "A Nivet Ending Story: the 40-year-old leading Troyes's charge to avoid another humiliating Ligue 1 season". www.getfootballnewsfrance.com. 22 August 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
2. "ESTAC Troyes - Site officiel - Archives des fils info". ESTAC (in French). Archived from the original on 18 September 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
3. "Coupe de France - Troyes: Benjamin Nivet, natif de Chartres, un quarantenaire encore rugissant" [Coupe de France - Troyes: Benjamin Nivet, native of Chartres, still roaring in his forties]. france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr (in French). 7 January 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
4. "Coupe de France: Nice au tapis, choc OM-OL en 16e" [Coupe de France: Nice on the mat, OM-OL shock in 16th]. www.radio1.pf (in French). 8 January 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
5. "Troyes trump Lorient for top-flight spot". www.ligue1.com. 28 May 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
6. "TROYES / OM - (2 / 3) - R33 - 2017-2018". www.ligue1.com. 15 April 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
7. "Suk nets as Troyes boost survival hopes". www.ligue1.com. 28 April 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
8. "10 Oldest Active Soccer Players in the World". www.oldest.org. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
9. "The medal of the day At 42, Benjamin Nivet retires as a professional footballer". www.archysport.com. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
10. "Benjamin Nivet » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
11. "Ligue1.com - Player profile Benjamin NIVET (ESTAC Troyes)". Ligue 1.
12. "Benjamin NIVET - Football : la fiche de Benjamin NIVET (Troyes)". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 6 June 2017.

External links

• Benjamin Nivet – French league stats at LFP – also available in French (archived)
• Benjamin Nivet at L'Équipe Football (in French)