Kevin Gameiro

Club

_Retired Soccer

Position

Centre-Forward

Nationality

France

Date of birth

1987-05-09

Birthplace

Senlis, France

Height

172 cm

Weight

63 kg

Kevin Dominique Gameiro (born 9 May 1987) is a French former professional footballer who played as a striker.

Gameiro began his football career playing for clubs along the Oise such as Marly-la-Ville and US Chantilly. In 2004, he moved to the Alsace region to join professional club Strasbourg. He made his professional debut in the 2004–05 season and appeared in the UEFA Cup with Strasbourg. After three seasons with the club, in August 2008, Gameiro signed a four-year deal with FC Lorient. With Lorient, he finished his first two seasons with the club as top scorer. In the 2009–10 season, Gameiro contributed to the team that achieved a 7th-place finish; the club's highest finish in Ligue 1 ever.

Gameiro is a former France youth international, having earned caps at under-18, under-20, and under-21 level. At under-20 level, he played on the team that won the 2007 edition of the Toulon Tournament. Gameiro scored a hat trick in the final and finished the competition as its top scorer. In August 2010, he was called up to the senior team for the first time and made his senior international debut on 3 September 2010 in a match against Belarus.

Gameiro was born in Senlis, a commune in Oise, 35 kilometres (22 mi) north of Paris. His family came from Portugal. He began his football career playing for ES Marly-la-Ville not far from his hometown at the age of six. Prior to turning 13, he opted to remain in the region of Picardie and joined US Chantilly. While excelling at US Chantilly, Gameiro was spotted by former Strasbourg player and scout Jacky Duguépéroux who recommended the player join his former club. In 2004, Gameiro completed his move to the Alsatian club joining as a youth player.

Gameiro represented France internationally at the under-18, under-20, and under-21 levels. He made his under-18 debut on 29 October 2004 in a friendly match against Russia. Gameiro made his lone other appearance with the under-18 team in the return match against Russia two days later. He established himself locally for his performance at the 2007 Toulon Tournament with the under-20 team. Gameiro scored five goals in four matches scoring only one goal in the group stage portion of the competition against Ivory Coast. In the semi-finals, Gameiro scored the only goal in the team's victory over Portugal. In the final against China, Gameiro netted a hat trick, which took only 33 minutes to complete in the team's 3–1 victory. Gameiro was named the Player of the Tournament for h