Marie-Yasmine Alidou facts for kids
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Marie-Yasmine Alidou d'Anjou | ||
| Date of birth | April 28, 1995 | ||
| Place of birth | Montréal, Quebec, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Benfica | ||
| Number | 22 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| CS St-Hubert | |||
| FC St-Leonard | |||
| CS Union Lanaudiere Sud | |||
| AS Varennes-St. Amable | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2017–2018 | Marseille | 16 | (3) |
| 2018 | Linköpings FC | 5 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | Sporting Huelva | 19 | (1) |
| 2020–2021 | Klepp | 20 | (5) |
| 2022 | Sturm Graz | 8 | (4) |
| 2022–2023 | Famalicão | 20 | (8) |
| 2023– | Benfica | 27 | (8) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2017 | Canada Universiade | 5 | (0) |
| 2022– | Canada | 5 | (2) |
† Appearances (Goals). |
|||
Marie-Yasmine Alidou d'Anjou, born on April 28, 1995, is a talented Canadian soccer player. She plays as a midfielder for Benfica, a top club in Portugal. Marie-Yasmine also proudly represents her home country, Canada, on their national women's soccer team.
Contents
Early Life and Soccer Beginnings
Marie-Yasmine Alidou was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She grew up in Saint-Hubert. Her father is from Benin, and her mother is French Canadian.
She started playing soccer at a young age. Most of her youth career was with CS St-Hubert. She also played for other teams like FC St-Leonard. When she was 13, she joined the National High Performance Centre. This is a special program for very talented young athletes. Later, she moved to Newark, New Jersey to attend high school in the United States.
College Soccer Career
Alidou attended the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). She played college soccer there from 2013 to 2017. In 2016, she had a fantastic season. She was named Player of the Week in her league, the RSEQ. She also won UQAM Athlete of the Year. Her skills earned her a spot on the RSEQ First Team All-Star list. She was also recognized as a U Sports Second Team All-Star.
Professional Club Journey
Marie-Yasmine Alidou has played for several clubs around the world. Each move helped her grow as a player.
Playing in France and Sweden
In 2017, Alidou started her professional career. She joined Olympique de Marseille, a club in France. After one season there, she moved to Sweden. In 2018, she played for Linköpings FC.
Adventures in Spain and Norway
A year later, in 2019, Alidou joined Sporting de Huelva in Spain. She played there for two seasons. Then, in 2020, she moved to Norway. She played for Klepp IL until 2021. In 2022, she had a short time with Sturm Graz in Austria.
Success in Portugal with Famalicão
In 2022, Alidou signed with Famalicão in Portugal. She quickly became a key player for them. She was even named the league's player of the month twice. This was in February and March of 2023. She helped Famalicão win their first ever Taça de Portugal cup. This was a big achievement for the club.
Joining Benfica and Making History
In the summer of 2023, Marie-Yasmine joined Benfica, one of Portugal's biggest clubs. She made an immediate impact. On October 11, 2023, she scored two goals in a UEFA Women's Champions League match. This was against Apollon, a team from Cyprus.
Her first season with Benfica was truly historic. The team won all four domestic competitions in Portugal. This means they won every major trophy in their home country. Alidou also helped Benfica reach the quarter-finals of the 2023–24 UEFA Women's Champions League. This was the first time a Portuguese club made it that far. Benfica was eventually knocked out by Olympique Lyon. Marie-Yasmine was Benfica's top goal scorer that season. She scored 26 goals across all competitions. This included 9 goals in the Champions League and 6 in the Portuguese league.
Representing Canada
Marie-Yasmine Alidou has also played for her country, Canada.
Early International Experience
In 2017, she represented Canada at the FISU Universiade Games. This is a big sports event for university students from around the world.
Playing for the Senior National Team
In February 2022, Alidou was called up to the Canada senior team for the first time. She made her official debut on February 23, 2022. This was in a match against Spain at the 2022 Arnold Clark Cup.
On October 21, 2024, she was called up again for a friendly match against Spain. Spain was the reigning World Cup champion at the time. Marie-Yasmine scored her first international goal in this game. The match ended in a 1-1 draw. She scored her second international goal on December 3, 2024, in a 5-1 win against South Korea.
Honours and Achievements
Marie-Yasmine Alidou has won several important trophies with her clubs:
Famalicão
- Taça de Portugal: 2022–23
Benfica
- Campeonato Nacional Feminino: 2023–24
- Taça de Portugal: 2023–24
- Taça da Liga: 2024
- Supertaça de Portugal: 2023
