Ilan Boccara

Ilan Boccara (born 14 May 1993) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

Ilan Boccara
Personal information
Full name Ilan Boccara
Date of birth (1993-05-14) 14 May 1993
Place of birth Boulogne-Billancourt, France
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1999–2000 ES16
2000–2006 Boulogne-Billancourt
2006–2010 Paris Saint-Germain
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2012 Paris Saint-Germain II 29 (0)
2012–2015 Ajax 1 (0)
2013–2014 → Évian (loan) 2 (0)
2014–2015 Jong Ajax 4 (0)
2015–2016 Hapoel Kfar Saba 0 (0)
2016 Hapoel Jerusalem 1 (0)
Total 37 (0)
International career
2012 Netherlands U19 4 (0)
2012 Netherlands U20 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

He formerly played for Ajax where he was acquired from the youth ranks of Paris Saint-Germain. He is also a former Dutch youth international.

Club career

Early career

Born in Boulogne-Billancourt, a western suburb of Paris to a Dutch mother and a French father,[1] Boccara joined local club ES16 in the 16th arrondissement of Paris at the age of six. After one season, he transferred to Stade Français, to play for Athletic Club de Boulogne-Billancourt for the next five years.

Paris Saint-Germain
Ilan Boccara (4th from right) with PSG II (2011).

At the age of 13, Boccara was discovered by scouts of Paris Saint-Germain, who recruited him to their academy.[2] After progressing through the youth system, he was promoted to the reserve squad playing in the Championnat de France amateur during the 2010–11 season. He spent most of the season on the bench.

In the 2011–12 season, Boccara played in 28 matches, starting in 26 of them. His performances earned Boccara a call-up to the Netherlands national under-19 team.

In 2011, Paris Saint-Germain was purchased by Qatar Sports Investments, which invested millions bringing in star footballers. Boccara decided on a transfer to Dutch club Ajax for regular game time, moving to his mother's hometown of Amsterdam.

Ajax

In the Summer of 2012, Boccara signed a 3-year contract with Ajax, when the club paid a transfer fee of €500.000 to PSG for the young midfielder.[3] Having started the season with Jong Ajax, Boccara was promoted to the first team in late August 2012, making his Eredivisie debut in the away match against Heerenveen as a substitute for Lasse Schöne in the 77th minute.[4]

Loan to Evian

On 2 September 2013, it was announced that Boccara would be loaned to Ligue 1 club Evian TG for the 2013–14 season.[5] Spending the first half of the season with the clubs reserves team, he made his debut for the first team of Evian TG on 8 March 2014 in a 1–0 away win against EA Guingamp.[6]

Return to Ajax

Following his loan spell, Boccara returned to Amsterdam where he joined the reserves team Jong Ajax competing in the Eerste Divisie. He made 4 appearances during the 2014–15 season, playing his final match on 26 September 2014 in a 2–2 draw against FC Emmen.[7] After spending the full 90-minutes on the bench in a 6–0 away loss to Sparta Rotterdam on 25 January 2015,[8] Ajax announced the immediate release of Boccara on 2 March 2015. having only made a single appearance for the first team.[9]

Israel and retirement

On 25 September 2015 it was announced that Boccara had signed with Israeli Premier League side Hapoel Kfar Saba.[10] He made one appearance for the club. On 3 February 2016, Boccara moved to Hapoel Jerusalem. On 1 April, Boccara made his debut for the club in a 3–2 win over Hapoel Katamon Jerusalem. He came on in the 90th minute as a substitute for Gaëtan Varenne.[11] In the end, this would be his only appearance. His contract expired on 1 July 2016. Boccara subsequently retired from football and became a personal coach in Tel Aviv.[12]

International career

Boccara played for Netherlands at U-19 level. He made third place with Jong Oranje at the Festival International Espoirs 2012 in Toulon, France. He holds dual citizenship and is still eligible to represent either Netherlands or France at senior level,[13] and has expressed his interest in playing for Netherlands.[14]

He played for Team France in Israel at the 2017 Maccabiah Games.[15]

Personal life

Boccara is Jewish, and is the second cousin of chairman of the board of directors at AFC Ajax, Michael Kinsbergen by way of his mother.[16]

Career statistics
As of 2 March 2015[17]
Club statistics
Club Season League Cup[lower-alpha 1] Europe Total
Division AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
Paris Saint-Germain II 2010–11 CFA 1000—10
2011–12 CFA 28000—280
Total 29000—290
Ajax 2012–13 Eredivisie 10000010
Evian TG (loan) 2013–14 Ligue 1 2010—30
Jong Ajax 2014–15 Eerste Divisie 40——40
Career total 3601000370
  1. France – Coupe de France; Netherlands – KNVB Cup

Honours

Club

Ajax[18]

References
  1. Foot Mercato: Première sélection avec les Pays-Bas pour un espoir du PSG, accessed on 2 September 2012.
  2. (in French) Info FM: à la découverte d’Ilan Boccara, jeune espoir du PSG, accessed on 2 September 2012.
  3. "Death, disparity or defiance: What does Champions League Group D mean for Ajax?". FourFourTwo. 18 September 2012.
  4. "Heerenveen vs. Ajax 2–2". Soccerway.com. 2 September 2012.
  5. "Boccara tijdelijk naar Evian". Soccerway.com. 2 September 2012.
  6. "Boccara blij met competitiedebuut Evian". Ajax Showtime. 10 March 2014.
  7. "FC Emmen pakt nog punt naar inhaalrace". FC Emmen. 26 September 2014. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
  8. "Sparta Rotterdam vs Jong Ajax 6–0". Soccerway. 25 January 2015.
  9. "Ajax en Boccara per direct uit elkaar". Ajax Showtime. 2 March 2015.
  10. "Geflopte Ajacied gaat geluk beproeven in Israël: "Nu moet hij aan spelen toekomen"". Ajax Primeur. 25 September 2015.
  11. "Hapoel Jerusalem vs. Hapoel Jerusalem (1943) - 1 April 2016 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  12. Horst, Janneke van der (7 December 2016). "Voetbal is geen Disneyfilm, ook al zie je eruit als een prins". Het Parool (in Dutch).
  13. "Ilan Boccara, de onbekende Ajax-aankoop". Goal.com. 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  14. "Ilan Boccara tekent bij Ajax". Ajax.nl. 2012. Archived from the original on 2 October 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  15. "Athletes - 20th Maccabiah 2017". Archived from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  16. "Schande wat er met Boccara is gebeurd". Ajax Showtime. 5 March 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  17. Ilan Boccara at Soccerway
  18. "Ilan Boccara – Career Honours". Soccerway.
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