Jordan Veretout

Jordan Marcel Gilbert Veretout (born 1 March 1993) is a French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Aston Villa. He is a former France youth international, having represented his nation regularly at under-18, under-19, under-20 and under-21 level. In 2013, he won the FIFA U-20 World Cup.

Club career

Nantes

Veretout made his professional debut for French club Nantes on 13 May 2011 in a league match against Sedan. He made his first start the following season in the team's opening match of the campaign; a 1–0 extra time win over Reims in the Coupe de la Ligue. Veretout made 146 appearances for Nantes over five years.

Aston Villa

On 31 July 2015, Veretout joined Birmingham-based Premier League club Aston Villa on a five-year deal for an undisclosed fee, believed to be in the region of £8 million. Manager Tim Sherwood praised the player, saying, "I know Veretout is very highly rated over in France." Veretout made his first official appearance for Aston Villa in a 1–0 victory against A.F.C. Bournemouth on 8 August 2015.

AS Saint-Étienne

Association Sportive de Saint-Étienne Loire (French pronunciation: ​[asɔsjasjɔ̃ spɔrtɪv də sɛ̃t‿etjɛn lwaʁ]; commonly known as AS Saint-Étienne, ASSE, or simply Saint-Étienne) is a French association football club based in Saint-Étienne. The club was founded in 1919 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. Saint-Étienne plays its home matches at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard located within the city. The team is managed by Christophe Galtier and captained by Loïc Perrin, who started his career at the club in 1996.

Saint-Étienne is, arguably, the most successful club in French football history having won ten Ligue 1 titles, six Coupe de France titles, a Coupe de la Ligue title and five Trophée des Champions (the French Super Cup). The club's ten league titles are the most professional league titles won by a French club, while the six cup victories places the club third among most Coupe de France titles. Saint-Étienne has also won the second division championship on three occasions. The club achieved most of its honours in the 1960s and 1970s when the club was led by managers Jean Snella, Albert Batteux, and Robert Herbin. Saint-Étienne's primary rivals are Olympique Lyonnais, who are based in nearby Lyon. The two teams annually contest the Derby Rhône-Alpes. In 2009, the club added a female section to the football club.

Jordan

Jordan (/ˈdʒɔːrdən/; Arabic: الأردن‎ Al-Urdun), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (Arabic: المملكة الأردنية الهاشمية‎ Al-Mamlakah Al-Urduniyah Al-Hashimiyah), is an Arab kingdom in Western Asia, on the East Bank of the Jordan River. Jordan is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the east and south, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north, and Israel and Palestine to the west. Since the dawn of civilization, the country's location at the crossroads of the Middle East has served as a strategic nexus connecting Asia, Africa and Europe.

Archaeologists found evidence on inhabitance dating as far back as the Paleolithic period. Three kingdoms emerged on the territory of modern Jordan at the very end of the Bronze Age: Ammon, Moab and Edom. The lands were later part of several kingdoms and empires, most notably the Nabatean Kingdom, the Roman Empire and finally the Ottoman Empire from the 16th until the early 20th century. After the Partitioning of the Ottoman Empire after World war I by Britain and France, the Emirate of Transjordan was officially recognized by the Council of the League of Nations in 1922. In 1946, Jordan became an independent sovereign state officially known as The Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan. The capture of the West Bank by Jordan during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War has showed that the Arab Legion forces known today as the Jordanian Armed Forces were the most effective among the Arab troops involved in the war. The same year, Abdullah I took the title King of Jordan. The name of the state was changed to The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on 1 December 1948.

Aston Villa F.C.

Aston Villa Football Club (/ˈæstən ˈvɪlə/; also known as Villa, The Villa, The Villans, The Lions) is a professional football club based in Witton, Birmingham, that plays in the Premier League, the highest level of English football. Founded in 1874, they have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were the originators and founder members of the Football League in 1888. They were also founding members of the Premier League in 1992, and have remained there ever since. The club were floated by the previous owner and chairman Doug Ellis, but in 2006 full control was acquired by American businessman Randy Lerner.

Aston Villa are one of the oldest and the most successful football clubs in the history of English football. Villa won the 1981–82 European Cup, and are thus one of five English clubs to win what is now the UEFA Champions League. They have the fifth highest total of major honours won by an English club, having won the First Division Championship seven times, the FA Cup seven times, the Football League Cup five times and the UEFA Super Cup in 1982. The club have also produced a record 73 England national team players, equalled only by Tottenham Hotspur.

FC Lorient

Football Club Lorient-Bretagne Sud (French pronunciation: ​[lɔʁjɑ̃ bʁətaɲ syd]; commonly referred to FC Lorient or simply Lorient) is a French association football club based in Lorient, Brittany. The club was founded in 1926 and currently play in Ligue 1, the top level of French football. Lorient plays its home matches at the stade Yves Allainmat, former mayor of the city located within the city. The stadium is surnamed Stade du Moustoir because of his locatoin within the city. The team is managed by Sylvain Ripoll and captained by goalkeeper Fabien Audard. Ripoll took over managerial duties in the summer of 2014 from long term manager Christian Gourcuff, following Gourcuff's departure to the Algerian national team. Ripoll was Gourcuff's assistant.

Lorient had a relatively bleak history nationally prior to 1998 when the club made its first appearance in Ligue 1 in the 1998–99 season. Prior to that, Lorient spent the majority of its life as an amateur club. Lorient's achieved its biggest honour in 2002 when the club won the Coupe de France defeating Bastia 1–0 in the final. Lorient has never won Ligue 1, but has won the Championnat National earning this honour in 1995. Regionally, the club has won five Brittany Division d'Honneur titles and six Coupe de Bretagne.