Aurélien Joachim

Aurélien Joachim
Personal information
Date of birth	10 August 1986 (age 38)
Place of birth	Virton, Belgium
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	RUS Ethe Belmont
Youth career
	Rossignol
	Lorrain Arlon
	Virton
	Mouscron
Senior career*
Years	Team
2004–2005	Virton
2006	VfL Bochum II
2007	Alemannia Aachen II
2008–2011	FC Differdange 03
2011–2013	Dudelange
2012–2013	→ Willem II (loan)
2013–2014	RKC Waalwijk
2014–2015	CSKA Sofia
2015–2016	Burton Albion
2016	White Star Bruxelles
2016–2018	Lierse
2018–2020	Virton
2020–2022	FC Differdange 03
2022–	RUS Ethe Belmont
International career
2005–2019	Luxembourg
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 27 June 2023

Aurélien Joachim (born 10 August 1986) is a professional footballer who plays for RUS Ethe Belmont as a striker. Born in Belgium, he made 80 appearances for the Luxembourg scoring 15 goals between 2005 and 2019. He is the younger brother of former cyclist Benoît Joachim.

Club career

Joachim spent his time in the youth teams of Belgian clubs Virton and Mouscron, before making his senior debut for Virton in the 2004–2005 season. He then played for the reserve teams of German Bundesliga sides VfL Bochum and Alemannia Aachen before making his debut in the Luxembourg National Division in the second half of the 2007–2008 season.

Joachim was transferred to F91 Dudelange in May 2011. He has been a key figure in Dudelange's Champions League run in 2012–13, scoring 4 goals over 2 legs against S.P. Tre Penne of San Marino,^[1] and scoring in each leg of Dudelange's famous 4–4 aggregate draw with Red Bull Salzburg,^[2] helping his side through via the away goals rule to face NK Maribor in the third qualifying round, the furthest Dudelange have ever gone in the Champions League.

On 29 August 2012, Joachim was loaned to Willem II until the end of the season. In July 2013, he signed a two-year deal with RKC Waalwijk after he had permanently left Dudelange as a free agent.

Before the beginning of the 2014–15 season, Joachim signed with Bulgarian club CSKA Sofia. He made his official debut for the side in a Europa League qualifier against Zimbru Chișinău on 17 July 2014. He played his last match for the "redmen" in April 2015, as he had to return to Luxembourg in order to undergo a meniscus operation.^[3]

After one season with Virton, Joachim confirmed that he had been relegated to the club's B-team because he was not a part of the club's plans.^[4] However, he was promoted back to the first team at the end of October 2019.^[5]

Joachim returned to FC Differdange 03 in July 2020.

International career

Joachim made his debut for Luxembourg in a September 2005 World Cup qualification match against Liechtenstein, at just 19 years of age. In his senior career, Joachim earned 80 caps, scoring 15 goals.

Joachim announced his retirement from international football in July 2020.^[6]

Career statistics

International

As of matches played on 17 November 2019^[7]

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Luxembourg	2005	2	0
	2006	10	0
	2007	2	1
	2008	7	0
	2009	0	0
	2010	3	0
	2011	7	1
	2012	7	1
	2013	9	3
	2014	3	1
	2015	8	1
	2016	6	3
	2017	6	2
	2018	8	2
	2019	2	0
Total		80	15

As of 17 November 2019^[8]

Scores and results list Luxembourg's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Joachim goal.

List of international goals scored by Aurélien Joachim
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	7 February 2007	Stade Alphonse Theis, Hesperange, Luxembourg	Gambia	1–1	2–1	Friendly
2	6 September 2011	Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg	Albania	2–1	2–1	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
3	15 August 2012	Stade Municipal, Differdange, Luxembourg	Georgia	1–2	1–2	Friendly
4	14 August 2013	Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg	Lithuania	1–1	2–1	Friendly
5	6 September 2013	Central Stadium Kazan, Russia	Russia	1–3	1–4	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
6	10 September 2013	Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg	Northern Ireland	1–1	3–2	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
7	26 May 2014	Cristal Arena, Genk, Belgium	Belgium	1–1	1–5	Friendly
8	13 November 2015	Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg	Greece	1–0	1–0	Friendly
9	6 September 2016	Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria	Bulgaria	1–1	3–4	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
10	6 September 2016	Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria	Bulgaria	2–1	3–4	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
11	10 October 2016	Borisov Arena, Barysaw, Belarus	Belarus	1–1	1–1	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
12	25 March 2017	Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg	France	1–1	1–3	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
13	9 November 2017	Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg	Hungary	1–0	2–1	Friendly
14	5 June 2018	Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg	Georgia	1–0	1–0	Friendly
15	11 September 2018	San Marino Stadium, Serravalle, San Marino	San Marino	2–0	3–0	2018–19 UEFA Nations League D