Mario Lemina

Mario Lemina (French pronunciation: ​[maʁjo ləmina]; born 1 September 1993) is a Gabonese professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Italian club Juventus and the Gabon national team. Prior to joining Juventus in 2015, where he won the domestic double in his first season, he played for French sides Lorient and Marseille.

Early career with Lorient

Lemina began his career in France with the Lorient youth academy at the age of 11; he was later promoted to the first team during the 2012–13 season, his only season with the club.

Marseille

The following season, Marseille acquired Lemina for €4 million, although he initially struggled to gain playing time in his first year with the club, making only eight league starts during the 2013–14 season. He began to be used more frequently by manager Marcelo Bielsa during the 2014–15 season, making his breakthrough with the club, as he helped the team to a fourth-place finish, earning 23 appearances in the league. In February 2015, Lemina was sent off for a punch to the groin of Ola Toivonen in a 1–1 Ligue 1 away draw against Rennes.

Juventus

During the summer of 2015, Lemina began to attract the attention of several clubs, including Premier League clubs Liverpool, Southampton and West Ham United. On 31 August, however, the last day of the transfer window, Juventus announced the signing of Lemina on a season-long loan for €500,000 with an option to buy for €9.5 million at the end of the 2015–16 season. On 26 September 2015, he scored his first goal for Juventus in his third appearance, coming in the 63rd minute of a 2–1 away loss to Napoli.

On 29 April 2016, Lemina's loan was made permanent; he signed a four-year deal from Marseille for a fee of €9.5 million plus an extra €1 million if performance related targets are met. The deal will keep him at Juventus until 2020. On 21 May, Lemina started in the Coppa Italia Final, playing the full match as Juventus defeated A.C. Milan 1–0 after extra time to capture the domestic double for the second consecutive season.

Lemina had been called by the Gabon national team to participate in the 2015 African Cup of Nations, but he refused his call-up. Although he had initially represented France's under-20 and under-21 sides, also winning the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup at youth level, he formally switched to the Gabonese Federation on June 2, and is now a formal member of the Gabon national team. He scored on his international debut, a 3–3 friendly draw against Tunisia on 9 October 2015.

A strong, hard-working, and dynamic right-footed midfielder, with good technique and solid distribution, Lemina is a box-to-box player who is usually deployed in the centre, due to his ability to start attacking plays after winning back possession. Due to his tactical versatility, he is capable of playing in several positions, and has been deployed as a winger, as a full-back, or as a wing-back, on the right flank; during his time with Marseille, he also played as centre-back in a three-man defence on occasion, during the 2014–15 season, under manager Marcelo Bielsa. Despite his talent, he has also earned a reputation for having a temper and for lacking concentration at times.

Club

¹ Includes Coupe de France, Coupe de la Ligue and Coppa Italia matches.
² Includes Trophée des Champions and Supercoppa Italiana matches.

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	9 October 2015	Stade Olympique de Radès, Radès, Tunisia	Tunisia	3–2	3–3	Friendly

Club

• Serie A: 2015–16
• Coppa Italia: 2015–16

International

• FIFA U-20 World Cup: 2013