Aurélien Joachim


Aurélien Joachim is a Luxembourgish professional footballer, who plays in the Belgian First Amateur Division for Virton and the Luxembourg national football team as a striker. 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, and scoring in each leg of Dudelange's famous 4–4 aggregate draw with Red Bull Salzburg, 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.
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. However, he was promoted back to the first team at the end of October 2019.

International career

Joachim made his debut for Luxembourg in a September 2005 World Cup qualification match against Liechtenstein, at just 19 years of age. He played in 5 World Cup qualification matches. As of 17 November 2019, he has earned 80 caps, scoring 15 goals.

Career statistics

International

International goals

№DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.7 February 2007Stade Alphonse Theis, Hesperange, Luxembourg
1–1
2–1
Friendly
2.6 September 2011Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
2–1
2–1
UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
3.15 August 2012Stade Municipal, Differdange, Luxembourg
1–2
1–2
Friendly
4.14 August 2013Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
1–1
2–1
Friendly
5.6 September 2013Central Stadium Kazan, Russia
1–3
1–4
2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
6.10 September 2013Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
1–1
3–2
2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
7.26 May 2014Cristal Arena, Genk, Belgium
1–1
1–5
Friendly
8.13 November 2015Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
1–0
1–0
Friendly
9.6 September 2016Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria
1–1
3–4
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
10.6 September 2016Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria
2–1
3–4
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
11.10 October 2016Borisov Arena, Barysaw, Belarus
1–1
1–1
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
12.25 March 2017Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
1–1
1–3
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
13.9 November 2017Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
1–0
2–1
Friendly
14.5 June 2018Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
1–0
1–0
Friendly
15.11 September 2018San Marino Stadium, Serravalle, San Marino
2–0
3–0
2018–19 UEFA Nations League D