1. Early Life and Background
Matthieu Dossevi's early life and football development were deeply influenced by his family's strong sporting background.
1.1. Youth Career
Dossevi began his formative football career in France. From 1998 to 2005, he was part of the youth academy at Tours FC. Following this, he continued his development at Le Mans, where he played in their youth system from 2005 to 2008.
1.2. Family
Matthieu Dossevi comes from a family with a rich history in professional football and athletics. His father, Pierre-Antoine Dossevi, was also a footballer who played for Paris Saint-Germain in the 1970s. Matthieu's elder brother, Thomas Dossevi, is also a professional footballer and a Togolese international. Their uncle, Othniel Dossevi, was a former Paris Saint-Germain player and notably the first African player for the club. Othniel is the father of pole vaulters Damiel Dossevi and Narayane Dossevi, making them Matthieu's cousins. Damiel Dossevi competes for France in pole vaulting.
2. Club Career
Matthieu Dossevi's professional career spanned over a decade, playing for several clubs across France, Greece, Belgium, and Turkey.
2.1. Le Mans
Dossevi began his senior professional career at Le Mans, the club where he completed his youth development. He played for their senior team from 2008 to 2010, making 44 appearances and scoring 6 goals during his tenure.
2.2. Valenciennes
In the summer of 2010, Dossevi transferred from Le Mans to Valenciennes. He spent four seasons with the club, making 110 appearances and scoring 11 goals in Ligue 1. On 18 March 2014, Dossevi publicly announced his intention to leave Valenciennes at the end of the season.
2.3. Olympiacos
In July 2014, Dossevi signed with Greek champions Olympiacos for an undisclosed transfer fee. Initially, under former manager Michel, Dossevi struggled for regular playing time. However, with the arrival of new manager Vítor Pereira, he was consistently included in the starting lineup. Dossevi quickly proved his quality by scoring in consecutive matches against Skoda Xanthi and Panetolikos in the Super League Greece. During his time at Olympiacos, he made 28 appearances and scored 4 goals.
2.4. Standard Liège
On 1 September 2015, Dossevi joined Belgian club Standard Liège on a one-year loan deal from Olympiacos. During this loan spell, he made 23 appearances and scored 5 goals. In January 2016, Standard Liège exercised their option to sign Dossevi permanently. He transferred for a fee of 1.30 M EUR and signed a contract until the summer of 2020. In his permanent spell at Standard Liège, he made 25 appearances without scoring.
2.5. FC Metz
On 31 August 2017, Dossevi was loaned to Ligue 1 club FC Metz from Standard Liège for the season, with an option for Metz to purchase him permanently. He made 31 appearances and scored 1 goal during his loan period. Despite Metz being relegated to the French second tier, the club definitively bought Dossevi on 30 May for a transfer fee of 3.00 M EUR.
2.6. Toulouse
On 3 August 2018, Dossevi signed a two-year contract with Toulouse. The transfer fee paid to Standard Liège was reported as 2.50 M EUR. Dossevi had been a notable player in the 2017-18 Ligue 1 season, ranking as the third-best passer in the league, behind only Neymar and Florian Thauvin. For Toulouse, he made 61 appearances and scored 5 goals. He left the club upon the expiration of his contract at the end of the 2019-20 season, following Toulouse's relegation from Ligue 1.
2.7. Denizlispor
From 2020 to 2021, Dossevi played for the Turkish club Denizlispor. During his brief period with the team, he made 18 appearances but did not score any goals.
2.8. Amiens
On 31 August 2021, Dossevi joined Amiens on a one-season contract. He made 8 appearances for the club.
2.9. Versailles
Matthieu Dossevi concluded his professional club career at Versailles, where he played from 2022 to 2023. He made 11 appearances and scored 1 goal for the club.
3. International Career
Matthieu Dossevi represented France at youth levels before committing to the Togo national team for his senior international career.
3.1. France Youth Teams
Dossevi, being French-born, featured for the French national youth teams. He played for the French U-20 national team from 2008 to 2009, making 4 appearances and scoring 1 goal. Subsequently, he was part of the French U-21 national team from 2010 to 2011, appearing 7 times and scoring 3 goals.
3.2. Togo National Team
Despite his youth career with France, Dossevi became a member of the Togolese national team at the senior level, leveraging his family roots. He was called up for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. He represented Togo from 2014 to 2020, earning 33 caps and scoring 5 goals. He also participated in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, where he scored one of his international goals.
3.3. International Goals
Scores and results list Togo's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Dossevi goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 May 2016 | Stade de Kégué, Lomé, Togo | 10 | Zambia | 1-0 | 1-0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 4 September 2016 | Stade de Kégué, Lomé, Togo | 12 | Djibouti | 2-0 | 5-0 | 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 3 | 20 January 2017 | Stade d'Oyem, Oyem, Gabon | 16 | Morocco | 1-0 | 1-3 | 2017 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 4 | 31 August 2017 | Stade Adrar, Agadir, Morocco | 18 | Niger | 2-0 | 2-0 | Friendly |
| 5 | 12 November 2017 | Stade de Kégué, Lomé, Togo | 21 | Mauritius | 1-0 | 6-0 | Friendly |
4. Honours
Matthieu Dossevi achieved several team titles during his club career.
- Olympiacos
- Super League Greece: 2014-15
- Greek Cup: 2014-15
- Standard Liège
- Belgian Cup: 2015-16