Steven Nkemboanza Mike Christopher Nzonzi ( digest 15 December 1988 ) is a french professional football player who plays as a defensive midfielder for Qatar Stars League golf club Al-Rayyan and the France national team. Nzonzi began his career with Ligue 2 side Amiens, impressing adequate to earn a be active to Premier League side Blackburn Rovers in 2009 for £650,000. He spent three years at Ewood Park which ended with Rovers being relegated at the end of the 2011–12 season. He remained in the Premier League however, joining Stoke City for £3 million. At Stoke, Nzonzi established himself as a key member of the team under Tony Pulis and then under Mark Hughes, where his performances during the 2014–15 earned him the Player of the Year award. He joined spanish side Sevilla for a tip of £7 million in July 2015, and won the UEFA Europa League in his beginning temper.
Reading: Steven Nzonzi
Nzonzi represented France at under-21 level. He turned down the opportunity to represent his ancestral DR Congo at senior international level, and was unsuccessful in his try to become eligible to play for England. [ 4 ] In November 2017, he made his debut for the senior France squad, and he was part of their team that won the 2018 FIFA World Cup .
Club career [edit ]
early career [edit ]
Born in La Garenne-Colombes, France, to a congolese father and french mother, he began his career playing for hometown club Racing Paris. In 1999, he joined the young person organization of Paris Saint-Germain meet at the Camp des Loges, the club ‘s youth academy. While at Paris Saint-Germain, Nzonzi, due to his stature, was initially installed in the club ‘s academy as a hitter and then as an attacking midfielder. After a three-year scrimp at the Ligue 1 clubhouse, he moved to the Basse-Normandie region joining CA Lisieux. He former had annual stints at both SM Caen and AS Beauvais Oise before finally settling in with Amiens SC in 2005. [ citation needed ]
Amiens [edit ]
After featuring in the Championnat de France amateur 2 for his first two years at the club, Nzonzi made his professional debut on 24 November 2007 in a Coupe de France match against amateur club AS Raismes appearing as a ersatz in the 74th moment, Amiens won the peer 7–0. He earned his first gear startle on 15 April 2008 playing the stallion 90 minutes in a 1–0 loss to Bastia. Following the season, he signed his beginning professional compress and was officially promoted to the aged team. [ citation needed ] Nzonzi was given the starting defensive midfielder function for the 2008–09 season and appeared in 36 total matches. He besides scored his first professional goal in a 2–1 defeat to Strasbourg on 8 May 2009. The get the better of to Strasbourg led to Amiens going winless in their final four matches, which led to the club suffering relegation to the Championnat National, France ‘s third division of football. Despite the relegation, Nzonzi was applauded for his bet and he was linked with a move to the English Premier League, with Blackburn Rovers and Portsmouth showing a serious sake in the young Frenchman, who many hailed as the future Patrick Vieira. [ 5 ]
Blackburn Rovers [edit ]
On 28 June 2009, it was reported that Blackburn Rovers had agreed a bargain with Amiens to sign Nzonzi. [ 6 ] The move was completed on 30 June, signing for a fee of £650,000, on a four-year contract. [ 7 ]
Nzonzi playing for Blackburn Rovers in 2011 On 15 August 2009, Nzonzi made his debut for Blackburn where he made his first startle in a 2–0 passing against Manchester City and since making his debut, found himself very much part of Sam Allardyce ‘s plans. He scored his beginning goal for Rovers on 4 October 2009 against Arsenal in the 6–2 get the better of. [ 8 ] After scoring his first goal, Nzonzi admitted he had been surprised at how quickly he had established himself in the side but was determined to keep his set in the start XI. [ 9 ] His second goal for the club was a 30-yard rap against Everton on 17 April 2010 in a 3–2 get the better of at Ewood Park. On 3 May 2010, during the pre-match build up up to the Arsenal game, he was announced as the Blackburn Rovers Player of the year for the 2009–10 season, chosen by the fans. In August 2010, Nzonzi signed a raw five-year hand with Blackburn, lasting until summer 2015. Rovers president John Williams said : “ We are delighted to secure Steven for the long condition. He was outstanding last year and the new consider is lavishly deserved. ” On 21 August 2011, Nzonzi scored his third gear goal for Blackburn with a header against Birmingham City in a 2–1 get the better of at St Andrew ‘s. soon after Nzonzi found himself dropping down the pecking order as a result of both Phil Jones and Vince Grella ‘s form in midfield. This led Allardyce urged him to raise his game and recapture his kind of last season. [ 10 ] Later on in his second gear season, Allardyce was sacked and replaced by Steve Kean. On 2 April 2011, Nzonzi received his first red poster of his career in a 0–0 draw against Arsenal bipedal challenge on Laurent Koscielny. [ 11 ] Nzonzi was banned for 4 matches and on 30 April 2011, Nzonzi made his return in a 1–0 succeed over Bolton Wanderers. On 26 November 2011 against Stoke City, Nzonzi was hit with a crimson conduct bang for intentionally elbowing Ryan Shawcross in the face. [ 12 ] Nzonzi served a three-match bachelor of arts in nursing after admitting an FA charge of crimson conduct. [ 13 ] On 11 February 2012, Nzonzi scored his inaugural goal of the season and set up a goal for the club lead scorekeeper Yakubu in a 3–2 acquire over Queens Park Rangers. [ 14 ] On 24 March 2012, Nzonzi scored his irregular goal of the season in a 2–1 loss against Bolton Wanderers. [ 15 ] At the end of the season, Blackburn were relegated for the first meter in 11 seasons and Nzonzi told coach Steve Kean he wanted to leave. [ 16 ]
Stoke City [edit ]
Nzonzi with Stoke City in 2013 On 31 August 2012, Nzonzi joined Stoke City for a tip of £3 million. [ 17 ] [ 18 ] He made his debut for Stoke in a 1–1 guide at home to Manchester City on 15 September 2012 and his operation earned him the man of the match award. [ 19 ] Impressed with Nzonzi ‘s start to his Stoke career director Tony Pulis believes that he will one sidereal day play in the Champions League. [ 20 ] Nzonzi was sent off for a “ studs-up ” challenge on Jack Cork in a 3–3 reap with Southampton on 29 December 2012. [ 21 ] however no contact was made with Cork and Pulis decided to appeal Mark Clattenburg ‘s decision. [ 22 ] [ 23 ] His red circuit board was former rescinded by the FA. [ 24 ] After reacting angrily to suffering a violate nozzle against Fulham, Nzonzi was told to keep his disposition in check by assistant director David Kemp. [ 25 ] He scored his foremost goal for Stoke in a 2–1 kill against Tottenham Hotspur on 12 May 2013. [ 26 ] He ended the 2012–13 season having made 38 appearances for the golf club but once the campaign had come to an end he revealed that he was unhappy at the baseball club and handed in a remove request. [ 27 ] His request was rejected by the club. [ 28 ]
Nzonzi playing for Stoke City against Arsenal in 2013 Under new coach Mark Hughes, Nzonzi remained at Stoke going into the 2013–14 and he produced a man of the couple operation against West Ham United on 31 August 2013. [ 29 ] however, after this his performances dropped off and assistant coach Mark Bowen advised Nzonzi to stop his ‘theatrical sulks ‘. [ 30 ] [ 31 ] On 23 November 2013 he scored and provided an assist in a 2–0 win over Sunderland. [ 32 ] He was sent-off in the return repair against Sunderland on 29 January 2014. [ 33 ] After serving his suspension Nzonzi spent meter on the bench much to his frustration. [ 34 ] He returned to the starting line-up and scored in a 4–1 win over Aston Villa on 23 March 2014. [ 35 ] He played 40 times for Stoke in 2013–14 as the team finished in 9th position and Nzonzi stated that he is felicitous playing for Stoke under Mark Hughes. [ 36 ] however he handed in a transfer request for a second season running. [ 37 ] A move away from Stoke in the summer transfer window did not materialise, despite this Nzonzi insisted he is glad to carry on playing for Stoke. [ 38 ] Nzonzi was an ever-present in 2014–15, playing 42 times as Stoke finished in ninth position for a second consecutive crusade. [ 39 ] He besides scored a career best of four goals which were against Southampton, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and in a 6–1 victory over Liverpool on the final day of the season. [ 40 ] [ 41 ] [ 42 ] [ 43 ] Nzonzi ‘s performances during the crusade earned him the Player of the Year award. [ 44 ] [ 45 ] In June 2015, with Nzonzi entering his final examination year on his contract, director Mark Hughes tried to convince him to agree to sign a modern narrow. [ 46 ] however his efforts were abortive and the clubhouse ‘reluctantly ‘ accepted a £7 million offer from Sevilla. [ 47 ] [ 48 ] In sum Nzonzi spent three seasons at Stoke making 120 appearances scoring seven goals. [ 49 ]
sevilla [edit ]
Nzonzi with Sevilla in 2016 On 9 July 2015, Nzonzi signed for Sevilla for a fee around the region of £7 million, on a four-year contract which includes a €30 million ( £21.5m ) buyout clause. [ 50 ] [ 51 ] On 22 August, he was sent off on his debut in a scoreless draw at Málaga CF. [ 52 ] [ 53 ] Nzonzi initially struggled with the huge estrus in Andalusia, and a style of play based on memory of the ball and technical ability, but entered a period of estimable form in the second half of the season, culminating in Sevilla winning the UEFA Europa League final against Liverpool in Basel. [ 54 ] On 23 October 2016, his winning finish in a dwelling victory over Atlético Madrid put his team briefly on top of the league. [ 55 ] He was voted La Liga Player of the Month for January 2017, with the league ‘s web site publish “ Often to be found in the dense of the action, Nzonzi showcased his aptitude for regaining possession and distributing the act, qualities which have seen him establish himself as one of the first names on Sampaoli ‘s team sheet ”. [ 56 ] On 14 March in the second leg of the final 16 of the Champions League, he had a penalty saved by Leicester City ‘s Kasper Schmeichel – as did teammate Joaquín Correa in the first leg – as Sevilla was eliminated 3–2 on aggregate. [ 57 ]
read-only memory [edit ]
On 14 August 2018, Nzonzi signed for Serie A golf club Roma for an initial tip of €26.65 million, plus performance-related clauses that could be worth an extra €4 million. He signed a four-year contract. [ 58 ] [ 59 ] He made his debut 13 days belated in a 3–3 home draw with Atalanta, as a half-time substitute for Bryan Cristante with the team 3–1 polish. ESPN FC ‘s analysis named him as man of the match for “ adding weight and muscleman ” to Roma ‘s midfield. [ 60 ] On 6 October, he scored his first goal for the Giallorossi, a header in a 2–0 victory at Empoli. [ 61 ]
Galatasaray ( lend )
[edit ]
On 16 August 2019, Nzonzi was loaned to Turkish english Galatasaray for the 2019–20 season. [ 62 ]
Rennes ( loanword ) [edit ]
On 31 January 2020, Nzonzi was loaned to Rennes. [ 63 ]
On 29 September 2021, Qatari club Al-Rayyan confirmed sign of Nzonzi on a biennial contract. [ 64 ]
International career [edit ]
Nzonzi earned his first base call up to the France U-21 team by passenger car Erick Mombaerts on 1 October 2009 for their european Under-21 Championship qualification matches against Malta and Belgium. He made his debut eight days later in the first equal, appearing as a 58th-minute ersatz for Younousse Sankharé in a 2–0 victory. [ 65 ] He earned his foremost under-21 international starting signal in the match against Belgium, which ended 0–0. In January 2011, he was called up to the DR Congo home team due to his origins but he did not want to commit to the international team due to structural problems at the administrative level. He did not rule out playing for the Congolese national team in the future. [ 66 ] He again turned DR Congo gloomy in November 2012. [ 67 ] [ 68 ] In August 2016, Nzonzi ‘s father contacted new England coach Sam Allardyce – who had signed him for Blackburn in 2009 – to inquire whether he was eligible to represent England. Although he had completed more than the five years ‘ necessary residency in the United Kingdom, Nzonzi was ineligible to switch commitment as he was not eligible for England when he made his debut for France under-21. [ 69 ] [ 4 ] On 2 November 2017, Nzonzi was called up to the french elder national team for the first gear clock, for friendly matches against Germany and Wales. [ 70 ] He made his debut against the Welsh in a 2–0 gain at the Stade de France on 10 November, as a half-time utility for Corentin Tolisso. [ 71 ] Nzonzi was partially of France ‘s team that won the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. In the concluding, he came on as a substitute for the book N’Golo Kanté after 55 minutes of a 4–2 acquire over Croatia at the Luzhniki Stadium. [ 72 ]
style of play [edit ]
Nzonzi plays in a defensive function in concentrate midfield and is noted for being composure and compose whilst in self-control and having a good evanesce ability. [ 73 ] He has earned comparisons to compatriot Patrick Vieira both in vogue and physical ability. [ 74 ] He is besides able to cover great distance during a match. [ 75 ]
personal life [edit ]
In September 2013, Nzonzi was interviewed by patrol after he was involved in a collision with a cyclist in Hale, Greater Manchester. [ 76 ] [ 77 ] In October 2015, Nzonzi was ordered to stand test after allegedly assaulting his wife. [ 78 ] [ 79 ] He was cleared of the charges in December 2015. [ 80 ] Nzonzi has previously commented on the common misstyling of his appoint as Steven N’Zonzi. [ 81 ]
career statistics [edit ]
club [edit ]
- As of match played 23 May 2021[49][3]
International [edit ]
- As of match played 17 November 2020[93]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team
Year
Apps
Goals
France
2017
2
0
2018
12
0
2020
6
0
Total
20
0
Honours [edit ]
Sevilla
France
Individual
Orders
References [edit ]
Read more: David Prowse