Charles N'Zogbia

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Charles N'Zogbia
Personal information
Full name Charles N'Zogbia
Date of birth May 28, 1986 (1986-05-28) (age 22)
Place of birth    Harfleur, France
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Playing position Left winger
Club information
Current club Newcastle United
Number 14
Youth clubs
2003–2004 Le Havre
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
2004– Newcastle United 100 (8)   
National team2
2007– France U21 009 (0)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 15:13, 11 May 2008 (UTC).
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 17:17, 26 May 2008 (UTC).
* Appearances (Goals)

Charles N'Zogbia (born May 28, 1986 in Harfleur) is a French footballer of Congolese parentage, currently playing for the English Premier League club Newcastle United, whom he joined in 2004 from French club Le Havre AC. He has played primarily as a left winger for Newcastle, although in some games he has featured as a central attacking midfielder or as a fullback.

Contents

[edit] Biography

N'Zogbia was born in Harfleur, in the Seine-Maritime department of Normandy. However he was brought up in Paris, in an apartment close to the Stade de France.[1] His second cousin is professional tennis player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.[2]

[edit] Club career

N'Zogbia began his career at the academy of Le Havre. When he was 17 he was scouted by former chief scout of Newcastle United, Charlie Woods, who arranged for him to have a trial at the club.[1] After training with Newcastle for a month,[3] he impressed the club and they were keen to sign him. However, his transfer to Newcastle proved to be controversial. Le Havre had tied him to an educational contract, but Newcastle claimed that the player had freedom of contract to move on a free transfer, a claim which FIFA supported.

[edit] Newcastle

After a protracted saga involving the threat of a case at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Newcastle eventually paid a nominal fee to sign him from the French club. The compensation Le Havre received was thought to be in the region of £250,000. His transfer to Newcastle officially went through on September 2, 2004, becoming the last player to be signed by Sir Bobby Robson. Robson later said of him: "N'Zogbia could go to the very top with the right coaching and motivation, and I hope it is with Newcastle. I signed him as a teenager and he was one of the most naturally gifted players of that age I'd ever seen."[4]

N'Zogbia in training.
N'Zogbia in training.

N'Zogbia proved to be an instant hit on Tyneside. He has developed cult status at Newcastle, where he is regularly referred to as 'Zog'.[5] As well as this, supporters have been known to chant Zog on the Tyne (in reference to the Lindisfarne song Fog on the Tyne), in appreciation to his contribution to the team.[6]

His debut for the club came in a 3–0 win over Blackburn Rovers on September 11, 2004.[7] In the 2005–06 season, N'Zogbia began to establish himself as a first-team regular, appearing in 41 matches. He scored United's first goal of the season in the 1–1 draw at home to Fulham, with a skillful free kick.[8] He further displayed his goalscoring ability as he scored six goals in total that season, including a solo effort in the 4–1 win over fierce rivals Sunderland.[9] He finished fourth in the club's leading goal scorers in the 2005-06 season and also contributed with seven assists. This good form attracted clubs such as Arsenal but he signed a three year contract extension for Newcastle at the end of the season.

He found himself playing less regularly during the 2006–07, due to the club's manager at the time, Glenn Roeder, favouring Damien Duff over N'Zogbia. He got injured during the 1–0 defeat to Chelsea on December 13, 2006 and did not return until late February 2007. He was removed from the Newcastle squad on May 13, 2007 for the final game of the season against Watford, after he refused to be used as a substitute, which angered many supporters.[10]

Despite rumours that N'Zogbia would leave Newcastle during the summer,[11] he stayed at the club and was named in the starting line-up in the opening game against Bolton Wanderers. He repaid manager Sam Allardyce's trust in him by scoring the opening goal of the game, which Newcastle won 3–1.[12] On September 4, 2007 he signed a new 5-year contract, keeping him at the club until 2012.[13]

[edit] International career

N'Zogbia played twice for the France under-16 national side in 2002. In the summer of 2006, he was selected for the France under-21 24-man provisional squad for the European Under-21 Football Championship in Portugal. However, because of an ongoing dispute between Newcastle, Le Havre and the French FA concerning his move to The Magpies, the France coach had no choice but to leave him out of the final squad. After impressive form for Newcastle in September 2007, he was called up to the France under-21 team. He made his debut for France under-21 on September 7, 2007 in a 1-0 victory over Wales. Congo DR had called up N'Zogbia to play for them against the France 'B' Team in February 2008, but N'Zogbia had declined the invitation so that he can have more time to think about his international football future.

[edit] Career statistics

Club Performance[14]
Club Season Premiership FA Cup League Cup Europe Others Total
App Goals Assists App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals
Newcastle United 2007–08 32 3 5 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 37 3
2006-07 22 0 3 0 0 2 0 11 0 0 0 35 0
2005-06 32 5 6 3 0 2 0 4 0 0 0 41 5
2004–05 14 0 1 2 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 22 0
Subtotal 100 8 15 8 0 6 0 21 0 0 0 135 8

(Statistics correct as of May 11, 2008)

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "Mick's Lowdown", BBC Tyne, 2005-09-23. Retrieved on 2007-09-11. 
  2. ^ "Jo-Wilfried Tsonga blows Rafael Nadal challenge off course", Times Online, 2008-01-25. Retrieved on 2008-01-28. 
  3. ^ "Charles N'Zogbia profile", 4thegame. Retrieved on 2007-09-11. 
  4. ^ "A real buzz and that’s just the boardroom", Daily Mail, 2008-01-19. Retrieved on 2008-01-28. 
  5. ^ "[http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/nufc/tm_headline=zog-signs-up-for-five-years&method=full&objectid=19731800&siteid=50081-name_page.html Zog signs up for five years However recentley there has been speculation linking N'zogbia away from Newcastle. This would come as a great shame to many of the fans in the north-east because of his many dazzling performances.]", Chronicle Live, 2007-09-04. Retrieved on 2007-09-08. 
  6. ^ "Quotes of the week", BBC Sport, 2006-09-04. Retrieved on 2007-09-04. 
  7. ^ "Newcastle 3-0 Blackburn", BBC Sport, 2004-09-11. Retrieved on 2007-09-25. 
  8. ^ "Newcastle 1-1 Fulham", BBC Sport, 2005-09-10. Retrieved on 2007-09-25. 
  9. ^ "Sunderland 1-4 Newcastle", BBC Sport, 2006-04-17. Retrieved on 2007-09-25. 
  10. ^ "N'Zogbia may face Magpies action", Sky Sports, 2007-05-13. Retrieved on 2007-09-04. 
  11. ^ "Big Sam won't sell N'Zogbia", Sky Sports, 2007-07-12. Retrieved on 2007-09-04. 
  12. ^ "Bolton 1-3 Newcastle", BBC Sport, 2007-08-11. Retrieved on 2007-09-08. 
  13. ^ "N'Zogbia signs new Newcastle deal", BBC Sport, 2007-09-04. Retrieved on 2007-09-04. 
  14. ^ ESPNsoccernet Profile. ESPNsoccernet.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-08.

[edit] External links

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