Shabani Nonda

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Personal information
Shabani Nonda
Full name	Shabani Christophe Nonda
Date of birth	March 6, 1977 (1977-03-06) (age 31)
Place of birth	Bujumbura, Burundi
Height	1.82 m (5 ft 11+¹⁄₂ in)
Playing position	Forward
Club information
Current club	Galatasaray
Number	20
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1993-1994 1994-1995 1995-1998 1998-2000 2000-2005 2005-2006 2006-2007 2007-present	Young Africans Vaal Professionals FC Zürich Rennes Monaco A.S. Roma → Blackburn Rovers(loan) Galatasaray	08 0(4) 014 0(4) 075 (36) 062 (31) 116 (57) 016 0(4) 026 0(7) 024 0(15)
National team²
2001-	Congo DR	0015 0(10)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 10 May 2008. ² National team caps and goals correct as of 30 August 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

Shabani Christophe Nonda (born March 6, 1977 in Bujumbura, Burundi) is a DR Congolese international football player who currently plays for Galatasaray S.K.. Nonda was a finalist in the 2004 UEFA Champions League Final, playing for AS Monaco FC. Signing for Monaco in 2000, he scored a total of 57 goals. He joined Blackburn Rovers on a season-long loan deal on August 31, 2006 from A.S. Roma. He transferred to Galatasaray from A.S. Roma on August 31, 2007. Nonda has also played for FC Zürich and Stade Rennais FC.

Despite being born in Burundi, Nonda holds citizenship from Democratic Republic of the Congo and has 5 international caps for the country.

After hitting an impressive 26 league goals in the 2002-03 campaign for Monaco, he suffered an horrific knee injury in one of the opening few games of the next season after a brilliant first game of the season, which inevitably kept him out of action for a year. Two years of frustration with various injuries followed, and he struggled to recapture his previous consistent form, only showing glimpses of his brilliance.

Shabani Nonda was the first player from the Democratic Republic of Congo to play for Blackburn Rovers, but not the first in the Premiership, as his current international strike partner Lomana Lua Lua used to play for Portsmouth, amongst a few others, have also been signed to a club in the English Premier League.

Nonda has quickly become a fan favourite in the Premiership. Blackburn fans sing his name to the tune of the Black Lace song Do the Conga i.e. "Do do doo... Nonda!", or alternatively sing "Who's that coming over the hill, it's Shabba Nonda, Shabani Nonda!" to the tune of Monster by The Automatic. The latter was featured on Soccer AM. He is nicknamed Pagani Zonda because of his names similarity to automobile.

Nonda has a few nicknames including some from the Blackburn Rovers fans, such as Shabba, and his preferred nickname, Chris, which is actually his middle name. He's now being called "Anaconda Nonda" by the Galatasaray fans.

Nonda played for Young Africans (Yanga) of Tanzania in the mid-1990s, during which time he was known by the nickname "Papii".

[edit] Club career

Nonda played for Zurich, Rennes and Monaco before joining A.S. Roma in 2005. He had an excellent scoring record in France, with 88 goals in 178 league appearances.

As a 30-year-old, he spent the 2006/07 season on loan at English side Blackburn Rovers, scoring seven goals in 26 Premier League appearances.

At the beginning of the 2007/08 season, he signed a two-year contract and moved to Galatasaray for an undisclosed fee. Nonda was linked with moves to several European clubs but Galatasaray were the only team to meet Roma's financial demands. "We had to beat other tough competition to sign Nonda," Galatasaray general manager Adnan Sezgin told BBC Sport. "He is a good addition to our squad and we are confident he will make an impact here." On his transfer Nonda said "I feel proud to play for such a great club. I couldn't get enough playing time at A.S. Roma and really wanted to come to Galatasaray."