Charles N'Zogbia

Personal information
Full name	Charles N'Zogbia
Date of birth	May 28, 1986 (1986-05-28) (age 23)
Place of birth	Harfleur, France
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Playing position	Left back, Left winger
Club information
Current club	Wigan Athletic
Number	14
Youth career
2002–2004	Le Havre
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2004–2009	Newcastle United	118	(9)
2009–	Wigan Athletic	22	(2)
National team‡
2007–2009	France U-21	13	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 10:40 AM,1 September 2009 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 01:21, 16 October 2008 (UTC)

Charles N'Zogbia (born May 28, 1986 in Harfleur, Seine-Maritime) is a professional footballer currently playing for the English Premier League club Wigan Athletic, whom he joined in 2009 from Newcastle United.

He played primarily as a left winger for Newcastle, although in some games he has featured as an attacking midfielder and a left back.

N'Zogbia was capped for the France national under-21 football team on 13 occasions.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Club career 2.1 Newcastle United 2.2 Wigan Athletic 3 International career 4 Career statistics 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Early life

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, an assertion FIFA supported.

[edit] Newcastle United

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 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.^[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]

In December 2008 N'Zogbia announced his desire to leave Newcastle during the January 2009 transfer window, saying "After four years at Newcastle, I want to reach a higher level of ambition. I don't think that is possible here."^[14] On 29 January 2009, following a 2-1 away loss to Manchester City FC, Newcastle United FC manager Joe Kinnear angered N'Zogbia mispronouncing his name as insomnia. The following day, in a release to the press (Sky Sports News), N'Zogbia announced he would not play for the club again under their current manager.^[15] He also made an apology to the club's fans, and reiterated his desire to leave the club.^[16]

[edit] Wigan Athletic

The following day, Newcastle agreed a £6 million fee with Wigan Athletic for N'Zogbia. The deal involved Ryan Taylor moving to St James Park.^[17]

N'Zogbia completed his move just hours ahead of the transfer deadline, with Taylor moving the other way.^[18]

N'Zogbia scored his first league goal for Wigan in the 1-2 away victory over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.^[19]

[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 could have more time to think about his international football future.

[edit] Career statistics

As of 17 January 2009.

Club^[20]

Club	Season	Premier League		FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Others		Total
		App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals	App	Goals
Newcastle United	2004–05	14	0	2	0	0	0	6	0	0	0	22	0
	2005–06	32	5	3	0	2	0	4	0	0	0	41	5
	2006–07	22	0	0	0	2	0	11	0	0	0	35	0
	2007–08	32	3	3	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	37	3
	2008–09	18	1	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	22	1
	Total	118	9	10	0	8	0	21	0	0	0	157	9

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Charles N'Zogbia

• Charles N'Zogbia career stats at Soccerbase
• Charles N'Zogbia official Wigan Athletic site profile
• Charles N'Zogbia NUFC official site profile

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