Florent Sinama Pongolle (born October 20, 1984 in Saint-Pierre, Réunion) is a French footballer who currently plays for Sporting CP.

Mainly a striker who can also appear as a winger, pace and mobility are his best attributes.

[edit] Club career

Sinama Pongolle was signed by Liverpool F.C. in 2001, along with his cousin Anthony Le Tallec, from Le Havre AC, by then manager Gérard Houllier, after impressive performances in both the European Under-16 Championship and the Under-17 World Championship. He was named player of the tournament as France won the latter competition, and would remain (as Le Tallec) two further years at Le Havre, loaned.

After his return, Sinama Pongolle appeared sporadically with the Reds, with some highlights however: coming from the bench against Olympiakos CFP and immediately equalizing for a 3–1 home win, in the club's victorious Champions League campaign (although he was left out of the squad for the final),^[2] netting two goals in the third round of the 2005–06 FA Cup against Luton Town, as he helped Liverpool come from 3–1 down to a final score of 5–3, with the side finally emerging victorious in the tournament), and scoring in the 2005–06 Champions League 2–1 success at Real Betis, with a memorable chip from 20 yards.^[3]

In January 2006, Sinama Pongolle was loaned to fellow Premier League side Blackburn Rovers until the end of the season.^[4] He scored once for the club, a 2–3 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur.^[5]

On August 30, 2006, Sinama Pongolle signed a one-year contract at Recreativo de Huelva,^[6] with an option to sign on for a further two years. On May 4, 2007, the Andalusia outfit confirmed he signed a permanent deal until 2011, for a fee of €4 million (£2.7 m).^[7] He was Recre's top goalscorer in his two seasons of play (12 and 10 respectively).

Sinama Pongolle signed a four-year contract with Atlético de Madrid for a fee believed to be in the region of €10million (£8 m), on July 3, 2008.^[8] Initially thought of as a backup to Diego Forlán and Sergio Agüero, he benefitted from an injury to the Uruguayan, netting four goals in his first five league appearances for the colchoneros, with braces against former side Recreativo and Getafe CF.

Later in his first season, injury and match bans to team captain Maxi Rodríguez saw him playing several games successfully at right winger, as Atlético once again finished fourth.

In the winter transfer market opening in 2009/2010, Sinama Pongolle was transferred to the Portuguese Club, Sporting Clube de Portugal for €6.500.000^[9].

[edit] International career

After his under-16 and 17 exploits, Sinama Pongolle made his under-21 debut on 21 August 2002. He was a part of the squad that participated in the 2006 European Championship, which took place from 23 May to 4 June in Portugal.^[10] At the end of his four-year tenure with this category, he ranked first in caps (37) and goals (11).

Sinama Pongolle received his first senior cap on 14 October 2008, during a friendly match with Tunisia, in a 3–1 win.

[edit] Honours

[edit] Team

• FIFA U-17 World Championship: 2001
• UEFA Champions League: 2004–05
• UEFA Super Cup: 2005
• FA Cup: 2005–06

[edit] Individual

• 2001 U-17 World Championship: Golden Ball, Golden Shoe

[edit] Club statistics

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Florent Sinama Pongolle French league stats at lfp.fr (French)
• L'Équipe stats (French)
• Florent Sinama-Pongolle career stats at Soccerbase
• Stats at Liga de Fútbol Profesional (Spanish)
• BDFutbol profile