Franck Songo'o

Franck Steve Songo'o (born 14 May 1987) is a retired Cameroonian footballer who played as either a forward or midfielder. His senior career had been spent primarily in the English and Spanish football league systems, and has also been capped for the Cameroon national team.

Franck Songo'o
Personal information
Full name Franck Steve Songo'o
Date of birth (1987-05-14) 14 May 1987
Place of birth Yaoundé, Cameroon
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Winger
Youth career
–2002 Deportivo La Coruña
2002–2005 Barcelona
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005 Barcelona C 1 (0)
2005–2008 Portsmouth 3 (0)
2006 → Bournemouth (loan) 4 (0)
2007 → Preston North End (loan) 6 (0)
2007 → Crystal Palace (loan) 9 (0)
2008 → Sheffield Wednesday (loan) 12 (1)
2008–2010 Zaragoza 31 (1)
2010 → Real Sociedad (loan) 8 (0)
2010–2011 Albacete 6 (0)
2012 Portland Timbers 27 (1)
2013–2014 Glyfada 10 (0)
2014 PAS Giannina 4 (0)
Total 121 (3)
National team
2006 France U19 2 (0)
2008 Cameroon U23 4 (0)
2008–2012 Cameroon 3 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Early career

Born in the Cameroonian capital, Yaoundé, Songo'o began his youth footballing career at Spanish club Deportivo de La Coruña.[1] Franck's father, Jacques, played for Deportivo's senior club and was part of the squad that won the 1999–2000 La Liga championship. At Deportivo, Franck was spotted by Spanish club FC Barcelona. He spent several years at Barcelona's youth facility centre, La Masia, alongside future stars Lionel Messi, Cesc Fàbregas, and Gerard Piqué. Although Songo'o did not make an immediate impact on Barça's first team, he impressed other clubs, drawing interest from the Premier League.

Portsmouth

On 31 August 2005, Songo'o signed for Portsmouth for a fee of £250,000. He made two appearances for Portsmouth in the 2005–2006 season.[2] After several loan spells, on 13 January 2008, he made his third and final Premier League appearance for Portsmouth as a second-half substitute for Arnold Mvuemba against Sunderland while a number of Portsmouth's first eleven were away at the African Cup of Nations in Ghana. He was then loaned out again to Sheffield Wednesday and left England at the end of the season.

Loan spells

On 20 October 2006, Songo'o joined League 1 side Bournemouth on a one-month loan[3] but failed to make an impact. On 8 March 2007, he signed with Championship club Preston North End on loan until the end of the season.[4]

He became Neil Warnock's first signing at Crystal Palace at the end of October 2007, returning to Portsmouth in the new year.

On 7 March 2008, Songo'o joined Championship side Sheffield Wednesday on an initial one-month loan deal from his parent club. Whilst making his debut for Sheffield Wednesday he showed his wealth of trickery as he performed the rainbow kick skill to bypass two QPR defenders in the last minute of the game. He scored his first goal in English football for Wednesday, scoring a late equaliser against Stoke City.[5]

Spain

In the summer of 2008, Songo'o joined Spanish side Real Zaragoza, where he was given the number 11 shirt. Zaragoza played well in the 2008–09 Segunda División and were promoted to La Liga. Songo'o played limited minutes for Zaragoza in the top flight and was loaned to Segunda División side Real Sociedad.

On 6 September 2010, Zaragoza terminated Songo'o's contract. He then signed for another Segunda División club, Albacete.[6] Songo'o only made six first-team appearances for Albacete, and when the club was relegated at the end of the 2011 season, he was released.

Portland Timbers

In January and February 2012, Songo'o practiced and played as a trialist with the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer.[7] After assisting on four goals in four preseason games, Songo'o was signed to a contract by the Timbers on 16 February 2012.[8] Songo'o was waived by Portland on 27 February 2013.[9]

Greece

After a short spell with Glyfada in the Football League South, Songo'o signed for Superleague outfit PAS Giannina on 1 January 2014.[10]

International career

France U-19

Although he was born in Cameroon, he has represented the French under-19 international team.

Cameroon national team

In 2008 Songo'o applied to FIFA for a change in nationality to allow him to play in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The request was granted, and Songo'o was named in the Cameroon national squad for the games. He earned his first cap for Cameroon in the 2010 World Cup Qualifiers match against Cape Verde on 6 September 2008.

In November 2012, Songo'o was called up for the first time in four years. He came on as a second-half substitute in a friendly against Albania on 14 November 2012.[11]

Personal life

The Songo'o family has raised many footballers. Franck is the son of former Cameroonian national team goalkeeper Jacques Songo'o, who featured for Spanish side Deportivo La Coruña in the late 1990s and early 2000s. His brother, Yann Songo'o, was formerly on the books of Blackburn Rovers. Near the end of his playing career it was reported that Franck Songo'o was becoming involved with several businesses in A Coruña owned by his father.[12]

References
  1. Nelson, Mark. "Midfielder Songo'o brings myriad experiences to Portland". Portland Timbers. Archived from the original on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  2. "Player Profile-Franck Songo'o". Premier League player profile. Premierleague.com. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  3. Bournemouth net Portsmouth winger
  4. North End sign Portsmouth winger Archived 10 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  5. "Sheff Wed 1-1 Stoke". BBC. 29 March 2008. Retrieved 12 January 2010.
  6. Songo'o, nuevo jugador del Alba Archived 15 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)
  7. Newcomer Franck Songo'o Tries to Earn a Spot on the Timbers Roster
  8. "Timbers sign midfielder Franck Songo'o". Portland Timbers. 16 February 2012. Archived from the original on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  9. "Timbers waive midfielder Franck Songo'o, defender Chris Taylor". Portland Timbers. 27 February 2013. Archived from the original on 2 March 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  10. "Ο διεθνής Καμερουνέζος Franck Steve Songo'o, στον ΠΑΣ ΓΙΑΝΝΙΝΑ". 31 December 2013. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014.
  11. Doyle, Matthew. "Int'l Roundup: Dike capped for Nigeria; Spain rout Panama". MLS soccer. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
  12. "El ex deportivista Songo´o pone sus negocios en manos de su hijo". ED Galicia (in Spanish). Economía Digital. 7 January 2015. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
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