Geoffrey Kondogbia

Geoffrey Edwin Kondogbia (born 15 February 1993) is a Central African professional footballer who plays for Spanish club Atlético Madrid and the Central African Republic national team as a defensive midfielder. He can also play as a central defender or left back.[3]

Geoffrey Kondogbia
Kondogbia with Valencia in 2019
Personal information
Full name Geoffrey Edwin Kondogbia[1]
Date of birth (1993-02-15) 15 February 1993
Place of birth Nemours, France
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Atlético Madrid
Number 4
Youth career
1999–2003 Nandy
2003–2004 Sénart-Moissy
2004–2010 Lens
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2011 Lens II 18 (1)
2010–2012 Lens 35 (1)
2012–2013 Sevilla 33 (1)
2013–2015 Monaco 49 (2)
2015–2018 Inter Milan 50 (2)
2017–2018 → Valencia (loan) 31 (4)
2018–2020 Valencia 51 (2)
2020– Atlético Madrid 7 (0)
National team‡
2008–2009 France U16 5 (1)
2009 France U17 6 (0)
2010–2011 France U18 12 (5)
2011–2012 France U19 12 (1)
2012–2013 France U20 13 (2)
2013–2014 France U21 9 (1)
2013–2015 France 5 (0)
2018– Central African Republic 4 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 07:32, 26 December 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 13 November 2020

Kondogbia started his career at Lens,[4] then signed with Sevilla at the age of 19. In 2013 he was bought by Monaco for €20 million, and then by Inter Milan for €31 million two years later. He returned to Spain in 2017 to play for Valencia, and in 2020 moved to Atlético Madrid.

Kondogbia earned 57 caps for France across its youth levels,[4] before making his debut for the senior team in 2013. In August 2018, he was cap-tied to the Central African Republic by switching his allegiance, and made his debut for its national team in an official match shortly after.[5]

Club career

Lens

Kondogbia was born in Nemours, Seine-et-Marne of Central African descent, joining RC Lens' youth system at the age of 11. On 11 April 2010 he signed his first professional contract, agreeing to a four-year deal.[6] He made his debut in Ligue 1 on 21 November, appearing as a late substitute against Olympique Lyonnais.[7]

Kondogbia spent the 2011–12 season in Ligue 2 after the Sang et Or's relegation. He scored his only official goal for the team on 13 April 2012, netting the opener in a 3–0 success at Tours FC.[8]

Sevilla

On 24 July 2012, Kondogbia signed with Spanish club Sevilla FC for an undisclosed fee, believed to be in the region of €3 million.[9][10] He first appeared in La Liga on 15 September, replacing goalscorer Piotr Trochowski in the 82nd minute of the 1–0 defeat of reigning champions Real Madrid, at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium.[11] He scored his first goal for the Andalusians on 28 January 2013, heading home the first for his team in an eventual 3–0 home derby win against Granada CF.[12]

In Sevilla's semi-final second leg tie of the Copa del Rey against eventual winners Atlético Madrid, on 27 February 2013, Kondogbia picked up a red card as his team ended the match with nine men in the 2–2 home draw, and fell to a 3–4 aggregate loss.[13][14]

Monaco

Kondogbia returned to the French top division on 31 August 2013, signing a five-year contract with newly promoted AS Monaco FC worth a reported €20 million.[15] He contributed with 26 games and one goal in his first season, helping the club finish second and return to the UEFA Champions League after one decade.

In the Champions League round-of-16's first leg, on 25 February 2015, Kondogbia put his team ahead at Arsenal in an eventual 3–1 win.[16]

Inter Milan

On 22 June 2015, Inter Milan announced that they had signed Kondogbia[17] on a five-year deal[18][19] for an initial fee of €31 million,[20][21] subject to a medical,[18][22] beating a reported €40m bid from city rival A.C. Milan.[18] He scored his first goal for his new team on 8 November, the only away against Torino FC.[23] On 14 February of the following year, he was sent off at the conclusion of a bad-tempered 1–2 loss at ACF Fiorentina for sarcastically applauding the referee; he received a two-match ban.[24]

In June 2016, the Serie A club announced the total cost of Kondogbia was €40.501 million.[25]

Valencia

On 21 August 2017, Valencia CF announced that they reached an agreement with Internazionale for the loan of Kondogbia until 30 June 2018, with an option to make the deal permanent.[26] The deal was part of a loan exchange, with João Cancelo moving in the other direction.[27] He scored on his debut six days later, playing the full 90 minutes and helping to a 2–2 away draw against Real Madrid.[28]

On 24 May 2018, Valencia redeemed the buyout clause of Kondogbia and the player signed a four-year contract.[29]

Atlético Madrid

On 3 November 2020, Kondogbia joined Atlético Madrid on a four-year contract.[30] The club was granted an exception to sign him outside of the transfer window after Arsenal had met the release clause of Thomas Partey on deadline day.[31]

International career

France
Kondogbia and Spain's José Campaña at the 2012 European Under-19 Championship

Kondogbia was selected to the French squad for the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup.[32] In the nation's first group match against Ghana, on 21 June, he scored the opening goal in an eventual 3–1 victory,[33] being chosen by some publications as man of the match for his all-around performance.[34] He netted for the second time in the tournament against hosts Turkey in the round-of-16, leading to a 4–1 victory.[35]

Kondogbia made his debut for the senior team on 14 August 2013 at the age of 20, playing 63 minutes in a 0–0 friendly draw away to Belgium.[36]

Central African Republic

As all five matches he played for France at senior level were not in competitive matches, Kondogbia was never cap-tied and was thus still eligible to represent the Central African Republic, for which he qualified through his parents. He received an official call on 31 August 2018[5] and made his debut on 12 October, starting and acting as captain in a 0–4 away loss to Ivory Coast in a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.[37] On 18 November in the same competition, he scored an added-time equaliser in a 2–2 draw away to Rwanda.[38]

Personal life

Kondogbia's older brother, Evans, is also a footballer. He spent most of his career in Belgium, and represented the Central African Republic internationally.[4][39]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 22 December 2020[40]
Club Season League NationalCup[lower-alpha 1] League Cup[lower-alpha 2] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Lens 2010–11 Ligue 1 300000——30
2011–12 Ligue 2 3210040——361
Total 3510040——391
Sevilla 2012–13 La Liga 31160———381
2013–14 2000—1[lower-alpha 3]0—30
Total 33160—10—411
Monaco 2013–14 Ligue 1 2614110——312
2014–15 23120008[lower-alpha 4]1—332
Total 492611081—644
Inter Milan 2015–16 Serie A 26140———301
2016–17 24120—00—261
Total 50260—00—562
Valencia (loan) 2017–18 La Liga 31450———364
Valencia 2018–19 19130—7[lower-alpha 5]0—291
2019–20 27110—5[lower-alpha 4]11[lower-alpha 6]0342
2020–21 5000———50
Total 82690—121101047
Atlético Madrid 2020–21 La Liga 7010—00—80
Career total 25612281502121031215
  1. Includes Coupe de France, Copa del Rey, Coppa Italia
  2. Includes Coupe de la Ligue
  3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  5. Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
  6. Appearances in Supercopa de España

International
As of 13 November 2020[41][42]
National teamYearAppsGoals
France 201310
201540
Total50
Central African Republic 201831
202010
Total41
Career total91
As of 18 November 2018 (Central African Republic score listed first, score column indicates score after each Kondogbia goal)[43][42]
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
118 November 2018Stade Huye, Butare, Rwanda Rwanda2–22–22019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

Honours

Valencia

France U20

References
  1. "Acta del partido celebrado el 25 de mayo de 2019, en Sevilla" [Minutes of the match held on 25 May 2019, in Seville] (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. 25 May 2019. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  2. "Geoffrey Kondogbia". ESPN FC. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  3. "Qui sont Varane, Kondogbia, Hazard et Deligny" [Who are Varane, Kondogbia, Hazard and Deligny] (in French). Lensois. 9 March 2010. Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
  4. "Kondogbia: "Mon objectif, c'est Bollaert"" [Kondogbia: "Bollaert is my goal"] (in French). Lensois. 12 March 2010. Archived from the original on 1 September 2010. Retrieved 21 November 2010.
  5. @valenciacf (31 August 2018). "@Geo_Kondogbia convocado con la Selección de fútbol de la República Centroafricana para un partido ante Guinea Conakry. El partido se jugará el próximo 9 de septiembre y corresponde a la eliminatoria clasificatoria para la Copa de Africa 2019 (CAN) 👍🏽" [@Geo_Kondogbia summoned by the Central African Republic national football team for a match against Guinea Conakry. The match will be played the next 9 September and corresponds to the 2019 African Cup (CAN) qualifying round 👍🏽] (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 September 2018 – via Twitter.
  6. "Geoffrey Kondogbia quatre ans à Lens" [Geoffrey Kondogbia four years with Lens] (in French). Lensois. 11 April 2010. Retrieved 21 November 2010.
  7. "Un Lyon, deux visages" [One Lyon, two faces] (in French). Eurosport. 21 November 2010. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  8. "Tours-Lens: Score final (0–3)" [Tours-Lens: Final score (0–3)] (in French). RC Lensois. 13 April 2012. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  9. Mira, Luis (24 July 2012). "Official: Sevilla sign Geoffrey Kondogbia from Lens". Goal. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
  10. Corrigan, Dermot (28 June 2013). "Sevilla turn down €9m Kondogbia bid". ESPN FC. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
  11. "Real suffer Sevilla defeat". ESPN FC. 15 September 2012. Archived from the original on 8 May 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
  12. "Sevilla see off struggling opponents". ESPN FC. 28 January 2013. Archived from the original on 27 May 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
  13. Malagón, Manuel (27 February 2013). "El Atlético acepta el reto" [Atlético accept challenge]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  14. "Sevilla FC 2–2 Atletico Madrid". ESPN FC. 27 February 2013. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
  15. "Geoffrey Kondogbia joins Monaco after Sevilla exit". NDTV. 31 August 2013. Archived from the original on 2 September 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  16. "Clinical Monaco catch Arsenal cold". UEFA. 25 February 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  17. "Erick Thohir: "Welcome Kondogbia!"" (Press release). Inter Milan. 22 June 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  18. McCourt, Ian (22 June 2015). "Internazionale sign Geoffrey Kondogbia from Monaco on five-year deal". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  19. "Kondogbia completes move to Inter!" (Press release). Inter Milan. 2 July 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  20. "Relazione sulla Gestione". F.C. Internazionale Milano S.p.A. bilancio al 2015/06/30 [F.C. Internazionale Milano S.p.A. financial report on 30 June 2015] (in Italian). Italian C.C.I.A.A. 2015.
  21. "Inter, Thohir studia 4 acquisti per lo scudetto: piacciono Pjaca e Kaya" [Inter, Thohir studies 4 acquisitions for championship: Pjaca and Kaya please the eye]. La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 21 October 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2017. Il bilancio dell'esercizio appena chiuso in compenso ha ufficializzato le cifre di alcune operazioni di mercato. ......Tra i nomi più pesanti in entrata ci sono invece Kondogbia (31 più bonus)......
  22. "Geoffrey Kondogbia: Inter Milan to sign French midfielder". BBC Sport. 22 June 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  23. "Geoffrey Kondogbia downs Torino to send Internazionale top of Serie A". The Guardian. 8 November 2015. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  24. Gladwell, Ben (17 February 2016). "Fiorentina's Mauro Zarate shocked by three-match ban for red card". ESPN FC. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  25. "Nota Integrativa". F.C. Internazionale Milano S.p.A. bilancio al 2016/06/30 [F.C. Internazionale Milano S.p.A. financial report on 30 June 2016] (in Italian). Italian C.C.I.A.A. 2016.
  26. "Official statement | Geoffrey Kondogbia". Valencia CF. 21 August 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
  27. "Official: Inter sign Cancelo". Football Italia. 22 August 2017. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  28. Sánchez, Jesús (27 August 2017). "El Madrid perdona la vida al Valencia" [Madrid pardon Valencia]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  29. "Geoffrey Kondogbia signs with Valencia CF until 2022" (Press release). Valencia CF. 24 May 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  30. "Welcome, Geoffrey Kondogbia!" (Press release). Atlético Madrid. 3 November 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  31. "CAR's Geoffrey Kondogbia replaces Thomas Partey at Atletico" (Press release). BBC Sport. 3 November 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  32. "France". FIFA. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
  33. "France off to a flier". FIFA. 21 June 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  34. Ansah, Joshua (21 June 2013). "France U20 3–1 Ghana U20: Poor start for Black Satellites at 2013 U20 World Cup". Goal. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
  35. "Four-star France fly past Turkey". FIFA. 2 July 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  36. "Amical: Les Bleus évitent une nouvelle défaite" [Friendly: Blues avoid new loss]. L'Équipe (in French). 14 August 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  37. Kappel, David (12 October 2018). "France-born star makes debut for African country". Soccer Laduma. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  38. "Geoffrey Kondogbia nets first CAR goal to nab late point in Rwanda". ESPN FC. 18 November 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  39. "Geoffrey Kondogbia signe 4 ans au RC Lens" [Geoffrey Kondogbia signs for 4 years with RC Lens] (in French). Centrafrique Football. 11 April 2010. Archived from the original on 24 July 2010. Retrieved 21 November 2010.
  40. Geoffrey Kondogbia at Soccerway
  41. "Geoffrey Kondogbia". European Football. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  42. "Geoffrey Kondogbia". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  43. "G. Kondogbia – Matches". Soccerway. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  44. Chowdhury, Saj (25 May 2019). "Barcelona 1–2 Valencia". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
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