Samuel Umtiti

Samuel Yves Um Titi (French pronunciation: ​[samɥɛl umtiti];[4] born 14 November 1993), known as Samuel Umtiti, is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Spanish club Barcelona and the French national team.

Samuel Umtiti
Personal information
Full name Samuel Yves Um Titi[1]
Date of birth (1993-11-14) 14 November 1993[2]
Place of birth Yaoundé, Cameroon
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[3]
Position(s) Centre-back
Club information
Current team
 Barcelona
Number 23
Youth career
1998–2002 Menival
2002–2012 Lyon
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2012 Lyon II 21 (0)
2012–2016 Lyon 131 (3)
2016– Barcelona 83 (2)
National team‡
2009–2010 France U17 7 (0)
2010–2011 France U18 7 (0)
2011–2012 France U19 13 (2)
2012–2013 France U20 13 (0)
2013–2014 France U21 7 (1)
2016– France 31 (4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:20, 7 February 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 11 June 2019

Umtiti began his professional career with Lyon in 2012, winning both the Coupe de France and Trophée des Champions in his first year. He totalled 170 games and three goals before a €25 million transfer to La Liga club Barcelona in 2016. He went on to win the Copa del Rey in his first season in Spain and a double (La Liga and Copa del Rey) the following campaign.

After winning 47 caps and scoring three goals at youth level, including winning the 2013 U-20 World Cup, Umtiti made his senior debut for France at Euro 2016, where they reached the final. Two years later, he was part of the squad that won the 2018 World Cup.

Club career

Early years

Umtiti was born in Yaoundé, Cameroon, he moved with his family when he was two-years-old to Villeurbanne, France. A few months later, however, the family settled in the district of Ménival in the 5th arrondissement of Lyon. Thereafter, Umtiti joined the local football club Ménival at the age of five. At nine years old, he joined Lyon's youth academy.[5]

Lyon
Umtiti playing for Lyon against Zenit in November 2015

Umtiti was included in a Lyon squad for the first time on 16 August 2011, remaining an unused substitute as they defeated Rubin Kazan 3–1 in the first leg of the Champions League play-off round.[6] He made his professional debut for the club on 8 January 2012, playing the whole match in a 3–1 victory over local rivals Lyon-Duchère in the Coupe de France.[7] Six days later, he made his Ligue 1 debut in a 1–0 away defeat to Montpellier, playing the entire game.[8] Umtiti made a total of 18 appearances across all competitions in his debut season.

In the 2012–13 season, he became a more regular member of the Lyon first team. On 12 January 2013, against Troyes in a 2–1 away win, he scored his first career goal.[9] He finished the season with 32 appearances in all competitions and two goals.[10]

Barcelona

On 30 June 2016, Umtiti signed for La Liga side Barcelona for a fee of €25 million.[11][12] On 17 August, Umtiti made his first appearance for Barcelona in the second leg of the 2016 Supercopa de España which Barcelona won 3–0 versus Sevilla and lifted the trophy.[13] Umtiti picked up a knee injury in September 2016 while in Barcelona training, causing him to miss a crucial La Liga clash against Atlético Madrid.[14][15] He scored his first goal for the club, on 4 March 2017, against Celta de Vigo with Barcelona winning 5–0 at the Camp Nou.[16] He would later play a vital role in the 2016–17 Champions League round of 16 second leg fixture against Paris Saint-Germain, as he started the match alongside Gerard Piqué and Javier Mascherano in a 3-man central defence partnership. Umtiti assisted his teammates in recovering from a 4–0 first leg deficit to a historic 6–1 victory, the biggest comeback in the history of the Champions League.[17] He would cap off his first year in Spain by winning the 2016–17 Copa del Rey and by establishing himself firmly as first-choice in central defence for the club alongside Piqué.[18]

Now established as first-choice in defence at the club, after Barcelona's subpar 2017 Supercopa de España while reeling off the loss of Neymar, Umtiti began the season with great performances, under the guidance of new manager Ernesto Valverde.[19] On 2 December, Umtiti injured his right hamstring and was ruled out for eight weeks.[20] Umtiti scored the winning goal against Valencia CF at Camp Nou, on 14 April, in a 2–1 victory for the Catalans.[21] A week later, on 21 April, Umtiti started for Barcelona in the 2018 Copa del Rey Final, holding a clean sheet in an eventual 5–0 victory over Sevilla at the Metropolitano Stadium.[22] Additionally, Umtiti won his first La Liga winners' medal during his second season in Spain, with the defender appearing in 40 games and scoring one goal across all competitions.[23]

On 3 June 2018, Umtiti signed a new five-year contract with Barcelona. The release clause was subsequently set at €500 million.[24] Umtiti was named as a substitute for the 2018 Supercopa de España behind Piqué and a new summer signing Clément Lenglet. Despite not featuring and with Barcelona winning the match 2–1 against Sevilla, Umtiti claimed his fifth winners' medal since joining the club.[18][25]

International career

Youth

Umtiti was a France youth international, having represented the country from under-17 to under-21 levels. He was an integral member of the team that won France's first ever U-20 World Cup in 2013. Although, he had to sit out the final against Uruguay due to a red card received in the semi-final against Ghana.[26]

Senior
Umtiti defending against Argentina's Lionel Messi, his Barcelona teammate, at the 2018 FIFA World Cup

Umtiti was born and spent the first two years of his life in Cameroon. Therefore, the Cameroonian Football Federation and their former international player Roger Milla met his advisors in an unsuccessful attempt to get him to represent their national team.[27]

Umtiti, who was at the time uncapped at senior level, was selected by the French national team manager Didier Deschamps to be part of the France's squad for the European Championship in 2016, following an injury to the compatriot Jérémy Mathieu.[28] Umtiti made his senior debut on 3 July by playing every minute of the quarter-final against Iceland at the Stade de France, replacing the suspended Adil Rami. Thus, he became the first outfield player since Gabriel De Michèle (at the 1966 World Cup) to win his first cap for France by appearing in the finals of a major tournament and was accurate with all 77 of his passes during the match, which France won 5–2.[29] He later earned extremely positive reviews for his performance in the semi-final against the incumbent world champions Germany.[30] This led to a lot of excitement over Umtiti's prospects for his newly signed club, Barcelona, and his future as a player.[31]

On 13 June 2017, Umtiti scored his first goal for France, equalising against England in an eventual 3–2 victory for Les Bleus in a friendly match in Paris.[32]

On 17 May 2018, he was called up to the 23-man French squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.[33] In the semi-final against Belgium on 10 July, he scored the only goal of the game, heading in a corner.[34] On 15 July, Umtiti was named as a starter, as France beat Croatia 4–2 in the final.[35]

Style of play

Umtiti is a powerful and rangy left-footed central defender, who is predominantly known for his physical strength, anticipation, pace, ability in the air, and tackling, as well as his distribution, technique, and ability on the ball, which enables him to carry the ball out from the defence, or start attacking plays from the back with his passing.[36][37][38][39][40][41] In 2018, ESPN FC journalist Sam Marsden praised Umtiti's reading of the game, timing and risk-taking, adding that he could lead their defence for the next five to 10 years.[42]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 7 February 2021
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[lower-alpha 1] League Cup[lower-alpha 2] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Lyon II 2010–11[10] CFA 130————130
2011–12[10] CFA 60————60
2012–13[10] CFA 20————20
Total 210————210
Lyon 2011–12[10] Ligue 1 120303000—180
2012–13[10] Ligue 1 26100006[lower-alpha 3]100322
2013–14[10] Ligue 1 280103010[lower-alpha 4]0—420
2014–15[10] Ligue 1 35120102[lower-alpha 3]1—402
2015–16[10] Ligue 1 30120104[lower-alpha 5]01[lower-alpha 6]0381
Total 13138080222101705
Barcelona 2016–17[43] La Liga 25190—8[lower-alpha 5]01[lower-alpha 7]0431
2017–18[23] La Liga 25140—9[lower-alpha 5]02[lower-alpha 7]0401
2018–19[44] La Liga 14000—1[lower-alpha 5]000150
2019–20[45] La Liga 13010—3[lower-alpha 5]010180
2020–21[46] La Liga 6010—1[lower-alpha 5]00080
Total 832150—220401242
Career total 235523080442503157
  1. Includes Coupe de France, Copa del Rey
  2. Includes Coupe de la Ligue
  3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. Three appearances in UEFA Champions League, seven appearances in UEFA Europa League
  5. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  6. Appearance in Trophée des Champions
  7. Appearance(s) in Supercopa de España

International
As of match played 8 June 2019[47][48]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
France 201640
2017101
2018132
201941
Total314
As of match played 8 June 2019. France score listed first, score column indicates score after each Umtiti goal.[48]
List of international goals scored by Samuel Umtiti
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
113 June 2017Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France8 England1–13–2Friendly
21 June 2018Allianz Riviera, Nice, France18 Italy1–03–1
310 July 2018Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg, Russia24 Belgium1–01–02018 FIFA World Cup
425 March 2019Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France29 Iceland1–04–0UEFA Euro 2020 qualification

Honours
Umtiti holding the FIFA World Cup Trophy

Lyon[18]

Barcelona[18]

France U20[18]

France

Individual

Orders

References
  1. "Acta del Partido celebrado el 12 de mayo de 2019, en Barcelona" [Minutes of the Match held on 12 May 2019, in Barcelona] (in Spanish). Royal Spanish Football Federation. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  2. "FIFA World Cup Russia 2018: List of players: France" (PDF). FIFA. 15 July 2018. p. 11. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  3. "Samuel Umtiti". FC Barcelona. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  4. "Téléfoot – L'After du 1er mai 2016 avec Samuel Umtiti". YouTube.com. Téléfoot. 2 May 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  5. "Umtiti: A leader at the earliest age". Sport. 12 July 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  6. "Lyon recover to lead Rubin". UEFA. 16 August 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  7. "APRÈS-MATCH LYON-DUCHÈRE – OL". olweb.fr. 8 January 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  8. "MONTPELLIER VS. OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS 1–0". Soccerway. 14 January 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  9. "TROYES VS. OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS 1 – 2". Soccerway. 12 January 2013. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  10. "France – S. Umtiti". Soccerway. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  11. "Barcelona confirm €25m Umtiti agreement". ESPN FC. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  12. "Samuel Umtiti to transfer to FC Barcelona" (PDF) (Press release). Olympique Lyonnais Group. 30 June 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  13. Sport (18 August 2016). "Javier Mascherano out injured... Samuel Umtiti to play?". Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  14. "Barca's Umtiti out of Atleti clash with knee injury". FourFourTwo. 20 September 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  15. Sport (20 September 2016). "Samuel Umtiti set to miss 15 days with knee ligament injury". sport. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  16. "Barcelona vs. Celta de Vigo 5–0". Soccerway. 4 March 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  17. "Barcelona vs PSG – as it happened". The Independent. 8 March 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  18. "Samuel Umtiti". FCBarcelona.com. FC Barcelona. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  19. "Samuel Umtiti, another solid performance". FC Barcelona. 1 November 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  20. "Samuel Umtiti, out for 8 weeks". FC Barcelona. 2 December 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
  21. "Barcelona 2–1 Valencia". BBC Sport. 14 April 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  22. "Sevilla 0–5 Barcelona". BBC Sport. 21 April 2018. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  23. "Games played by Samuel Umtiti in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  24. "Agreement to extend Samuel Umtiti's contract". FC Barcelona. 3 June 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  25. "Barcelona beat Sevilla 2–1 to win Spanish Super Cup in Morocco". BBC Sport. 12 August 2018. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  26. McCauley, Kevin (10 July 2013). "France vs. Ghana, 2013 Under-20 World Cup: Final score 2–1, Florian Thauvin spectacular for Les Bleus". SB Nation. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
  27. Ramsay, Arnaud (8 March 2016). "Samuel Umtiti : "Je joue toute ma vie sur le terrain"" [Samuel Umtiti: "I play my whole life on the pitch"]. France Football (in French). Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  28. Parrish, Rob (28 May 2016). "Umtiti replaces Mathieu in France's Euro 2016 squad". Goal. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  29. Fletcher, Paul (3 July 2016). "France 5–2 Iceland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  30. "UEFA EURO 2016 semi-final: Germany 0–2 France". Bundesliga. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  31. "Why didn't Arsenal try to sign Samuel Umtiti before Barcelona?". The Independent. 8 July 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  32. "France 3–2 England". BBC Sport. 13 June 2017. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  33. Andy Charles (21 May 2018). "Alexandre Lacazette and Anthony Martial on standby for France World Cup squad and Dimitri Payet out". Sky Sports. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  34. Shamoon Hafez (10 June 2018). "France 1–0 Belgium". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  35. McNulty, Phil (15 July 2018). "France 4–2 Croatia". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  36. "Samuel Umtiti". FC Barcelona. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  37. Crossan, David (30 June 2016). "Umtiti out to seize France chance". UEFA.com. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  38. Rutzler, Peter (20 February 2018). "Samuel Umtiti, the impassable rock from which Barcelona conduct their artistry, could prove Chelsea's biggest problem". The Independent. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  39. Lovett, Samuel (13 March 2017). "The stats behind Samuel Umtiti's first season at the Nou Camp and his centrality to Luis Enrique's Barcelona". The Independent. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  40. Marsden, Rory (7 June 2016). "Barcelona Transfer News: Samuel Umtiti Comments on Latest Blaugrana Rumours". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  41. Dudko, James (1 April 2018). "Samuel Umtiti Discusses Barcelona Contract, Manchester United Transfer Interest". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  42. Marsden, Sam (22 March 2018). "Barcelona would be wise to offer pay rise to lock down in-demand Samuel Umtiti". ESPN FC. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
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  44. "Games played by Samuel Umtiti in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  45. "Games played by Samuel Umtiti in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  46. "Games played by Samuel Umtiti in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
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