Place of birth Paris, France Number 6 Height 1.87 m Career start 2005 | Playing position 1999–2002 INF Clairefontaine Weight 73 kg Salary 260,000 GBP (2009) | |
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Full name Sébastien Aymar Bassong Nguena Date of birth (1986-07-09) 9 July 1986 (age 30) Current team Norwich City F.C. (#6 / Defender) Similar Wes Hoolahan, Alexander Tettey, John Ruddy, Graham Dorrans, Russell Martin Profiles | ||
Sébastien Aymar Bassong Nguena (born 9 July 1986) is a French-born Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Championship club Norwich City, and for the Cameroonian national team. He has been in a relegated team a total of six times throughout his career; twice at Metz in 2006 and 2008, at Newcastle United in 2009, at Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2012 and twice at Norwich in 2014 and 2016.
Contents
- Metz
- Newcastle United
- Tottenham Hotspur
- Loan spell at Wolves
- Norwich City
- Loan spell at Watford
- International career
- Career statistics
- References
Metz
Metz signed Bassong out of the Clairefontaine academy. There he played 79 times, scoring once, in the French second tier.
Newcastle United
In July 2008, Bassong was offered a one-week trial with Newcastle United and made his debut in a pre-season friendly against Doncaster Rovers. On 30 July, it was confirmed that Newcastle had agreed a fee of £500,000 with Metz for Bassong.
He made his professional debut for Newcastle on 26 August in a League Cup game away to Coventry City, before playing his first league game for Newcastle away to Arsenal when he came on as a substitute for José Enrique. He received his first red card for the club away to Wigan Athletic on 26 December. Another came on 16 May 2009 as part of 0–1 home defeat to Fulham in the penultimate game of the season. Bassong was named the Newcastle Player of the Season for 2008–09.
Tottenham Hotspur
Following Newcastle's relegation to the Football League Championship, Bassong expressed his desire to leave the club, with Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur linked with him. On 6 August 2009, it was confirmed that he had passed a medical at Spurs signing a five-year deal and completed an £8 million move to the North London club that same day. Bassong scored on his debut for Tottenham in a 2–1 victory over Liverpool, heading in the winner from a free kick cross from teammate Luka Modrić in the 59th minute. At the start of Tottenham's 2010–11 Champions League campaign, Bassong scored Spurs' first goal in a 3–2 losing effort to Swiss club Young Boys. However, he failed to start or make the bench for the second leg in which Spurs won 4–0, (6–3 on aggregate) sending Tottenham into the Champions League group stages.
Loan spell at Wolves
On 31 January 2012, Bassong joined fellow Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers on loan until the end of the 2011–12 season. Four days later he made his debut for Wolves, playing the full 90 minutes in the 2–1 win against QPR. However, his loan spell with Wolves did not prevent the club from being relegated after a 2–0 home loss to Manchester City.
Norwich City
On 21 August 2012, Bassong signed with Norwich City for an undisclosed fee. This deal linked him back up with Chris Hughton who he worked under at Newcastle. Bassong made his Canaries debut against Queens Park Rangers in a 1–1 draw at Carrow Road. In November, Bassong scored his first goal for Norwich, a 90th-minute equaliser away at Everton. At the beginning of December, he scored again to help Norwich get three points and a 2–1 win against Sunderland. He scored his third for Norwich at Swansea City on 8 December. On 17 May 2013, Bassong was named Norwich City's Player of the Season for 2012–13, winning the Barry Butler Memorial Trophy. In doing so, he became the first player from outside the British Isles to win the prestigious award. On 10 August 2013, he was named team captain.
Bassong missed the start of the 2013–14 Premier League season after suffering an injury just before the start of pre-season. He played in developmental games and a League Cup fixture against Bury to get back to match fitness. On 31 August, he returned against Southampton and helped the team keep a clean sheet as they beat the Saints 1–0. During 2013–14, he was named the team captain for Norwich. However, Norwich were relegated that season along with Cardiff City and Fulham. This was his third relegation from the Premier League with a third different club.
Loan spell at Watford
In the summer, Bassong was loaned to Championship rivals, Watford, along with notable signing Odion Ighalo. He made 11 appearances before returning to Norwich in the January window.
International career
Bassong played as a defensive midfielder for the French under-21 national team, playing in two matches against the Netherlands and Japan in the summer of 2007 before joining Newcastle. On 25 May 2009 he was called up by the Cameroon national team for their 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Morocco. He is eligible for Cameroon due to not having played in a competitive under-21 match for the France team, and he made his debut for the national side on 12 August in a 2–0 away win to Austria. He was selected for the 2010 FIFA World Cup squad in South Africa alongside his former Tottenham teammate Benoît Assou-Ekotto. He regularly wears the number 5 jersey internationally for Cameroon.