Gabon
Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...
as Alexander N'Doumbou, is a professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who plays for
Chinese Super League
The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional association ...
club
Zhejiang
Zhejiang ( or , ; , Chinese postal romanization, also romanized as Chekiang) is an East China, eastern, coastal Provinces of China, province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable citie ...
. He formerly represented the
Gabon national football team
The Gabon national football team (French: ''Équipe de football du Gabon'') represents Gabon in men's international football. The team's nickname is The Panthers and it is governed by the Gabonese Football Federation. They have never qualified ...
.
Club career
N'Doumbou began his football career at Division 1 Gabonese club
AS Sogara
AS Sogara is a Gabonese football club based in Port-Gentil
Port-Gentil () or Mandji is the second-largest city of Gabon, and it is a leading seaport. It is the center of Gabon's petroleum and timber industries. The city is located on a delta i ...
's youth team. At the age of 12, N'Doumbou departed the country for France to join local club FC Carpentras in the
south of France
Southern France, also known as the South of France or colloquially in French as , is a defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', A ...
. He later had a stint at
Martigues
Martigues ( in classical norm, ''Lou Martegue'' in Mistralian norm) is a commune northwest of Marseille. It is part of the Bouches-du-Rhône department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the eastern end of the Canal de Caronte.
A di ...
before joining Marseille on a trial. After having a successful trial, N'Doumbou was offered an ''aspirant'' (youth) contract. While in the club's youth academy, he was captain of the Marseille under-17 team that won the 2008–09 Championnat National Under-17 league title. On 18 November 2009, N'Doumbou signed his first professional contract. The contract took effect on 1 July 2011 as the player had to play out the two years left on his ''élite'' contract. N'Doumbou made his professional debut on 9 January 2010, five days after his 18th birthday, in a
Coupe de France
The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and profession ...
match against amateur club
Trélissac
Trélissac (; oc, Trelhissac) is a commune in the Dordogne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Dordogne department
The following is a list of the 503 communes of the Dordogne depart ...
in a 2–0 victory.
On 10 August 2011, N'Doumbou joined
Orléans
Orléans (;"Orleans" (US) and FCV Dender EH.
In July 2018, N'doumbou moved to Bulgarian first division club,
FC Vereya
Vereya ( bg, Верея) is a Bulgarian association football club based in Stara Zagora, which currently competes in the Southeast Third League, the third tier of Bulgarian football.
Vereya was founded in 2001. The team made a remarkable rise ...
. N'Doumbou resumed his Chinese nationality and joined
Chinese Super League
The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional association ...
side
Shanghai Greenland Shenhua
Shanghai Shenhua F.C. () is a Chinese professional football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under license from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The term ''shen hua'' literally translates as "the Flower of Shanghai" in ...
in February 2019. N'Doumbou lifted the CFA Cup with
Shanghai Greenland Shenhua
Shanghai Shenhua F.C. () is a Chinese professional football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under license from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The term ''shen hua'' literally translates as "the Flower of Shanghai" in ...
on 6 December 2019. After four seasons in Shanghai he would move to another Chinese Super League club in
Zhejiang
Zhejiang ( or , ; , Chinese postal romanization, also romanized as Chekiang) is an East China, eastern, coastal Provinces of China, province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable citie ...
on 17 January 2023.
International career
N'Doumbou plays for the Gabon national team having earned his first call up to the team by former coach
Alain Giresse
Alain Jean Giresse (; born 2 August 1952) is a French football coach and former player who is the current manager of the Kosovo national team. He was French Player of the Year in 1982, 1983 and 1987. Nominally an attacking midfielder or central ...
in November 2009. In February 2019, N'Doumbou renounced his Gabonese passport to apply for restoration of Chinese nationality, but with N'Doumbou himself making appearances for Gabon in major tournaments, he will be no longer eligible to play for either Gabon national team or China national team.
Personal life
N'Doumbou was born in
Port-Gentil
Port-Gentil () or Mandji is the second-largest city of Gabon, and it is a leading seaport. It is the center of Gabon's petroleum and timber industries. The city is located on a delta island in the Ogooue delta with no bridges to the mainland. N ...
to a Gabonese father and a Chinese
Hakka
The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...
mother who had previously met in China where his father, Mr. Dieudonné Ndoumbou had been attending school.
Career statistics
Club
''(Correct as of 31 January 2023)''
International
:''(Correct as of 14 June 2012)''
Honours
Shanghai Shenhua
*
Chinese FA Cup
The Chinese FA Cup (, abbreviated as CFA Cup) is the national knockout cup competition in China organized by the Chinese Football Association. Its current holders are Shandong Taishan, having beaten Shanghai Port in 2021 for a record seventh tit ...
:
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
See also
*
List of Chinese naturalized footballers
Chinese naturalized footballers are association football players originally from another country who changedChinese nationals cannot have dual nationality according to the law. their nationality to Chinese (People's Republic of China) via natura ...