Quentin Bena (born 11 May 1998) is a French 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 le ...

who plays as a

Centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

or a defensive midfielder for A Lyga club

Kauno Žalgiris Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Traka ...

. Bena made his senior debut for Niort in April 2017 having signed for the club as a youth player from

Châtellerault Châtellerault (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Châteulrô/Chateleràud''; oc, Chastelairaud) is a commune in the Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in France. It is located in the northeast of the former province Poitou, and the re ...

four years previously.

Playing career

Bena was born in

Poitiers Poitiers (, , , ; Poitevin: ''Poetàe'') is a city on the River Clain in west-central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and the historical centre of Poitou. In 2017 it had a population of 88,291. Its agglomerat ...

and played junior football for Coussay-les-Bois, Saint-Pierre-de-Maillé, Pleumartin and

. After Châtellerault won an under-15s tournament in Jaunay-Clan in June 2013, during which he scored a goal and made an assist in the final, Bena joined the youth setup at

Chamois Niortais Chamois Niortais Football Club (often referred to as ''Les Chamois'', Chamois Niortais, or simply Niort) is a French association football club based in the commune of Niort, in the Deux-Sèvres department of western France. It was founded in 1 ...

. Over the next four years, he progressed through the ranks at the club, representing Niort at the under-17 and under-19 levels, and playing for the reserve team in the

Championnat de France Amateur 2 The Championnat National 3, commonly referred to as simply National 3 and formerly known as Championnat de France Amateur 2, is a football league competition. The league serves as the fifth division of the French football league system behind ...

. Originally playing as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

as a junior, he became a defensive midfielder during his time at Niort. Towards the end of the 2016–17 season with Niort already assured of a mid-table finish, Bena began to become involved in the first-team squad. He eventually made his

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions ...

debut on 21 April 2017, coming on as a substitute for the injured Laurent Agouazi in a 1–3 defeat away at AC Ajaccio. He made his first start for the senior team the following week, playing in an unfamiliar left-back position in the 0–3 defeat to

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

at the

Stade René Gaillard Stade René-Gaillard is a multi-use stadium in Niort, France. It is the home of French Ligue 2 football team Chamois Niortais (Chamois niortais in French) and it has a capacity of 11,352 people. Niort played their first game at the Stade René Ga ...

. He went on to make two further appearances during the remainder of the season, and was rewarded for his breakthrough into the first-team with a three-year professional contract, which he signed on 9 May 2017. Bena left Niort at the end of the 2021–22 season, having made 48 appearances for the club in all competitions. In August 2022, he joined Romanian side

Dinamo București A dynamo is a magnetic device originally used as an electric generator. Dynamo or Dinamo may also refer to: Places * Dinamo (Moscow Metro), a station of the Moscow Metro, Moscow, Russia * Dinamo (Yekaterinburg Metro), a station of the Yekaterinbu ...

, playing for the first time in their history in the Liga II. During the 2022-2023 season, he was a squad player, appearing in a total of 17 games, 8 of them in the starting eleven. He played a full 180 minutes in the promotion play-off games against FC Arges Pitesti, which

Dinamo A dynamo is a magnetic device originally used as an electric generator. Dynamo or Dinamo may also refer to: Places * Dinamo (Moscow Metro), a station of the Moscow Metro, Moscow, Russia * Dinamo (Yekaterinburg Metro), a station of the Yekaterinbu ...

won 8-5 on aggregate, promoting back to Liga I after just one season in the lower division. In the first leg of the promotion play-off, Bena scored his first goal for the club, through a header after a corner kick in the 15th minute. For the 2023-2024 season, he remained with

to play in Liga I. After the 1-1 draw at home against Petrolul Ploiești on 26 August 2023, he was selected in the Liga I team of the week. He was released by Dinamo on 2 July 2024.

Personal life

Born in France, Bena is of Congolese descent.

Career statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bena, Quentin 1998 births Living people Sportspeople from Poitiers French men's footballers French sportspeople of Democratic Republic of the Congo descent Men's association football midfielders Chamois Niortais F.C. players FC Dinamo București players FK Kauno Žalgiris players Championnat National 3 players Ligue 2 players Liga I players Liga II players A Lyga players Footballers from Nouvelle-Aquitaine Black French sportspeople French expatriate men's footballers French expatriate sportspeople in Romania Expatriate men's footballers in Romania French expatriate sportspeople in Lithuania Expatriate men's footballers in Lithuania