Yeni Atito Ngbakoto (born 23 January 1992) 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

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga ( da, Superligaen, ) is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each ye ...

club

Vejle Boldklub Vejle Boldklub is a Danish professional football club based in Vejle in Jutland. Formed in 1891, the club is one of the most successful clubs in Danish football history, having won the Danish championship five times and the Danish cup title six t ...

. Born in France, he plays for the DR Congo national team internationally. He primarily plays as a winger, but is capable of playing as a striker. He is a former France youth international having earned caps at under-17 and under-18 level. He is known for his speed, technical ability, and strength, which compensates for his small stature.

Club career

Metz

Born in Croix, Ngbakoto began his football career at SC Clemenceau in the

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

Besançon Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzer ...

. He excelled in the club's youth academy and eventually secured a move to the youth academy of professional club

FC Metz Football Club de Metz, commonly referred to as FC Metz or simply Metz (), is a French association football club based in Metz, Lorraine. The club was formed in 1932 and plays in Ligue 2, the second division in the French football league sys ...

. While at the academy, he developed gracefully becoming one of the club's most sought after products. During his time at the academy, he drew interest from English clubs

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

and

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

and Spanish club

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

. Ngbakoto's play with the club's under-16 team saw him earn a call up to the France under-17 team by coach

Philippe Bergeroo Philippe Bergeroo (born 28 January 1954) is a French former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. For France, he earned a total number of three international caps during the late 1970s, early 1980s. He was a member of the French sq ...

. On 25 June 2009, he agreed to his first professional contract signing a five-year deal until June 2014. Following the agreement, he was promoted to the senior team and assigned the number 15 shirt in preparation for the 2009–10 season. Ngbakoto began the season playing on the club's amateur team in the Championnat de France amateur 2, the fifth level of French football, scoring on his debut in the team's opening match against

CA Pontarlier Cercle Athlétique Pontarlier is a French association football team founded in 1911. They are based in Pontarlier, Franche-Comté, France and as of the 2019–20 season they are playing in the Championnat National 3, the fifth tier in the Frenc ...

on 15 August 2009. He consistently appeared in the amateur team for the next four months, adding another goal in a 1–0 victory over

Thionville Thionville (; ; german: Diedenhofen ) is a city in the northeastern French department of Moselle. The city is located on the left bank of the river Moselle, opposite its suburb Yutz. History Thionville was settled as early as the time of th ...

, before earning a call up to the senior team by

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

Yvon Pouliquen Yvon Pouliquen (born 17 October 1962) is a French football manager and former footballer. He played as a defensive midfielder for 14 seasons (all but one in Ligue 1) and made 455 appearances in the French league. He then spent several years as a ...

for the club's Coupe de la Ligue match against

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

on 13 January 2010. Ngbakoto made his professional debut in the match appearing as a substitute in the 83rd minute for

Julien Cardy Julien Cardy (born 29 September 1981) is a French former professional footballer who played as a midfielder for Toulouse FC, FC Metz, Tours FC Tours Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tours (), is a French association football ...

. Metz lost the match 3–0. He was relegated back to the amateur division shortly after and finished the campaign with 16 appearances and eight goals as the Metz reserve team were crowned champions of the league finishing with 107 points. For the 2010–11 season, Ngbakoto was reassigned the number 23 shirt by new manager

Dominique Bijotat Dominique Bijotat (born 3 January 1961) is a French Association football, football manager and former professional player who played as a midfielder. He obtained eight international caps (no goals) for the France national football team, Fr ...

. He made league debut on 27 August 2010 in a league match against

AC Ajaccio Athletic Club Ajaccio ( co, Athletic Club Aiacciu), commonly referred to as AC Ajaccio, ''ACA'' or simply Ajaccio, is a French association football club based in the city of Ajaccio on the island of Corsica. The club was founded in 1910 and ...

, which ended 0–0. He started the match and played 90 minutes before being substituted out in

injury time Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

. On 18 December, he scored his first professional goal in a 3–0 victory over

L'Entente SSG The Entente Sannois Saint-Gratien is a French association football team based in the suburb of Saint-Gratien in Paris. The team was founded in 1989 and play in the Championnat National 3, the country's fifth tier of competition. Recent history ...

in the

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 ...

Queens Park Rangers

Ngbakoto signed for English club

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

on 7 August 2016. He scored on his debut for the club against

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...

in an EFL Cup tie on 10 August 2016.

Guingamp

On 3 January 2018, Ngbakoto signed for French Ligue 1 club

Guingamp Guingamp (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. With a population of 6,895 as of 2017, Guingamp is one of the smallest towns in Europe to have a top-tier professional football team: En Avant Gui ...

for an undisclosed fee. He was assigned the number 12 shirt.

Panathinaikos

On 1 February 2021, Greek club Panathinaikos have signed DR Congo international Yeni Ngbakoto. Ngbakoto, who was born in France but has played twice for his national team, has signed an 18-month deal which according to Greek media will earn him €400 000.

Nancy

On 31 January 2022, Ngbakoto signed with Nancy in Ligue 2 until the end of the season.

Western Sydney Wanderers

On 23 June 2022, Ngbakoto joined

A-League Men A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competit ...

club

Western Sydney Wanderers Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club (colloquially known as Western Sydney, or simply as Wanderers) is an Australian professional soccer club based in the Western Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier ...

. In May 2023, it was announced that Ngbakoto was leaving the club at the end of his contract.

Vejle Boldklub

On 1 September 2023, Ngbakoto joined

club

on a deal until June 2025.

International career

Ngbakoto was born in France and is of Congolese and Ivorian descent. Ngbakoto has earned international youth caps with the under-17 and under-18 teams. With the under-17s, he was a regular appearing in 14 matches scoring four goals with his first two coming in a tournament in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

against

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

and the hosts. Ngbakoto scored both his other goals in the qualification process for the

2009 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship The 2009 UEFA European Under-17 Championship was the eighth edition of UEFA's European Under-17 Football Championship since it was renamed from the original under-16 event, in 2001. Germany hosted the championship, during 6 to 18 May 2009, in thir ...

. He scored one in the

first qualifying round First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

and the other in the

Elite Round In political and sociological theory, the elite (french: élite, from la, eligere, to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. D ...

against

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

converting a

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) A p ...

. The team later suffered group stage elimination in the tournament with Ngbakoto appearing in all three matches. With the under-18s, Ngbakoto earned his first appearance in the yearly SBS Cup, held in Japan, against

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. He was one of the few underage players for France at the tournament. In the tournament, he scored his only two goals so far against the

Shizuoka Shizuoka can refer to: * Shizuoka Prefecture, a Japanese prefecture * Shizuoka (city), the capital city of Shizuoka Prefecture * Shizuoka Airport * Shizuoka Domain, the name from 1868 to 1871 for Sunpu Domain, a predecessor of Shizuoka Prefecture ...

national team in the second group stage match and the hosts Japan in the final group stage match. Ngbakoto was called up to the DR Congo national team in March 2017, eligible through heritage. He made his first appearance in a 2–1 friendly loss to

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

on 26 March 2017.

Career statistics

Club

International goals

:''Scores and results list DR Congo's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ngbakoto goal.''

Honours

Guingamp * Coupe de la Ligue runner-up: 2018–19

Notes

References

External links

Yeni N'Gbakoto profile
a
fcmetz.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ngbakoto, Yeni 1992 births Living people Men's association football midfielders Democratic Republic of the Congo men's footballers Democratic Republic of the Congo men's international footballers French men's footballers France men's youth international footballers French sportspeople of Democratic Republic of the Congo descent French sportspeople of Ivorian descent FC Metz players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players En Avant Guingamp players Panathinaikos F.C. players AS Nancy Lorraine players Western Sydney Wanderers FC players Vejle Boldklub players Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players Championnat National players Championnat National 2 players Championnat National 3 players English Football League players Super League Greece players Super League Greece 2 players Democratic Republic of the Congo expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Democratic Republic of the Congo expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Democratic Republic of the Congo expatriate sportspeople in Greece Expatriate men's soccer players in Australia Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark Black French sportspeople