Franck Steve Bangweni Songo'o (born 14 May 1987) is a Cameroonian former 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 lea ...

who played as either a forward or

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. His senior career had been spent primarily in the English and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

football league systems, and has also been

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

ped for the Cameroon national team.

Club career

Early career

Born in the Cameroonian capital,

Yaoundé Yaoundé (; , ) is the Capital city, capital city of Cameroon. It has a population of more than 2.8 million which makes it the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region (Cameroon), Centre Region o ...

, Songo'o began his youth footballing career at Spanish club

Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña () or simply Depor, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia, that competes in the Segunda División, the ...

. Franck's father,

Jacques Jacques or Jacq are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over one hundred identified noble families related t ...

, played for Deportivo's senior club and was part of the squad that won the

1999–2000 La Liga The 1999–2000 La Liga season, the 69th since its establishment. It began on 21 August 1999, and concluded on 20 May 2000. Deportivo La Coruña won a first La Liga title with 69 points, the lowest for a champion since the three points for a win ...

championship. At Deportivo, Franck was spotted by Spanish club

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...

. He spent several years at Barcelona's youth facility centre,

La Masia La Masia de Can Planes, usually shortened to La Masia (; ), is FC Barcelona's youth academy. It includes more than 300 young players and has been an instrumental factor in Barcelona's European success, producing several world class players and ...

, alongside future stars

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Major League Soccer ...

Cesc Fàbregas Francesc Fàbregas Soler (; ; born 4 May 1987) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who played as a central midfielder. He is currently the head coach of club Como. Fàbregas came through La Masia, Barcelona's you ...

, and

Gerard Piqué Gerard Piqué Bernabeu (born 2 February 1987) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is considered to be one of the best defenders of his generation. Initially a talented student athlete at Barcelona's La ...

. Although Songo'o did not make an immediate impact on Barça's first team, he impressed other clubs, drawing interest from the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

Portsmouth

On 31 August 2005, Songo'o signed for

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

for a fee of £250,000. He made two appearances for Portsmouth in the 2005–2006 season. After several loan spells, on 13 January 2008, he made his third and final

appearance for Portsmouth as a second-half substitute for Arnold Mvuemba against

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

while a number of Portsmouth's first eleven were away at the

African Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

in Ghana. He was then loaned out again to

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

and left England at the end of the season.

Loan spells

On 20 October 2006, Songo'o joined League 1 side

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

on a one-month loan but failed to make an impact. On 8 March 2007, he signed with Championship club

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

on loan until the end of the season. He became

Neil Warnock Neil Warnock (born 1 December 1948) is an English football manager and former player who is currently football advisor at Torquay United. He is also a television and radio pundit. In a managerial career spanning five decades, Warnock has managed ...

's first signing at

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

at the end of October 2007, returning to Portsmouth in the new year. On 7 March 2008, Songo'o joined Championship side

on an initial one-month loan deal from his parent club. Whilst making his debut for Sheffield Wednesday he showed his wealth of trickery as he performed the

rainbow kick The rainbow kick (also called the Reverse heel flick-over, the Rainbow flick, the Carretilha or the Lambreta in Brazil, the Lambretta in Italy, the Brazilian in Romania, the Ardiles flick in the UK, the Arco iris in Spain, the Okocha-Trick in Ger ...

skill to bypass two QPR defenders in the last minute of the game. He scored his first goal in English football for Wednesday, scoring a late equaliser against

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

Spain

In the summer of 2008, Songo'o joined Spanish side

Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system. Zarag ...

, where he was given the number 11 shirt. Zaragoza played well in the

2008–09 Segunda División The 2008–09 Segunda División season (known from that season as Liga Adelante for sponsorship reasons) was the 78th since its establishment. The first matches of the season were played on 30 August 2008, and the season ended on 21 June 2009. R ...

and were promoted to

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

. Songo'o played limited minutes for Zaragoza in the top flight and was loaned to Segunda División side

Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad ( ; ''Royal Society'') in English, and Erreala or Reala in Basque language, Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Donostia / San Sebastián, ...

. On 6 September 2010, Zaragoza terminated Songo'o's contract. He then signed for another Segunda División club,

Albacete Albacete ( , , ) is a city and municipality in the Spanish autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha, and capital of the province of Albacete. Lying in the south-east of the Iberian Peninsula, the area around the city is known as Los Llan ...

.Songo'o, nuevo jugador del Alba
Songo'o only made six first-team appearances for Albacete, and when the club was relegated at the end of the 2011 season, he was released.

Portland Timbers

In January and February 2012, Songo'o practiced and played as a trialist with the

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Timbers have p ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

.Newcomer Franck Songo'o Tries to Earn a Spot on the Timbers Roster
/ref> After assisting on four goals in four preseason games, Songo'o was signed to a contract by the Timbers on 16 February 2012. Songo'o was waived by Portland on 27 February 2013.

Greece

After a short spell with

Glyfada Glyfada (, ) is a town and a suburb in the South Athens regional unit located in the Athens Riviera along the coast of Saronic Gulf. It is situated in the southern parts of the Athens#Athens Urban Area, Athens urban area. The area stretches from ...

in the Football League South, Songo'o signed for

Superleague Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

outfit

PAS Giannina PAS Giannina Football Club (), or with its full name Panipirotikós Athlitikós Síllogos Giánnina (, ''Panepirotic Athletic Club Giannina'') is a Greek professional Association football, football club based in the city of Ioannina, the capita ...

on 1 January 2014.

International career

France U-19

Although he was born in Cameroon, he has represented the French under-19 international team.

Cameroon national team

In 2008 Songo'o applied to

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

for a change in nationality to allow him to play in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The request was granted, and Songo'o was named in the Cameroon national squad for the games. He earned his first cap for

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

in the

2010 World Cup Qualifiers Qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation – the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (Oc ...

match against

Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

on 6 September 2008. In November 2012, Songo'o was called up for the first time in four years. He came on as a second-half substitute in a friendly against

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

on 14 November 2012.

Personal life

The Songo'o family has raised many footballers. Franck is the son of former Cameroonian national team goalkeeper

Jacques Songo'o Jacques Celestin Songo'o (born 17 March 1964) is a Cameroonian former professional football goalkeeper who is the current goalkeeping coach of the Cameroon national team. He spent the vast majority of his professional career in France and Spa ...

, who featured for Spanish side

Deportivo La Coruña ''Deportivo'' (Spanish, 'sporting') may refer to: * Deportivo de La Coruña, commonly known as simply Deportivo, a Spanish football club * Déportivo, a French rock band * Deportivo (Mexicable) Mexicable is an aerial lift line in Ecatepec de ...

in the late 1990s and early 2000s. His brother, Yann Songo'o, was formerly on the books of

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

. Near the end of his playing career it was reported that Franck Songo'o was becoming involved with several businesses in

A Coruña A Coruña (; ; also informally called just Coruña; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality in Galicia, Spain. It is Galicia's second largest city, behind Vigo. The city is the provincial capital of the province ...

owned by his father.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Songo'o, Franck 1987 births Living people Footballers from Yaoundé Cameroonian men's footballers French men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Premier League players English Football League players Portsmouth F.C. players AFC Bournemouth players Preston North End F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players La Liga players Segunda División players Tercera División players FC Barcelona C players Real Zaragoza players Real Sociedad footballers Albacete Balompié players Major League Soccer players Portland Timbers players PAS Giannina F.C. players France men's youth international footballers Cameroon men's international footballers Olympic footballers for Cameroon Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Cameroonian expatriate men's footballers French expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Naturalized citizens of France French sportspeople of Cameroonian descent 21st-century Cameroonian sportsmen 21st-century French sportsmen