Charles N'Zogbia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Charles N'Zogbia

N'Zogbia training with Newcastle United in 2007
Personal information
Full name	Charles N'Zogbia
Date of birth	(1986-05-28) 28 May 1986 (age 39)
Place of birth	Harfleur, France
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Playing position	Winger
Youth career
1995–1998	SC de Frileuse
1998–2004	Le Havre
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2004–2009	Newcastle United	118	(9)
2009–2011	Wigan Athletic	83	(15)
2011–2016	Aston Villa	80	(4)
Total		281	(28)
National team
2007–2009	France U21	13	(0)
2010–2011	France	2	(0)
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Charles N'Zogbia (born May 28, 1986) is a French former professional footballer. He played as a winger, which means he played on the sides of the field. He could play on the right or left side, and sometimes even as an attacking midfielder closer to the goal.

Charles played for the French national under-21 team 13 times. He made his first appearance for the main French team in 2010. He spent more than ten years playing for big clubs in the Premier League like Newcastle United, Wigan Athletic, and Aston Villa. He started his football journey at Le Havre in France.

Club Career

Starting Out

N'Zogbia began his football journey at the academy of Le Havre in France. When he was 16, a scout from Newcastle United named Charlie Woods noticed him. Charlie arranged for Charles to try out for the club.

After training with Newcastle for a month, Charles really impressed them. The club was very eager to sign him. However, his transfer to Newcastle was a bit tricky. Le Havre said he had an educational contract with them. But Newcastle believed he was free to move without a transfer fee. FIFA, the world football body, agreed with Newcastle.

Playing for Newcastle United

After some long discussions, Newcastle finally paid about £250,000 to sign N'Zogbia from Le Havre. This money was for his youth development costs. His move to Newcastle was officially completed on September 2, 2004. He was the last player signed by the famous manager Sir Bobby Robson.

Newcastle fans gave N'Zogbia the nickname 'Zog'. They even chanted "Zog on the Tyne" to show how much they liked his playing. This chant was a fun twist on a famous song.

He played his first game for Newcastle on September 11, 2004. It was a 3–0 win against Blackburn Rovers. In the 2005–06 season, N'Zogbia became a regular player. He played in 41 matches that season. He scored Newcastle's first goal of the season in a 1–1 draw against Fulham. It was a very skillful free kick.

He showed his goal-scoring talent by scoring 6 goals that season. This included a great solo goal in a 4–1 win against their rivals Sunderland. He was the fourth-highest goal scorer for Newcastle that season. He also helped set up seven goals for his teammates. Because he played so well, other clubs like Arsenal became interested in him. But he chose to sign a new three-year contract with Newcastle.

In the 2006–07 season, he played less often. The new manager, Glenn Roeder, preferred another player, Damien Duff. Charles also missed games because of an injury he got in December 2006. He did not return to play until late February 2007. He was left out of the last game of the season in May 2007. This happened after he refused to be a substitute player.

Even though there were rumors he would leave, N'Zogbia stayed at Newcastle. He was in the starting team for the first game of the new season. He scored the first goal in a 3–1 win against Bolton Wanderers. On September 4, 2007, he signed a new five-year contract. This meant he would stay at the club until 2012.

In December 2008, N'Zogbia said he wanted to leave Newcastle. He felt he wanted to play at a higher level. On January 29, 2009, after a game, Newcastle manager Joe Kinnear had a disagreement with N'Zogbia. Charles then said he would not play for the club while Kinnear was the manager.

Moving to Wigan Athletic

On January 30, 2009, Newcastle agreed to sell N'Zogbia to Wigan Athletic for £6 million. Charles signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with Wigan. As part of the deal, another player, Ryan Taylor, moved to Newcastle.

N'Zogbia scored his first league goal for Wigan on March 29. It was in a 2–1 win against Sunderland. The next season, on April 18, 2010, N'Zogbia scored the winning goal against Arsenal. Wigan came back from behind to win 3–2. This important win helped Wigan stay in the Premier League. He was named Wigan's Players' Player of the Year and Supporters' Player of the Season for 2009–10.

In May 2010, Birmingham City offered £8 million for him, but Wigan said no. Later, Wigan accepted a bid of about £9 million. Charles was allowed to talk to Birmingham City. However, the move did not happen because Charles and Birmingham could not agree on his personal contract terms.

For the 2010–11 season, N'Zogbia was given the number 10 shirt. He played a very important role in keeping Wigan in the Premier League. He scored five goals in the last six games of the season. This included a winning goal in injury time against West Ham United. He finished the season as Wigan's top goal scorer with 10 goals.

Many clubs became interested in N'Zogbia that summer. These included Aston Villa, Liverpool, Newcastle United, and Sunderland. Wigan's manager said they would not sell their best players. But the club chairman later said they "would have to sell N'Zogbia" because his contract was ending soon.

Playing for Aston Villa

On July 15, 2011, Aston Villa offered £9.1 million for N'Zogbia. Three days later, Wigan rejected the offer. They valued N'Zogbia at £10 million. Villa then made a new offer of £9.5 million, which Wigan accepted. On July 29, 2011, N'Zogbia passed his medical check-up. He signed a five-year deal with Aston Villa and would wear the number 10 shirt.

He played his first game for Aston Villa on August 6, 2011. It was a friendly match against Braga. He scored in the 39th minute, and the game ended 1–1. He made his Premier League debut for Aston Villa on August 6, 2011. It was their first game of the 2011–12 season against Fulham, which ended 0–0. On February 1, 2012, N'Zogbia scored his first goal for Villa against Queens Park Rangers. The game ended 2–2. On March 3, 2012, he scored his second goal for Villa against Blackburn Rovers in a 1–1 draw.

On February 10, 2013, N'Zogbia scored his first Premier League goal of the season. It was against West Ham United in a game Villa won 2–1. In June 2013, N'Zogbia suffered an injury to his Achilles tendon while on holiday. This meant he needed a long time to recover. His manager, Paul Lambert, did not expect him to play again that season.

N'Zogbia eventually returned to the team and was given the number 28 jersey. He got his first assist in a 2–1 loss to Spurs. He passed the ball to Andreas Weimann, who scored. This was Aston Villa's first goal in six games.

On June 10, 2016, it was announced that N'Zogbia would leave Aston Villa. His contract had ended. After leaving Aston Villa, it was reported that a move to another club, Nantes, did not happen. This was because a heart problem was discovered during his medical check-up.

International Career

N'Zogbia played twice for the France under-16 national team in 2002. In the summer of 2006, he was chosen for the French under-21 team. This was for the European Under-21 Football Championship in Portugal. However, he was left out of the final team. This was due to an ongoing disagreement about his move to Newcastle.

After playing very well for Newcastle in September 2007, he was called up to the France under-21 team again. He played his first game for France under-21 on September 7, 2007. It was a 1–0 win against Wales. The Congo DR national team also invited N'Zogbia to play for them in February 2008. But he said no, as he wanted more time to decide his international football future.

On August 5, 2010, N'Zogbia was called up to the main French team for the first time. This was by the new manager, Laurent Blanc. It was for a friendly game against Norway on August 11, 2010. N'Zogbia played the first half of the game, which France lost 1–2.

Career Statistics

Honours

Newcastle United

• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2006

Aston Villa

• FA Cup runner-up: 2014–15

See also

In Spanish: Charles N'Zogbia para niños