Nicolas Nkoulou facts for kids
Nkoulou with Cameroon in 2013
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Nicolas Julio Nkoulou Ndoubena | |||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 27 March 1990 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Yaoundé, Cameroon | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | |||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Centre back | |||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||
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Current team
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Sakaryaspor (on loan from Amedspor) | |||||||||||||||
| Number | 33 | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| Kadji Sports Academy | ||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | Monaco | |||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||
| 2008–2011 | Monaco | 78 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2011–2016 | Marseille | 162 | (5) | |||||||||||||
| 2016–2018 | Lyon | 13 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | → Torino (loan) | 37 | (2) | |||||||||||||
| 2018–2021 | Torino | 85 | (4) | |||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Watford | 3 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Aris | 17 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | Gaziantep | 32 | (2) | |||||||||||||
| 2024– | Amedspor | 15 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2025– | → Sakaryaspor (loan) | 15 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | Cameroon U23 | 3 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2008– | Cameroon | 83 | (2) | |||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15 June 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12 June 2023 |
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Nicolas Julio Nkoulou Ndoubena (born on March 27, 1990), known as Nicolas Nkoulou, is a professional footballer from Cameroon. He plays as a centre-back for Sakaryaspor in Turkey. He is currently on loan from Amedspor. Nicolas also plays for the Cameroon national team.
Nkoulou started his career in France with Monaco. He played there for three years before joining Marseille in 2011. With Marseille, he won his first major trophy, the Coupe de la Ligue in the 2011–12 season. In 2016, he moved to Lyon. After a year, he joined the Italian club Torino, first on loan and then permanently. He later played for Watford in England, Aris in Greece, and Gaziantep in Turkey.
Nicolas Nkoulou played 75 games for Cameroon between 2008 and 2017. He helped his country win the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations. He even scored the goal that tied the game in the final match. He has played for Cameroon in three World Cups and three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments. In September 2022, he was called back to the national team after five years.
Contents
Club Career
Playing for Monaco
Nicolas Nkoulou started his football journey at the Kadji Sports Academy in Douala, Cameroon. This academy is famous for training many great players. In late 2007, he joined AS Monaco in France. He signed a three-year contract with the club.
He played with Monaco's reserve team for a while. Then, in July 2008, he joined the main team for pre-season training. He made his first professional appearance on September 13, 2008, in a 2–0 win against Lorient. He played 24 games in his first season.
In the 2009–10 season, Nicolas often played as a defensive midfielder. He later moved back to central defense. He also played in the 2010 Coupe de France Final, where Monaco lost 1–0 to PSG. He played 23 games that season.
During the 2010–11 season, Nkoulou continued to play regularly. He played in both defensive midfield and central defense. Despite some injuries, he played 30 games. After Monaco was moved down to Ligue 2, many key players, including Nkoulou, were expected to leave. Overall, he played 78 games for Monaco.
Playing for Marseille
On June 29, 2011, Nicolas Nkoulou joined Marseille. He signed a four-year contract after a medical check. Marseille paid €3.5 million for him.
He made his debut for Marseille on August 14, 2011, in a 2–2 draw against Auxerre. He also played his first Champions League game on September 13, 2011, helping his team win 1–0 against Olympiacos. His great performances in October earned him the club's Player of the Month award.
In the 2011–12 season, Nkoulou helped Marseille win the Coupe de la Ligue final against Lyon. This was the club's first trophy since 1981. He was named Man of the Match in the final. He played 46 games that season and was chosen for the Ligue 1 Team of the Year. He was also named Marseille's Player of the Season.
For the 2012–13 season, Nkoulou stayed with Marseille despite rumors of him leaving. He played every league game that season. He scored his first goal for the club on March 3, 2013, in a 2–1 win against Troyes. He was again named to the Ligue 1 Team of the Year.
Before the 2013–14 season, Nkoulou thought about leaving Marseille. However, he stayed and extended his contract until 2016. He scored two goals later in the season against Saint Étienne and Sochaux. He played 46 games and scored twice that season.
In the 2014–15 season, Nkoulou scored his first goal on October 19, 2014, in a 2–0 win over Toulouse. Two weeks later, he scored again against Lens. He played 26 games that season, helping Marseille finish fourth in the league.
His contract was set to end after the 2015–16 season. He played his first game of that season on August 16, 2015. He captained Marseille for the first time in a match against Lille in January 2016. Nkoulou played in the 2016 Coupe de France Final, which Marseille lost 4–2 to PSG. He played 41 games in his final season with Marseille.
Playing for Lyon
After five years with Marseille, Nicolas Nkoulou joined their rivals, Lyon, on June 29, 2016. He signed a four-year contract. He chose the number 3 shirt because he is the youngest of three children.
He played his first official game for Lyon in the 2016 Trophée des Champions, where they lost 4–1 to Paris Saint–Germain. A week later, he made his league debut in a 3–0 win over Nancy. When he played against Marseille for the first time, their fans booed him.
Playing for Torino
On August 5, 2017, the Italian club Torino signed Nkoulou on a one-year loan. They had an option to buy him later. He made his debut on August 11, 2017, in a Coppa Italia match. His first game in Serie A was on August 20 against Bologna.
He scored his first goal for Torino on December 2, in a 1–1 draw against Atalanta. Fans voted him the best player for Torino in the 2017–18 season. Torino then bought him permanently for €3.5 million.
On September 2, 2018, he scored his first goal of the 2018–19 season, which was the winning goal against SPAL. In August 2019, Nkoulou asked not to play in some games because he wanted to move to AS Roma. However, the transfer did not happen. He later apologized to Torino fans and his teammates. He left Torino at the end of the 2020–21 season when his contract ended.
Playing for Watford
After being a free agent for a while, Nicolas Nkoulou signed with Premier League club Watford on October 7, 2021. He signed a deal until the end of the season. After Watford was moved down to a lower league at the end of the 2021–22 season, Nkoulou left the club.
Playing for Aris
On August 23, 2022, Nkoulou joined Super League Greece club Aris. He signed a two-year contract as a free player.
Playing for Gaziantep
On September 11, 2023, the Turkish Süper Lig club Gaziantep announced they had signed Nkoulou. He joined on a one-year contract.
International Career
Nicolas Nkoulou was part of the Cameroon U-23 squad for the 2008 Summer Olympics. He helped his team reach the knockout stage, where they lost to Brazil.
He was first called up to the senior national team on November 4, 2008. He made his international debut on November 19, 2008, in a friendly match against South Africa.
Nkoulou was chosen for the 2010 African Cup of Nations and played four games. Later in 2010, he was called up for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He played his first World Cup game on June 14, 2010, in a 1–0 loss against Japan. He played all three group stage matches as Cameroon was eliminated.
After the team's captain and vice-captain were suspended, Nkoulou was made temporary captain of Cameroon. He captained his first national match in a 1–0 win over Guinea-Bissau. In late 2012, Nkoulou was officially named the new captain of Cameroon.
In the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Nkoulou was part of the squad and remained captain. He played all three matches, but Cameroon struggled and was eliminated. The next year, he was called up for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
On March 26, 2016, Nkoulou scored his first international goal in a 2–2 draw against South Africa. This was the same team he debuted against eight years earlier. His goal against Egypt in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations Final was important. It was the first goal Egypt had given up in an Africa Cup of Nations final since 1962.
Career Statistics
Club Appearances
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Monaco | 2008–09 | Ligue 1 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 26 | 0 | |
| 2009–10 | Ligue 1 | 24 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 28 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | Ligue 1 | 30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 33 | 0 | ||
| Total | 78 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 87 | 0 | ||
| Marseille | 2011–12 | Ligue 1 | 30 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 46 | 0 |
| 2012–13 | Ligue 1 | 38 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 48 | 1 | |
| 2013–14 | Ligue 1 | 37 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 46 | 2 | |
| 2014–15 | Ligue 1 | 24 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 26 | 2 | ||
| 2015–16 | Ligue 1 | 33 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 41 | 0 | |
| Total | 162 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 207 | 5 | ||
| Lyon | 2016–17 | Ligue 1 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 22 | 0 |
| Torino | 2017–18 | Serie A | 37 | 2 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 39 | 2 | ||
| 2018–19 | Serie A | 36 | 2 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 38 | 2 | |||
| 2019–20 | Serie A | 31 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | – | 38 | 1 | ||
| 2020–21 | Serie A | 18 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 20 | 1 | |||
| Total | 122 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 135 | 6 | ||
| Watford | 2021–22 | Premier League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |
| Aris | 2022–23 | Superleague Greece | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 1 | ||
| Gaziantep | 2023–24 | Süper Lig | 32 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 0 | ||
| Amed | 2024–25 | Süper Lig | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 442 | 12 | 28 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 522 | 12 | ||
International Appearances
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cameroon | 2008 | 1 | 0 |
| 2009 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 16 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 14 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 3 | 1 | |
| 2017 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 83 | 2 | |
- Scores and results list Algeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Nkoulou goal
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 26 March 2016 | Limbe Stadium, Limbe, Cameroon |  South Africa |
2–2 | 2–2 | 2017 Africa Cup of National qualification |
| 2. | 5 February 2017 | Stade de l'Amitié, Libreville, Gabon |  Egypt |
1–1 | 2–1 | 2017 Africa Cup of Nations final |
Honours
Marseille
- Coupe de la Ligue: 2011–12
Cameroon
Individual
- Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2011–12, 2012–13
See also
In Spanish: Nicolas N'Koulou para niños
