[Archived] Shabani Nonda Signs

[ihateburnley]

The official site's match report mentions Nonda as the "Congalese captain"... do we have yet another captain on our team?

I thought he only had something like 3 international caps, which makes it unlikely that he is the captain. I think LuaLua is their main striker.

In fact I just checked on Soccerbase, and it says he has never played for his country!?! I'm surprised if that's true.

http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=21406

On a side note, his record of 0.47 goals per game is amazing.

[AussieinUk]

I thought he only had something like 3 international caps, which makes it unlikely that he is the captain. I think LuaLua is their main striker.

In fact I just checked on Soccerbase, and it says he has never played for his country!?! I'm surprised if that's true.

I thought his international record was 2 Caps and 1 goal. This was before his injury (2002), I don't think he has been recalled since.

These are the only games I could find, both 2002 AFC:

1. January 26, 2002; Congo DR 0-0 Togo

2. January 29, 2002; Congo DR* 3-1 Côte d'Ivoire

*Scored in this game

Although this shows something completely different.. Nonda's International profile?

Anyway an article from the man himself..Todays LET article

Edited September 27, 2006 by AussieinUk

[philipl]

It is quite a while since I felt such anticipation and excitement about Rovers. It may all go flat but if Benni and Chris are shaping up in training the way Mark Hughes and the boys want them to then we could be going into that run of tough games starting in mid October with one heck of a potent front line- and one which the opposition don't know too much about.

[Presty On Tour]

It's a tad premature to label him "prolific" or "the signing of the season" but so far I like the look of Nonda. His bustling style makes him the perfect foil for McCarthy who occasionally doesn't look the most physically committed of players.

And unlike his predecessors in the "nuisance" role, Dickov and Kuqi, he appears to possess a modicum of technical ability.

Which is nice.

i agree with you there buddy and yes, it is nice, well nice

[unleaded]

This is a nice little article on our new star striker.

In the 82nd minute of Monaco’s European Cup semi-final first leg home match against Chelsea, Shabani Nonda trotted onto the pitch to try and help his team preserve a 2-1 lead. One minute later he had wheeled away in celebration, having raced onto a long ball from Jerome Rothen and flicked it low past Marco Ambrosio’s weak right-handed attempt at a save. That goal, plus last week’s performance that inspired a comeback from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 against Ajaccio, are proof that Nonda is a miracle patient. Just 7 months ago, the forward suffered a knee cruciate ligament injury AND a dislocated patella that were expected to rule him out for this season.

The Burundi-born forward has always had what most call luck, but what professionals call hard work. This appetite for graft is the result of the young Nonda’s experiences of civil war in his homeland. In 1993 he and his family decided to flee the country with Nonda, already a promising footballer, signing for the top club in Tanzania, Young Africans. In 1995, after Young Africans had eliminated South African club Vaal Professionals from the African Cup winners Cup, he went south to join Vaal Pros for a single season before then making the move to Europe and signing for Swiss club FC Zurich.

Initially, the young striker found settling in difficult. He was as much bemused by the weather as the culture, but FC Zurich’s coach Raimond Ponte recognized his potential and took him under his wing, inviting Nonda to lodge with him. This soon made a difference, and Nonda went on to score 36 goals in 75 games for FC Zurich, including a Swiss best of 24 goals in a season, and was named “Best Foreign Player” for 1997/1998. This meant a lot of attention for Nonda in the summer of 1998, notably from Borussia Monchegladbach and Italian club Udinese. But the player chose unfashionable Rennes, saying: “I could have joined a big club in Europe but Rennes struck me as ambitious and I’d have a chance to play my football.”

15 goals in his first season at Rennes had fans and journalists raving about Nonda’s physical play, which is combined with a delicate touch. To many, Nonda’s style is reminiscent of George Weah’s playing days at Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain. “When you watch Shabani the comparisons with Weah are immediate,” said Yves Colleu, the Rennes coach. Nonda bettered his first season with Rennes by scoring 16 goals in his second season, and had caught the eye of the Monaco scouts. Juventus were making overtures to sign David Trezeguet from Monaco, so Monaco promptly sold Trezeguet and spent the larger majority of the cash in signing Nonda in a £13.5 million deal, the largest ever internal French transfer.

Nonda found the initial going at Monaco hard, but that was more due to the unrest at the club caused by certain senior players, such as Marcello Gallardo and Marco Simone, than a lack of talent. "Frankly, I didn't expect to have so many problems. When I went to Zurich I imposed myself straightaway, and the same at Rennes, but at Monaco I've discovered another world,” reflected Nonda in an interview with L’Equipe. New coach Didier Deschamps eventually sold the troublemakers at the end of Nonda’s first season. Nonda scored 12 goals in 27 matches in his first season, and 14 goals in 30 matches in his second. Not as impressive as might have been hoped, perhaps, but those figures still kept his average at one goal every two games.

However, it was last year that Nonda really hit his stride for Monaco. Deschamps had carefully nurtured some youngsters, including Patrice Evra, a left back, and Jerome Rothen, a left winger. That potent combination unlocked goals for Nonda, and he finished as the top scorer in France with 26 goals in 35 games, leading Monaco to within one point of the title. Monaco then faced a fight for their future. Heavy debts almost forced the club into administration, and Nonda was on the verge of joining several clubs, including champions Lyon. Backers were eventually found, and despite having no transfer funds Monaco started the season optimistically.

This season began well for the “new George Weah.” He scored 3 goals in the first 3 games, until Monaco traveled to the Parc des Princes, home of Paris Saint-Germain. 5 minutes into the match, Nonda fell under a heavy tackle from PSG defender Jose Pierre-Fanfan, and had to leave the pitch. The injury was expected to rule him out for the season, and Nonda feared for his career. "On the pitch I had to cope with the pain at first. Then when I got back to the locker room and I looked at my knee I started to say to myself that maybe this was the end. Straight away you think that it's all over, the world has come to a stop. You ask yourself a lot of questions and analyse everything," said Nonda.

But Dr Jean-Henri Jaeger, the surgeon who operated on the player, has announced that he is “stunned” following Nonda’s extremely quick recovery. “When people told me he scored against Ajjacio I was really moved, it is extraordinary," Jaeger told L'Equipe. "I saw him one month ago and he seemed very fit, but frankly I could not believe he would resume so early. When he first came to meet me, he even asked himself if he would play again one day,” added Jaeger. “At that time he was afraid, but he had good reason.”

Anyone who has witnessed Monaco’s, and Nonda’s, performances since his return from injury should feel that the team from the Principality are hard-working enough to beat Chelsea. And maybe then Nonda will be lucky enough to finally break his trophy duck with the biggest one of them all in club football: the Champions League.

"Lucky Nonda"

[Hughesy]

Nonda is looking like a real coup by Hughes – Once again!!

Mokoena, Nelsen, Nonda? Ever heard of them prior to Mark Hughes? Na me neither to be honest.

Nonda said in the Lancashire Telegraph yesterday that he has much more to come and that he is 3-4 weeks away from full fitness. So god help teams if that comes true!

Nonda looks strong and quite quick and with improved fitness will come improved pace. He appears to have a very quick thinking, footballing brain and I think he is very dangerous in the air. Im sure he will continue to improve and hopefully due to his injury record the fee we set shouldn’t be too high come the end of the season.

Who’s that scoring Rovers goal,

is it a Nonda! Is it a Nonda!

[Rainmaker]

Mokoena, Nelsen, Nonda? Ever heard of them prior to Mark Hughes? Na me neither to be honest.

You'd never heard of Nonda?

[BuckyRover]

I know what you mean.

he has been touted as a potential signing on here for about 2 years

After a quick search, he is mentioned by a few people in Summer Targets 2004 thread

Edited September 27, 2006 by BuckyRover

[bluebruce]

Anybody know how much Roma got him for? I heard it was free, but I'm not sure. Considering his prolifacy about a season before, I don't see why it would be. Was he out of contract? Did they just let him go due to worries about his injury and financial problems? Anybody got a clue?

[vyeo]

Anybody know how much Roma got him for? I heard it was free, but I'm not sure. Considering his prolifacy about a season before, I don't see why it would be. Was he out of contract? Did they just let him go due to worries about his injury and financial problems? Anybody got a clue?

they got him on a bosman free if i'm not wrong

[bellamy11]

Mokoena, Nelsen, Nonda? Ever heard of them prior to Mark Hughes? Na me neither to be honest.

Speak for yourself. Nonda has been scoring goals in the public eye at a high level for years!

[tony gale's mic]

yeah and mokoena was fairly well known too. nelsen though i'll freely admit to not having had a clue about...but a friend from new zealand into football told me he considered him to be in the top 20 defenders in the southern hemisphere without being biased. he's right i'd say.

[bluebruce]

they got him on a bosman free if i'm not wrong

Hmm, wonder why any club would let somebody leave on a free after they spent 13 million on them and they played very well but got injured a bit.

[philipl]

Monaco have a history of eccentric transfer dealings. They almost went bust at the time they shipped Nonda out which is probably why Roma picked him up the way they did.

Anyway, unlike Nelsen and Mokoena, Nonda has long been a well-known name outside his home and adopted countries.

[AxesFirstTouch]

Phillis why are you Nonda Chris?

[RoyRover]

I was definately happy when he signed for us, because I knew what he was capable of if he were able to stay fit. I know that he has only scored one goal for us and I'll wait a while before I say that it's another great signing by Hughes, but he has made a good impression so far. I look forward to seeing what he can do, once he is fully fit and got a better understanding with McCarthy. As somone has already pointed out, he gives us the physical presence and nuisance value of Kuqi and Dickov, but is able to add some class to the precedings.

[herbergeehh]

Ok, Nonda has been with the club for two months now, what are the verdicts?

I'm quite pleased myself, after seeing him not impress that much for Roma (I was just waiting for Cassano though, so might be a bit biased that opinion) - he's been good, though a bit unlucky with injuries. We'll certainly need him injury-free now that Roberts is out.

Decent pace, strong and decent in the air - haven't seen that prodigal (sp?) goalscorer yet though.

I'm not at all against signing him permanently.

Edited November 6, 2006 by herbergeehh

[thenodrog]

After Benni our other strikers seem to be much of a muchness. Good but not brilliant / adequate without being scintillating. I still cannot decide in which order I place them in. I suspect time will reveal Nonda to be last in the line due to his lack of pace.

[Bing]

I thought he was absymal yesterday. He should no presence or willingness to compete for anything played direct. Laursen and Mellberg couldn't have wished for an easier afternoon. His lack of anticipation and pace meant he wasn't a threat at all.

After a bright start he's been totally ineffective for weeks now.

[den]

His all round play has been good - sometimes excellent. The only problem is that he doesn't look like scoring.

That seems to go against his previous record, maybe that horrific looking injury did more harm than we realise.

[rover6]

His all round play has been good - sometimes excellent. The only problem is that he doesn't look like scoring.

The new Yordi?

At least he has pace.

[G Somerset Rover]

I dont udnerstand why some people are saying he's extremely pacey-and others saying he lacks pace to be a good striker. To me he has enough to get into the odd good position but he never looks like skinning a top class defender. Clearly this season we lack what Bellamy gave us-which was pace to beat defenders.

Edited November 6, 2006 by Somerset Rover!

[Exiled_Rover]

Another good transfer window signing. I'm sure he was world class earlier in his career before his injury (all that skill and movement combined with devastating pace). Right now he's just good, with the potential to be very good if he gets in a vein of goal scoring form.

[pleasure]

I thought he was absymal yesterday.

he wasnt great, but he didnt get decent service.

a disinterested mccarthy offered no support and neither did the wide players. at 2-0 down he was the only rovers player in the villa box.

on the whole i've been impressed with nonda. he holds the ball up well and uses the ball well. i reckon the goals will come, once the service improves.

[Perth_Rover]

He was good beofre he got this niggling injury. Hopefully he comes good again.