Cameroonian footballer (born 1977)
Lucien Mettomo (born 19 April 1977) is a Cameroonian former professionalfootballer who played as adefender forTonnerre Yaoundé,Saint-Étienne,Manchester City,Kaiserslautern,Kayseri Erciyesspor andFC Luzern.
He was part of theCameroon squad at the2002 World Cup and the2004 African Nations Cup. He was also part of the victorious2000 and2002 African Cup of Nations squads.
Mettomo was born inDouala. He made his name in France, playing for St. Étienne. He holds Cameroonian and French nationalities.[2] He acquiredFrench nationality bynaturalization on 12 June 1998.[3]
In September 2001, he signed for Manchester City of the EnglishFirst Division for a £1.5 million fee. His Manchester City debut came as a substitute in a 6–0 League Cup defeat ofBirmingham City.[4] He played 23 league games that season, scoring once against Bradford,[5] helping Manchester City to win the2001–02 First Division Championship. The following season, Mettomo rarely featured in the first team due to the signing ofSylvain Distin. He made only fourPremier League appearances,[6] and in the close season signed for Kaiserslautern of theBundesliga.
Mettomo went on trial withNorwich City in September 2007, but the club decided not to offer Mettomo a contract due to concerns over his fitness. Later that month, Mettomo signed a short-term deal atEnglish Championship sideSouthampton that would run until the end of the 2007–08 season; this contract was cancelled in January, however, due to Mettomo's inability to break into the first team.[7]
