 Sinama Pongolle playing forRostov in 2012 | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Florent Stéphane Sinama Pongolle[1] | |||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1984-10-20)20 October 1984 (age 41)[2] | |||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Saint-Pierre, Réunion, France | |||||||||||||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[3] | |||||||||||||
| Position | Forward | |||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||
| Saint-Pierroise | ||||||||||||||
| 1995–2001 | Le Havre | |||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||
| 2001–2006 | Liverpool | 38 | (4) | |||||||||||
| 2001–2003 | →Le Havre (loan) | 42 | (7) | |||||||||||
| 2006 | →Blackburn Rovers (loan) | 10 | (1) | |||||||||||
| 2006–2008 | Recreativo | 68 | (22) | |||||||||||
| 2008–2010 | Atlético Madrid | 40 | (5) | |||||||||||
| 2010–2012 | Sporting CP | 5 | (1) | |||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | →Zaragoza (loan) | 24 | (4) | |||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | →Saint-Étienne (loan) | 23 | (4) | |||||||||||
| 2012–2014 | Rostov | 18 | (2) | |||||||||||
| 2014 | Chicago Fire | 7 | (1) | |||||||||||
| 2015 | Lausanne-Sport | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | Dundee United | 4 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2016–2018 | Chainat Hornbill | 62 | (33) | |||||||||||
| 2019 | Saint-Pierroise | 10 | (1) | |||||||||||
| Total | 351 | (85) | ||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||
| 2001 | France U17 | 6 | (9) | |||||||||||
| 2002–2006 | France U21 | 37 | (11) | |||||||||||
| 2008 | France | 1 | (0) | |||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||
Florent Stéphane Sinama Pongolle (born 20 October 1984) is a French former professionalfootballer who played as aforward.
He was signed at only 16 byLiverpool, but could never impose himself in the first team. He also spent several seasons in Spain, withRecreativo,Atlético Madrid andZaragoza.
Pongolle is now a pundit withCanal + in France.[4]
Sinama Pongolle was born inSaint-Pierre, Réunion.[2]
Sinama Pongolle began his career at hometown clubSaint-Pierroise before moving toLe Havre inMetropolitan France at the age of 11.[5] In 2001 he, along with his cousinAnthony Le Tallec,[6] was signed byLiverpool, after some impressive performances in both theUEFA European Under-16 Championship and theFIFA Under-17 World Championship. He was named player of the tournament as France won the latter competition,[7] and remained at Le Havre – as Le Tallec – for a further two years on loan.[6]
After his return, Sinama Pongolle appeared sporadically for the Reds. He made his debut in aUEFA Cup tie againstNK Olimpija Ljubljana[8] and shortly afterwards scored his first goal in a league game againstLeeds United.[9] In Liverpool'svictorious campaign in theUEFA Champions League, hecame from the bench againstOlympiacos and immediately scored Liverpool's equaliser to make it 1–1, in an eventual 3–1 win and qualification to theround of 16.[10] However in aLeague Cup tie againstWatford in January 2005 he picked up a knee injury, meaning he missed the rest of the season including Liverpool's victory inthe Champions League final.[11]
Sinama Pongolle also netted in the third round of the2005–06 FA Cup againstLuton Town, as he helped Liverpool come from 3–1 down to a final score of 5–3,[12] with the side finally emerging victorious inthe tournament, and scoring in the2005–06 Champions League 2–1 away defeat ofReal Betis, with achip from 20 yards.[13]
In late January 2006, Sinama Pongolle was loaned to fellowPremier League sideBlackburn Rovers until the end ofthe season.[14] He scored once for them, a 2–3 defeat atTottenham Hotspur.[15]
On 30 August 2006, Sinama Pongolle signed a one-year contract atRecreativo de Huelva,[16] with an option to sign on for a further two years. On 4 May 2007, theAndalusians confirmed he had agreed to a deal until 2011, for a fee of€4 million.[17] He wasRecre's top goalscorer in his twoLa Liga seasons with the team, at 12 and ten respectively.[18]
Sinama Pongolle joinedAtlético Madrid on 3 July 2008, for a fee believed to be in the region of£8 million.[19] Initially thought of as a backup toDiego Forlán andSergio Agüero, he benefitted from an injury to the Uruguayan, scoring four goals in his first five league appearances for theColchoneros, with braces against former club Recreativo[20] andGetafe;[21] later inhis debut campaign, injury and match bans toMaxi Rodríguez saw him playing several games asright winger,[22] as the team once again finished fourth.[citation needed]
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In the winter transfer market opening in 2010, Sinama Pongolle was transferred toSporting CP for €6.5 million, with the fee possibly raising to €7.5.[23] On 26 March 2010, he scored his first goal for theLions, but also conceded anown goal in a 3–2 loss atC.S. Marítimo.[24]
Sinama Pongolle spent the following two seasons on loan, withZaragoza andSaint-Étienne, the latter in his homeland.[25] On 30 August 2012 he terminated his contract with Sporting, going on to spend two years in theRussian Premier League withFC Rostov where he featured rarely.[26]
On 9 September 2014, Sinama Pongolle signed withMajor League Soccer'sChicago Fire.[27] In November of the following year, after a short spell in Switzerland withLausanne-Sport, he joinedDundee United.[28]
In July 2016, Sinama Pongolle joinedChainat Hornbill of theThai League 1, scoring once in his debut but in a 2–7 away defeat againstChonburi FC. In early November, in spite of the team'srelegation, the 32-year-old extended his contract until 2018.[29][30]
Sinama Pongolle returned to the island of his birth in January 2019, rejoining Saint-Pierroise with Uruguayan strike partnerDiego Silva also making the same move from Thailand.[5] Though he retired partway through the campaign, he contributed to them becoming the firstOutre-Mer club since 1989 to reach the last 32 of theCoupe de France, scoring ahat-trick inthe fourth round 9–1 win over ES Étang-Salé.[31]
After his under-16 and under-17 exploits, Sinama Pongolle made hisFrance under-21 debut on 21 August 2002. He was a part of the squad that participated in the2006 UEFA European Championship which took place in Portugal[32] and, at the end of his four-year tenure with this category, ranked first incaps (37) and goals (11).[citation needed]
Sinama Pongolle played his only game withthe senior side on 14 October 2008, during a 3–1friendly win againstTunisia.[33]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other | Total | Ref. | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Le Havre (loan) | 2001–02 | Division 2 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 13 | 3 | [citation needed] | ||
| 2002–03 | Ligue 1 | 31 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 33 | 6 | [citation needed] | |||
| Total | 42 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 9 | – | ||
| Liverpool | 2003–04 | Premier League | 15 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | 23 | 2 | [34] | |
| 2004–05 | Premier League | 16 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | – | 26 | 4 | [35] | ||
| 2005–06 | Premier League | 7 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 3 | [36] | |
| 2006–07 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | [37] | |
| Total | 38 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 65 | 9 | – | ||
| Blackburn Rovers (loan) | 2005–06 | Premier League | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 10 | 1 | [36] | |
| Recreativo | 2006–07 | La Liga | 34 | 12 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 35 | 12 | [38][39] | |||
| 2007–08 | La Liga | 34 | 10 | 3 | 0 | – | – | – | 37 | 10 | [38][39] | ||||
| Total | 68 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 72 | 22 | – | ||
| Atlético Madrid | 2008–09 | La Liga | 30 | 5 | 4 | 1 | – | 9 | 0 | – | 43 | 6 | [38][39] | ||
| 2009–10 | La Liga | 10 | 0 | 2 | 1 | – | 3 | 0 | – | 15 | 1 | [38][39] | |||
| Total | 40 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 58 | 7 | – | ||
| Sporting CP | 2009–10 | Primeira Liga | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 7 | 1 | [38] | |
| Zaragoza (loan) | 2010–11[39] | La Liga | 24 | 4 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 24 | 4 | [38][39] | |||
| Saint-Étienne (loan) | 2011–12 | Ligue 1 | 23 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 25 | 4 | [38] | ||
| Rostov | 2012–13 | Russian Premier League | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 11 | 1 | [38] | |||
| 2013–14 | Russian Premier League | 8 | 1 | 3 | 0 | – | – | – | 11 | 1 | [38] | ||||
| Total | 18 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 2 | – | ||
| Chicago Fire | 2014 | Major League Soccer | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 7 | 1 | [38] | ||
| Dundee United | 2015–16 | Scottish Premier League | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 4 | 0 | [40] | ||
| Chainat Hornbill | 2016 | Thai League 1 | 10 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 10 | 13 | [38] | ||
| 2017 | Thai League 2 | 26 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 26 | 14 | [38] | |||
| 2018 | Thai League 1 | 26 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 26 | 6 | [38] | |||
| Total | 62 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 62 | 33 | – | ||
| Career total | 341 | 84 | 23 | 5 | 11 | 2 | 23 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 402 | 93 | – | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 2008 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | |
Liverpool
Rostov
Chainat Hornbill
Saint-Pierroise
France U17
Individual
