M'Bala Nzola
M'Bala Nzola (born 18 August 1996) is an Angolan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Spezia and the Angola national team.
 Nzola in 2017 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | M'Bala Nzola | ||
| Date of birth | 18 August 1996 | ||
| Place of birth | Buco-Zau, Angola[1] | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Spezia | ||
| Number | 18 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2010–2014 | Troyes | ||
| 2014–2015 | Académica | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015 | Académica | 0 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | Sertanense | 25 | (7) |
| 2016–2017 | Virtus Francavilla | 33 | (11) |
| 2017–2019 | Carpi | 14 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | → Trapani (loan) | 33 | (8) |
| 2019–2020 | Trapani | 12 | (1) |
| 2020 | → Spezia (loan) | 17 | (6) |
| 2020– | Spezia | 35 | (13) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2021– | Angola | 1 | (0) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:17, 20 November 2021 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 25 March 2021 | |||
Club career
On 28 January 2015, Nzola made his professional debut with Académica de Coimbra in a 2014–15 Taça da Liga match against FC Porto, coming on as a substitute in the 4–1 away loss.[2]
On 7 August 2016, he joined Lega Pro club Virtus Francavilla Calcio.[3]
On 7 August 2017, after helping Virtus Francavilla Calcio reach the Lega Pro promotion play-offs, Nzola signed a four-year deal with Carpi F.C. 1909.[4]
On 16 August 2018, he joined Serie C club Trapani on a season-long loan. Trapani held the obligation to purchase him from Carpi at the end of the loan term in case of Trapani's promotion into Serie B.[5] On 15 June he scored the first goal for the Trapani victory over Piacenza, and after that Trapani was promoted in Serie B after two years of Serie C.
On 13 January 2020, he joined Serie B club Spezia on loan with an option to purchase.[6]
On 7 October 2020, Nzola signed with Spezia a three-year contract.[7]
International career
Being born in Angola, but raised in France, Nzola could represent both the countries at an international level.[8]
In March 2021, some months after he expressed his desire to represent Angola,[9] he received his first call-up to the national team.[10] Some days after, on 25 March 2021, he made his debut for the Palancas Negras against Gambia, in a qualifying match for the Africa Cup of Nations.
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 20 November 2021
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Académica | 2014–15 | Primeira Liga | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | – | – | 2 | 1 | ||
| Sertanense | 2015–16 | Campeonato de Portugal | 25 | 7 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 26 | 8 | ||
| Virtus Francavilla | 2016–17 | Lega Pro | 33 | 11 | 3 | 1 | – | 2[lower-alpha 1] | – | 38 | 12 | |
| 2017–18 | Lega Pro | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 1 | 1 | |||
| Total | 33 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 13 | ||
| Carpi | 2017–18 | Serie B | 14 | 0 | 2 | 1 | – | – | 15 | 1 | ||
| Trapani (loan) | 2018–19 | Lega Pro | 29 | 7 | 3 | 0 | – | 4[lower-alpha 2] | 1 | 36 | 8 | |
| Trapani | 2019–20 | Serie B | 12 | 1 | 2 | 1 | – | – | 14 | 2 | ||
| Spezia (loan) | 2019–20 | Serie B | 17 | 6 | 0 | 0 | – | 4[lower-alpha 3] | 1 | 21 | 7 | |
| Spezia | 2020–21 | Serie A | 25 | 11 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 25 | 11 | ||
| 2021–22 | Serie A | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 10 | 2 | |||
| Total | 35 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 13 | ||
| Career total | 388 | 73 | 21 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 413 | 81 | ||
- appearance in Lega Pro promotion play-offs
- appearance in Lega Pro promotion play-offs
- appearance in Serie B promotion play-offs
International
- As of match played 29 March 2021
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Angola | 2021 | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 2 | 0 | |
References
- "Mbala Nzola deseja representar os Palancas Negras". Luanda Post (in Portuguese). 3 March 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
- "Porto 4-1 Académica". ZeroZero. 16 September 2015.
- "M'Bala Nzola è un nuovo giocatore della Virtus Francavilla Calcio" (in Italian). Virtus Francavilla Calcio. 7 August 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
- "Mercato: Nzola è ufficialmente biancorosso" (in Italian). Carpi F.C. 1909. 7 August 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
- "L'attaccante 'Nzola è un calciatore del Trapani" (in Italian). Trapani. 16 August 2018. Archived from the original on 25 September 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
- "Mercato: colpo per l'attacco. Ecco M'Bala Nzola" (Press release) (in Italian). Spezia. 13 January 2020.
- "UFFICIALE: Spezia, torna Nzola: ha firmato per tre stagioni".
- "Finale playoff: da Gyasi a Nzola, gli (altri) talenti da seguire in Spezia-Frosinone". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). Retrieved 20 August 2020.
- Tinfena, Gianluca (24 November 2020). ""Da bimbo scappavo per andare a giocare Il mio sogno? Vestire la maglia dell'Angola"". La Nazione (in Italian). Retrieved 26 March 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - "CAN 2022: seleccionador nacional anunciou hoje a lista dos convocados em conferência de imprensa" (in Brazilian Portuguese). 12 March 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2021.