Steven N'Zonzi

Steven N'Zonzi

N'Zonzi playing for Stoke City in 2013
Personal information
Full name	Steven N'Kemboanza Mike Christopher N'Zonzi
Date of birth	(1988-12-15) 15 December 1988 (age 28)
Place of birth	Colombes, France
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position	Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current team	Sevilla
Number	15
Youth career
1998–1999	Racing Paris
1999–2002	Paris Saint-Germain
2002–2003	CA Lisieux
2003–2004	Caen
2004–2005	Beauvais
2005–2007	Amiens
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2007–2009	Amiens	37	(1)
2009–2012	Blackburn Rovers	86	(5)
2012–2015	Stoke City	109	(6)
2015–	Sevilla	61	(5)
National team
2009–2010	France U21	6	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 7 May 2017.

Steven N'Kemboanza Mike Christopher N'Zonzi (born 15 December 1988) is a French professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Spanish club Sevilla.

N'Zonzi began his career with Ligue 2 side Amiens, impressing enough to earn a move to English Premier League side Blackburn Rovers in 2009 for £500,000. He spent three years at Ewood Park which ended with Rovers being relegated at the end of the 2011–12 season. He remained in the Premier League however, joining Stoke City for £3 million. At Stoke, N'Zonzi established himself as a key member of the squad under Tony Pulis and then under Mark Hughes, where his performances during the 2014–15 earned him the Player of the Year award. He joined Spanish side Sevilla for a fee of £7 million in July 2015, and won the UEFA Europa League in his first season.

He has represented France at under-21 level. N'Zonzi is of Congolese descent, and has been called up to the Democratic Republic of the Congo national football team, but has yet to agree to play for them.

N'Zonzi was born in Colombes, France and began his career playing for hometown club Racing Paris. In 1999, he joined the youth system of Paris Saint-Germain playing at the Camp des Loges, the club's youth academy. While at Paris Saint-Germain, N'Zonzi, due to his height, was initially installed in the club's academy as a striker and then as an attacking midfielder. After a three-year stint at the Ligue 1 club, he moved to the Basse-Normandie region joining CA Lisieux. He later had one-year stints at both SM Caen and AS Beauvais Oise before finally settling in with Amiens SC in 2005.