Florent Sinama-Pongolle

Football player infobox
playername = Florent Sinama-Pongolle


fullname = Florent Sinama-Pongolle
height = height|m=1.77
nickname = Flo, Flo-Po, Sinama-Mongolle
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1984|10|20
cityofbirth = Saint-Pierre
countryofbirth = France
currentclub = Atlético Madrid
clubnumber = 14
position = Striker
youthyears = ?–2001
youthclubs = Le Havre AC
years = 2001–2003 2003–2006 2006 2006–2008 2008–
clubs = Le Havre AC (loan) Liverpool →Blackburn Rovers (loan) Recreativo Huelva Atlético Madrid
caps(goals) = 41 0(7) 38 0(4) 10 0(1) 68 (22) 06 0(4)
nationalyears = 2005–2006 2008–
nationalteam = France U21 France
nationalcaps(goals) = 04 0(1)
pcupdate = 00:00, 10 October 2008 (UTC)
ntupdate = 00:00, 10 October 2008 (UTC)

Florent Sinama-Pongolle (born October 20 1984 in Saint-Pierre, Réunion) is a French football player who plays as a striker for Atlético de Madrid, his pace and mobility being his best attributes.

Club career

Sinama-Pongolle was signed by Liverpool F.C. in 2001, along with his cousin Anthony Le Tallec, from Le Havre AC, by then manager Gérard Houllier, after impressive performances in both the European Under-16 Championship and the Under-17 World Championship. He was named player of the tournament as France won the latter competition, and would remain (as Le Tallec) two further years at Le Havre, loaned.

After his return and insignificant playing time with the "Reds" (he did score 2 goals for in the third round of the 2005-06 FA Cup against Luton Town, helping Liverpool come from 3-1 down to a final score of 5-3, as the side finally emerged victorious in the tournament), Sinama-Pongolle was loaned to fellow Premier League side Blackburn Rovers F.C. on 31 January 2006, on loan until the end of the season.

On 30 August, 2006, Sinama-Pongolle signed a 1-year contract at Recreativo de Huelva, with an option to sign on for a further two years. On 4 May, 2007, the Andalusia outfit confirmed he signed a permanent deal until 2011, for a fee of €4million (£2.7m). He was "Recre's" top goalscorer in his two seasons of play (12 and 10 respectively).

On 3 July, 2008, Sinama-Pongolle signed a 4-year contract with Atlético Madrid for a fee believed to be in the region of €10million (£8m). [ [http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/news/kind=1/newsid=730335.html Sinama-Pongolle alights at Atlético] ] Initially thought of as a backup to Diego Forlán and Sergio Agüero, he benefitted from an injury to the Uruguayan, netting 4 goals in his first five league appearances for the "colchoneros", with braces against former side Recreativo and Getafe CF.

International career

After his under-16 and 17 exploits, Sinama-Pongolle was with the U21s at the 2006 European U-21 Championship, which took place from May 23–June 4, 2006 in Portugal.

He was first called to the senior side for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.

Honours

Team

*FIFA U-17 World Championship: 2001
*FA Cup: 2005-06
*European Super Cup: 2006

Individual

*2001 U-17 World Championship: Golden Ball, Golden ShoeSame Farewells

Statistics

References

External links

*lfpfr|102576
*soccerbase|id=32123|name=Florent Sinama-Pongolle
* [http://www.lfp.es/historico/primera/plantillas/historial.asp?jug=7718 Stats at Liga de Fútbol Profesional] es icon