Steven N'Zonzi, French footballer
Steven Nkemboanza Mike Christopher Nzonzi (born 15 December 1988) is a French professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Qatar Stars League club Al-Rayyan and the France national team.
Nzonzi began his career with Ligue 2 side Amiens, impressing enough to earn a move to Premier League side Blackburn Rovers in 2009 for £650,000. 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, Nzonzi 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.
Nzonzi represented France at under-21 level. He turned down the chance to represent his ancestral DR Congo at senior international level, and was unsuccessful in his attempt to become eligible to play for England. In November 2017, he made his debut for the senior France squad, and he was part of their team that won the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
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1988Dec, 15
Steven N'Zonzi
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Events on 1988
- 14Apr
Soviet Union
In a United Nations ceremony in Geneva, Switzerland, the Soviet Union signs an agreement pledging to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan. - 29May
Ronald Reagan
The U.S. President Ronald Reagan begins his first visit to the Soviet Union when he arrives in Moscow for a superpower summit with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. - 15Nov
State of Palestine
Israeli-Palestinian conflict: An independent State of Palestine is proclaimed by the Palestinian National Council. - 16Nov
Benazir Bhutto
In the first open election in more than a decade, voters in Pakistan elect populist candidate Benazir Bhutto to be Prime Minister of Pakistan. - 19Nov
Slobodan Milošević
Serbian communist representative and future Serbian and Yugoslav president Slobodan Milošević publicly declares that Serbia is under attack from Albanian separatists in Kosovo as well as internal treachery within Yugoslavia and a foreign conspiracy to destroy Serbia and Yugoslavia.