Clermont is rugby land … but his football team is fulfilling with note on his debut in Ligue 1. They come, not in vain, to beat Lille (1-0), current champion, with a goal from outside the area of Vital Manuel N’Simba (Cacuaco, Angola; 8-7-1993).
Image: WyScout
The 28-year-old and 1.67-meter-tall left-back is causing a sensation in his elite debut. To his goal against Lille, the first he has scored since November 3, 2017, there are two assists against Lorient (1-1) and Monaco (1-3).
“He has players that are not very well known, but they are very good. N’Simba, for example, has an impressive quality and projects a lot in attack “, pointed Mario González, ex of Clermont and now in Braga, in BRAND.
N’Simba has an impressive quality and projects a lot in attack
Time has given it a reason. His football recalls, saving the distances, that of the Madrid player Marcelo. N’Simba loves to partner short. As soon as he appears on the inside as on the outside, he prefers to receive the ball at the foot and start / dribble from standing than attack the spaces. He spins well on his axis and his good foot – he dominates several hitting surfaces – allows him to serve good long crosses / deliveries.
Skills that N’Simba – with 102 games, one goal and 14 assists for Clermont – cultivated as a child: “I was a forward until, at 16, I started to go back and play at ‘8’. Now I’m a winger, but I still have that offensive instinct and the ability to associate. I would like to become the best right-back in Ligue 2, “he confessed upon arrival at Bourg-en-Bresse in 2015.
I was a forward until, at 16, I started to go back and play as ‘8’. Now I’m a winger, but I still have that offensive instinct and the ability to associate
He had to flee Angola at the age of six
Clermont’s ’12’ now enjoys the ‘honeys of success’, but his journey to Primera has been a ‘path of thorns’. “I was born in Angola and lived there until I was 6 years old, but we had to flee the country because the military accused my father, who worked for the presidential guard, having stolen a load in your custody. If they caught him, he ran the risk of being killed. “.
The military accused my father of having stolen a load from their custody. If he was caught he ran the risk of being killed
“We fled in the middle of the night. My godfather took us to the airport and we caught a flight to Rome. We were there for a few weeks and then we moved to Toulouse to my uncle’s house. After 10 months we were still without papers and we had to leave. We went from hotel to hotel while my parents managed to earn money and get something to eat “, counts.
Meanwhile, little N’Simba kicked the ball for the first time: “Soccer was my ‘bubble’. It allowed me to get away from everything.” Entering a political refugee center in Villenave d’Ornon, near Bordeaux, solved some of their problems … but not all.
Soccer was my ‘bubble’. Allowed me to get away from it all
His brother got sick and can’t talk or walk
“When I was one year old, my little brother became seriously ill with meningitis. He was in a coma for several months and when he woke up he had lost all his abilities. Today he is still unable to speak or walk. We had had a very bad time, but that was a very hard blow, “says N’Simba.
He was a youth squad for Girondins Bordeaux (2011-13) and Guingamp (2013-14) before passing through Luçon (2014-15), Bourg-en-Bresse (2015-18) and Clermont, where, at last, he has managed to settle. “I had attitude problems, but I have never doubted my qualities. I knew that I could become a professional, but it was my parents who believed in me the most, “he points out.
I had attitude problems, but I have never doubted my qualities. I knew that I could turn pro
He has kept the promise he made to his grandmother
At 28, he has finally managed to fulfill the promise I made to his grandmother. “At the age of 5 I lived the ’98 World Cup in Angola. I wore the ‘les bleus’ shirt and knew all their players. So I said to him: ‘Someday you will see me on’ TV ‘playing football’. Curiously, it was in France. “
Internationally, however, he has not developed a great career. And that he could choose between Angola, DR Congo and France. “I always said that the selection that called me first would have priority,” he revealed. That made him opt for Congo, but he has only played one game with the ‘leopards’. It has already rained … It was in 2016.
He dreams of playing for Arsenal
But N’Simba still has goals to meet. “My biggest dream is to play for Arsenal. I love this club thanks to Thierry Henry. If I succeed, I might say, ‘This is it.’
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