Armel Bella-Kotchap (born 11 December 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club Southampton. Born in France, he plays for the Germany national team.[3]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Armel Bella-Kotchap[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 11 December 2001 | ||
| Place of birth | Paris, France | ||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Southampton | ||
| Number | 37 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2005–2009 | Rot Weiss Ahlen | ||
| 2009–2012 | SC Grimlinghausen | ||
| 2012–2015 | Borussia Mönchengladbach | ||
| 2015–2016 | SG Unterrath | ||
| 2016–2017 | MSV Duisburg | ||
| 2017–2020 | VfL Bochum | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018–2022 | VfL Bochum | 66 | (1) |
| 2022– | Southampton | 24 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | → PSV (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2024 | → Jong PSV (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2018–2019 | Germany U18 | 5 | (0) |
| 2020 | Germany U20 | 1 | (0) |
| 2021– | Germany U21 | 9 | (0) |
| 2022 | Germany | 2 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 07:05, 10 March 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18:55, 16 November 2022 (UTC) | |||
Club career
editVfL Bochum
editIn July 2018, Bella-Kotchap joined VfL Bochum professional team 2018–19 summer training camp.[4] In March 2019, Bella-Kotchap signed his first professional contract with VfL Bochum.[5] He made his professional debut for Bochum in the 2. Bundesliga on 28 April 2019, starting in the away match against Erzgebirge Aue.[6]
Southampton
editOn 21 June 2022, Bella-Kotchap joined Southampton on a four-year deal,[7] for a fee estimated at 10 million euros.[8] Having established himself as a regular starter at centre-back,[9] Bella-Kotchap dislocated his shoulder in a collision during the 1–1 draw with West Ham United on 16 October. As a result, he was expected to be out of action for several weeks.[10] He returned from injury on 6 November in a 1–4 defeat against Newcastle United.[11] On 4 January 2023, Bella-Kotchap tweaked his knee during the first half of a 0–1 defeat against Nottingham Forest and was expected to be injured for a matter of weeks.[12] Bella-Kotchap dislocated his shoulder again during a 3–3 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on 18 March 2023.[13]
PSV (loan)
editOn 1 September 2023, Bella-Kotchap joined Eredivisie side PSV on a season-long loan.[14] He made his professional debut for the club on 16 September 2023 in a 4–0 victory against NEC.[15] Four days later, Bella-Kotchap made his first Champions League appearance in a 4–0 defeat to Arsenal.[16] In October 2023, he suffered a shoulder injury and was expected to be sidelined until the end of year.[17]
International career
editBella-Kotchap began his youth international career with the Germany under-18 team, making his debut on 15 November 2018 in a friendly match against Cyprus, which finished as a 1–0 win.[18]
On 15 September 2022, Bella-Kotchap was included in the German senior squad for the first time.[19] He made his debut as a late substitute on 26 September in a 3–3 draw with England.[20] In November 2022, he was selected in the German squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[21]
Personal life
editBella-Kotchap was born in Paris, France,[5] and is the son of former Cameroon international Cyrille Florent Bella.[22]
Career statistics
editClub
edit| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| VfL Bochum | 2018–19 | 2. Bundesliga | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | 2. Bundesliga | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | — | 14 | 0 | |||
| 2020–21 | 2. Bundesliga | 28 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | — | 30 | 1 | |||
| 2021–22 | Bundesliga | 22 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | — | 26 | 0 | |||
| Total | 66 | 1 | 8 | 0 | – | — | 74 | 1 | ||||
| Southampton | 2022–23[9] | Premier League | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 26 | 0 | |
| 2023–24[24] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2024–25[25] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 27 | 0 | |||
| PSV (loan) | 2023–24 | Eredivisie | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[b] | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| Jong PSV (loan) | 2023–24 | Eerste Divisie | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 98 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 110 | 1 | ||
- ^ Includes DFB-Pokal, FA Cup
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
International
edit- As of match played 16 November 2022
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | |||
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 2 | 0 | |
Honours
editVfL Bochum
PSV
References
edit- ^ "2022/23 Premier League squad lists". Premier League. 16 September 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
- ^ "Armel Bella-Kotchap: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
- ^ a b "Armel Bella-Kotchap". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
- ^ "Tag 5 in Weiler: Neue Gesichter" (in German). VfL Bochum. 10 July 2018. Archived from the original on 28 April 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
- ^ a b "Profiverträge für Talentwerk-Trio" [Professional contracts for Talentwerk trio] (in German). Bochum: VfL Bochum. 3 March 2019. Archived from the original on 28 April 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
- ^ "Erzgebirge Aue – VfL Bochum -:- (2. Bundesliga 2018/2019, 31. Round)". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. 28 April 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
- ^ "Bella-Kotchap becomes a Saint". Southampton FC. 21 June 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ "Armel Bella-Kotchap: Southampton sign defender from Bundesliga club Bochum". BBC Sport. 21 June 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ a b "Games played by Armel Bella-Kotchap in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
- ^ "Bella-Kotchap injury 'definitely a loss for us'". BBC Sport. 18 October 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
- ^ Jurejko, Jonathan (6 November 2022). "Southampton 1–4 Newcastle United". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
- ^ House, Alfie (7 January 2023). "Bella-Kotchap injury severity confirmed + reason for Armstrong absence". Southern Daily Echo. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
- ^ House, Alfie (19 March 2023). "Bella-Kotchap waiting on specialist to learn extent of shoulder injury". Southern Daily Echo. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
- ^ "Bella-Kotchap joins PSV on loan". Southampton FC. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
- ^ "PSV 4–0 NEC". ESPN. 16 September 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
- ^ Unwin, Will (20 September 2023). "Arsenal 4–0 PSV". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
- ^ Rees-Julian, George (30 October 2023). "Southampton's Bella-Kotchap reportedly out for the rest of the year". Southern Daily Echo. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
- ^ "Cyprus – Germany 0:1 (U18 Friendlies 2018, November)". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. 15 November 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
- ^ "Southampton's Armel Bella-Kotchap earns first Germany call-up | Daily Echo". www.dailyecho.co.uk. 15 September 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
- ^ "Bella-Kotchap makes international bow". Southampton F.C. 26 September 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
- ^ "Flick beruft Moukoko, Füllkrug und Götze in WM-Kader" (in German). German Football Association. 10 November 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
- ^ "Tag 5 in Weiler: Neue Gesichter" [Day 5 in Weiler: New faces] (in German). Weiler-Simmerberg: VfL Bochum. 10 July 2018. Archived from the original on 28 April 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
- ^ "Germany - A. Bella-Kotchap - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
- ^ "Games played by Armel Bella-Kotchap in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
- ^ "Games played by Armel Bella-Kotchap in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
External links
edit- Armel Kotchap at Soccerbase
- Armel Bella-Kotchap at DFB (also available in German)
- Armel Bella-Kotchap at kicker (in German)
- Armel Bella-Kotchap at Soccerway