Melvin Zinga (born 16 March 2002) is a French professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Ligue 1 club Angers.[1]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 16 March 2002 | ||
| Place of birth | Montivilliers, France | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Angers | ||
| Number | 16 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2008–2019 | Le Havre | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2020 | Le Havre B | 8 | (0) |
| 2020– | Angers B | 16 | (0) |
| 2023– | Angers | 5 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2017–2018 | France U16 | 4 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | France U17 | 12 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | France U18 | 10 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | France U20 | 5 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 01:40, 1 May 2024 (UTC) | |||
Club career
editOn 11 July 2020, Zinga signed for Angers for a transfer fee of €200,000.[2][3] On 18 November 2023, he made his senior debut for the club in a 2–0 win over Houilles AC in the seventh round of the Coupe de France.[4][5] Replacing Yahia Fofana during his absence due to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations,[6] Zinga played in his first match against a professional side on 6 January 2024, a 1–0 loss away to Brest in the Coupe de France round of 64.[7]
International career
editBorn in France, Zinga is of partial Republic of the Congo descent and has both French and Congolese nationalities.[8] He was a France youth international. He won Lafarge Foot Avenir in 2019 and the Maurice Revello Tournament in 2022 with the under-18 and under-20 teams respectively.[9]
In August 2024, Zinga was called up to the Republic of the Congo national team.[10]
Player profile
editZinga has earned the nickname "kamikaze" among his teammates for his tendency to make daring challenges.[11] In 2023, Angers goalkeeping coach Olivier Tingry said that he is "dynamic, tonic, and rather skillful with his feet", adding that "he is good on his line and has a good vision of the game".[2]
In 2019, Zinga stated that he was a fan of Spanish club Barcelona, and that his football role model was Marc-André ter Stegen.[12]
Honours
editFrance U18
- Lafarge Foot Avenir: 2019[9]
France U20
References
edit- ^ Melvin Zinga at Soccerway
- ^ a b RAGUIN, Antoine (18 November 2023). "Coupe de France - Angers Sco. Le gardien Melvin Zinga, un feu intérieur à canaliser". Ouest-France.fr (in French). Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- ^ "Melvin Zinga joins Angers - Get French Football News". 11 July 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- ^ "Houilles vs. Angers - 18 November 2023 - Soccerway". us.soccerway.com. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- ^ "Angers Sco. Zinga titulaire, Capelle incertain face à Houilles en Coupe de France". www.oxygeneradio.com (in French). Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- ^ Parisot, Julien (8 January 2024). "Angers SCO - Zinga sur le remplacement de Fofana pendant la CAN : " Il m'a tapé sur l'épaule et m'a dit "maintenant, c'est à toi de jouer" "". MaLigue2 (in French). Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- ^ BOUTON, Jordan (8 January 2024). "Football. Angers-SCO : Pour Melvin Zinga, tout commence dans les buts angevins". Courrier de l'Ouest (in French). Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- ^ "Melvin Zinga". Angers SCO.
- ^ a b c Melvin Zinga at the French Football Federation (in French)
- ^ "Eliminatoires CAN 2025 : La liste du Congo pour le Soudan du Sud et l'Ouganda dévoilée".
- ^ QUINTARD, Théo (4 February 2022). "Angers Sco. Mâchoire cassée, sortie kamikaze : Melvin Zinga, un fort caractère qui veut s'adoucir". Ouest-France.fr (in French). Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- ^ "Zinga, entre modèle allemand et exemple normand". inside.fifa.com (in French). Retrieved 1 May 2024.