Alain Goma

Alain Goma

Personal information
Full name	Alain Goma [1]
Date of birth	(1972-10-05) 5 October 1972 (age 52) [1]
Place of birth	Sault, Vaucluse, France
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) [2]
Position(s)	Centre-back [1]
Youth career
1982–1988	Versailles
1988–1990	Auxerre
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1990–1998	Auxerre	166	(4)
1998–1999	Paris Saint-Germain	30	(0)
1999–2001	Newcastle United	33	(1)
2001–2006	Fulham	117	(0)
2007–2008	Al-Wakrah
Total		346	(5)
International career
1996–1998	France	2	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Alain Goma (born 5 October 1972) is a French former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. In a 16-year professional career he appeared in 196 Ligue 1 games, mostly for Auxerre. He then played 147 matches in the Premier League, with Newcastle and Fulham.

Club career

Born in Sault, Vaucluse, ^[1] Goma started his football career playing for Paris-suburb club Versailles, joining Auxerre's famed youth academy in 1988 at the age of 15. Three years later, he made his Ligue 1 debut for the team led by Guy Roux.^{[ citation needed ]}

In 1992–93, Goma took part in Auxerre's unprecedented semifinal run in the UEFA Cup, where they lost in the semi-finals to Ajax in a penalty shootout. At the end of the season, he signed his very first professional contract, going on to be instrumental in the side's 1996 double while also helping them to the 1996–97 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals – losing to eventual winners Borussia Dortmund – after winning the group stage over Ajax.^{[ citation needed ]}

After ten years at Auxerre, Goma moved to Paris Saint-Germain, conquering the 1998 Trophée des Champions soon after signing. After that single campaign, he joined Newcastle United for £4.7 million, becoming an important player at the start of 2000–01 and scoring in a 3–1 win against Middlesbrough in October 2000. ^[3]

On 13 March 2001, following a dispute with the Magpies, Goma signed with First Division leaders Fulham, who paid a club record £4 million for his services. ^[4] On 21 April 2001 he made his debut in a 1–1 draw at Portsmouth, and became a vital player for the club in its debut season in the Premier League, eventually serving as captain under countryman Jean Tigana.^{[ citation needed ]}

Goma's form earned him a new contract during 2003–04, to keep him at the Cottagers until the summer of 2006. Despite missing two months due to injury, he made his 100th appearance during the campaign but, after the emergence of younger players such as Zat Knight, his importance and role gradually diminished in 2005–06; he was the most notable of six players released on 18 May 2006, after being unable to agree on a new deal. ^[5]

Goma subsequently retired, aged 33. However, in 2007, he came out of retirement, joining Al-Wakrah in Qatar, and retiring for good the following year.^{[ citation needed ]}

International career

After starting representing the French under-21s in 1992, Goma would go on to earn two caps for the senior side. The first was on 9 October 1996, starting in a 4–0 friendly win against Turkey, ^[6] and the second was in another exhibition game, coming on as a substitute for Frank Lebœuf for the last ten minutes of a 2–2 draw in Austria on 19 August 1998. ^[7]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition^{[ citation needed ]}

Club	Season	League			National cup [a]		League cup [b]		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Auxerre	1990–91	French Division 1	1	0
	1991–92		1	0
	1992–93		15	1
	1993–94		33	0
	1994–95		28	0
	1995–96		32	0
	1996–97		34	2
	1997–98		22	1
	Total		166	4							166	4
Paris Saint-Germain	1998–99	French Division 1	30	0							30	0
Newcastle United	1999–2000 [8]	Premier League	14	0	1	0	0	0	2 [c]	0	17	0
	2000–01 [9]		19	1	2	0	3	0	0	0	24	1
	Total		33	1	3	0	3	0	2	0	41	1
Fulham	2000–01 [9]	First Division	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
	2001–02 [10]	Premier League	33	0	6	0	1	0	0	0	40	0
	2002–03 [11]		29	0	3	0	0	0	13 [d]	0	45	0
	2003–04 [12]		23	0	6	0	0	0	0	0	29	0
	2004–05 [13]		16	0	3	0	1	0	0	0	20	0
	2005–06 [14]		13	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	15	0
	Total		117	0	19	0	3	0	13	0	152	0
Al-Wakrah	2007–08	Qatar Stars League
Career total			346	5	22	0	6	0	15	0	389	5

1. Includes Coupe de France, FA Cup, Emir of Qatar Cup.
2. Includes Coupe de la Ligue, Football League Cup.
3. Appearances in UEFA Cup
4. Eight appearances in UEFA Intertoto Cup, five appearances in UEFA Cup

Honours

Auxerre

• Division 1: 1995–96 ^{[ citation needed ]}
• Coupe de France: 1993–94, 1995–96 ^{[ citation needed ]}

Paris Saint-Germain

• Trophée des Champions: 1998 ^{[ citation needed ]}

Fulham

• Football League First Division: 2000–01 ^{[ citation needed ]}
• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2002 ^[15]

References

1. "Alain Goma". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Archived from the original on 23 January 2025.
2. "Alain Goma". L'Équipe (in French). Paris. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
3. "Newcastle see off Boro with ease". BBC Sport. 16 October 2000. Retrieved 20 October 2009.
4. "Fulham set to sign Goma". The Guardian . London. 13 March 2001. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
5. "Goma leads Fulham player exodus". BBC Sport. 18 May 2006. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
6. "France – Turkey 4:0". European Football. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
7. "Austria – France 2:2". European Football. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
8. "Games played by Alain Goma in 1999/2000". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
9. "Games played by Alain Goma in 2000/2001". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
10. "Games played by Alain Goma in 2001/2002". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
11. "Games played by Alain Goma in 2002/2003". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
12. "Games played by Alain Goma in 2003/2004". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
13. "Games played by Alain Goma in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
14. "Games played by Alain Goma in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
15. "Fulham clinch Euro glory". BBC Sport. 27 August 2002. Retrieved 12 September 2018.

External links

• Alain Goma at the French Football Federation (in French)