Amine Linganzi

In this Congolese name, the surname is Linganziand the post-surname is Koumba.

Amine Linganzi

Linganzi with Swindon Town
Personal information
Full name	Amine Linganzi Koumba [1]
Date of birth	(1989-11-16) 16 November 1989 (age 34) [2]
Place of birth	Algiers, Algeria
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) [2]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
2006–2008	Saint-Étienne
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2008–2010	Saint-Étienne	3	(0)
2010–2013	Blackburn Rovers	2	(0)
2011	→ Preston North End (loan)	1	(0)
2013	Accrington Stanley	13	(0)
2013–2015	Gillingham	27	(1)
2015–2016	Fréjus Saint-Raphaël	3	(0)
2016–2017	Portsmouth	19	(1)
2017–2018	Swindon Town	25	(2)
2019	Salford City	4	(0)
International career
2008–2013	Congo	4	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 07:04, 29 April 2019 (UTC)

Amine Linganzi Koumba (born 16 November 1989) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Born in Algeria, Linganzi represented Congo at international level.

Club career

Born in Algiers, Algeria, Linganzi emigrated to Aix-en-Provence, France, along with his parents.^{[ citation needed ]} He played for several youths team such as Aix-en-Provence, Vitrolles and Cannes before joining Saint-Étienne, where Linganzi started his professional career. In the reserves for the 2007–08 season, Linganzi began to be established in the starting eleven with 22 appearances and one goal. ^[3]

On 28 September 2008, Linganzi made his Ligue 1 debut for Saint-Étienne, coming on in the 64th minute for Geoffrey Dernis in a league game against Bordeaux. ^[4]

On 28 January 2010, Linganzi signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with Blackburn Rovers on a free transfer. ^[5] In only his second game for Blackburn Rovers's Reserve team when during a game against Wigan Athletic's reserve team, he provided two assists for goals and scored one goal. ^[6]

On 13 January 2011, Linganzi signed for Preston North End on loan until the end of the 2010–11 season. ^[7] He made his debut against Leicester City and after about half an hour he pulled his hamstring when he had a shot. His injury ruled him out for six weeks. ^[8] Despite being injured, Manager Phil Brown confirmed that Linganzi would stay for the rest of the season and at the end of the season, Linganzi would be left out of the first team. ^[9] In March, Brown said Linganzi still had a role in the first team, having been out for two months. ^[10]

At the start of the 2011–12 season, Linganzi played in a pre-season friendly for Preston North End against Morecambe, prompting speculation that another loan deal had been agreed. ^[11] He scored for North End in a trial against Wigan Athletic in a 3–1 defeat, with a volley in pre-season. ^[12] However, the loan move did not materialise. ^[13]

On 30 January 2013, Linganzi mutually agreed to terminate his contract with Blackburn Rovers. ^[14] After leaving Blackburn, Linganzi had a trial with League Two side Accrington Stanley. ^[15] After the trial, Linganzi won a contract with Accrington Stanley until the end of the season, on 21 February 2013. ^[16] Upon the move, Linganzi said he had no regrets about joining Blackburn Rovers. ^[17] He made his debut for the club in a 4–0 win over AFC Wimbledon on 19 March 2013. Following a 1–0 win over Wycombe Wanderers, Manager Leam Richardson dedicated the match to Linganzi following a family tragedy, which led him to go back to France. ^[18] Richardson would credit Linganzi, along with many players, for their role to keep the club safe from relegation. ^[19]

On 10 June 2013, Linganzi signed for League Two champions Gillingham on a two-year contract. Manager Martin Allen said upon signing him "Before his injuries, it looked like he was heading for the top, and now he is fully recovered, I believe we have a player who can helps us march onwards and upwards. He is a midfield player, he is massive and he was the best central midfield player that played at Priestfield last season. He will prove to be a good signing". ^[20] He scored his first goal for Gillingham on 22 March 2014 in a 3–1 home defeat against Crewe Alexandra. ^[21] He left the club by mutual consent on 10 March 2015. ^[22]

On 24 July 2015, Linganzi signed for French Championnat National side Étoile Fréjus Saint-Raphaël. ^[23]

On 8 August 2016, Linganzi signed for League Two team Portsmouth on a one-month contract. He made his debut for the club in the EFL Cup defeat to Coventry City the following day. ^{[24] [25]} He scored his first goal for Portsmouth against Carlisle United in a 3–0 away win. ^[26]

On 29 June 2017, Linganzi joined fellow League Two side Swindon Town. ^[27] On the opening day of the 2017–18 campaign, Linganzi made his Swindon debut in their 2–1 away victory against Carlisle United, featuring for the entire 90 minutes. ^[28] On 14 October 2017, Linganzi scored his first goal for Swindon during their 3–1 away victory against Mansfield Town, converting Matt Taylor's cross in the 4th minute. ^[29]

On 9 June 2018, via his Twitter page, Linganzi announced that he would be leaving the club, ^[30] despite being offered a new deal. ^[31]

In January 2019 he joined Salford City until the end of the season after training with the club for two weeks ahead of transfer deadline day. ^[32] He made his debut for the club in an FA Trophy match against Maidstone United on 5 February. ^[33] He was released by the club at the end of the season after the expiry of his current deal. ^[34]

International career

Although born in Algeria and holding French nationality, ^[35] Linganzi represented Congo internationally. He made his debut in the 3–0 loss against Algeria, his country of birth, on 14 August 2013, during which he was substituted due to a hamstring injury. ^[36]

Career statistics

As of match played 5 May 2018 ^[37]

Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Saint-Étienne	2008–09	Ligue 1	3	0	0	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	4	0
Blackburn Rovers	2009–10	Premier League	1	0	0	0	0	0	—		1	0
	2010–11	Premier League	1	0	1	0	1	0	—		3	0
	Total		2	0	1	0	1	0	—		4	0
Preston North End (loan)	2011–12	Championship	1	0	0	0	0	0	—		1	0
Accrington Stanley	2012–13	League Two	13	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	13	0
Gillingham	2013–14	League One	20	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	20	1
	2014–15	League One	7	0	0	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	8	0
	Total		27	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	28	1
Fréjus Saint-Raphaël	2015–16	Championnat National	3	0	0	0	—		—		3	0
Portsmouth	2016–17	League Two	19	1	0	0	1	0	3 [lower-alpha 3]	0	23	1
Swindon Town	2017–18	League Two	25	2	2	2	0	0	2 [lower-alpha 3]	0	29	4
Career total			93	4	3	2	2	0	7	0	105	6

1. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
2. Appearance(s) in Football League Trophy
3. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy

References

1. "List of players given a free transfer: Swindon Town" (PDF). English Football League. p. 107. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
2. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Mainstream Publishing. p. 253. ISBN   978-1-84596-601-0.
3. "Amine Linganzi Koumba Interview" [Linganzi, c’est du lourd] (in French). ASSE.com. 9 October 2008. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
4. "Bordeaux denied by St-Etienne". UEFA.com. 28 September 2008. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
5. "Blackburn sign St Etienne midfielder Amine Linganzi". BBC Sport. 28 January 2010. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
6. "Linganzi and Basturk shine". Vital Football. 17 February 2010. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
7. "Double loan deal for Preston". Sky Sports. 13 January 2011. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
8. "Linganzi out for six weeks". Sky Sports. 26 January 2011. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
9. "Preston North End sign Fulham's Eddie Johnson on loan". BBC Sport. 31 January 2011. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
10. "St Ledger doubtful for Ireland qualifier". Lancashire Evening Post. 24 March 2011. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
11. "Daley stars in North End win". Lancashire Evening Post. 31 July 2011. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
12. "Turner to make full-time debut against Wigan". Lancashire Evening Post. 30 July 2011. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
13. "Preston North End sign McLean". Lancashire Evening Post. 31 July 2011. Archived from the original on 22 April 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
14. "Blackburn clear the decks". Team Talk. 1 February 2013. Archived from the original on 2 February 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
15. "Stanley eye Linganzi as boss looks to strengthen". Lancashire Telegraph. 1 February 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
16. "Accrington Stanley sign ex-Blackburn man Amine Linganzi". BBC Sport. 21 February 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
17. "Linganzi ready to take chance at Accrington Stanley". Lancashire Telegraph. 22 February 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
18. "Linganzi's family anguish". Lancashire Telegraph. 1 April 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
19. "Leam Richardson: Accrington survival "my biggest achievement"". BBC Sport. 22 April 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
20. "Martin Unveils First Signing". Gillingham FC. 10 June 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
21. "Gillingham 1–3 Crewe". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
22. "Amine Linganzi Leaves Gillingham FC". Gillingham FC. 10 March 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
23. "Officiel : Deux nouvelles recrues à Fréjus-Saint Raphaël". 24 July 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
24. FC, Portsmouth. "Pompey sign goalkeeper Liam O'Brien and midfielder Amine Linganzi Portsmouth" . Retrieved 10 August 2016.
25. Weld, Neil. "Amine Linganzi on Pompey's EFL Cup defeat at Coventry City Portsmouth" . Retrieved 10 August 2016.
26. "Carlisle 0–3 Portsmouth". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
27. "BREAKING: Hard-Hitting Midfielder Becomes Signing Number Six For Town". Swindon Town Official Site. 29 June 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
28. "Carlisle United vs. Swindon Town". Soccerway. 5 August 2017. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
29. "Mansfield Town vs. Swindon Town". Soccerway. 14 October 2017. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
30. "Midfielder Amine Linganzi confirms Swindon Town exit". Swindon Advertiser. 9 June 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
31. "Luke Norris: Swindon Town extend striker's contract". BBC Sport. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
32. "Amine Linganzi signs for Salford City". Salford City F.C. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
33. "Stone Me - It's a Replay (Match Report: Salford City 1-1 Maidstone United)". Salford City F.C. 5 February 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
34. "Player news: Retained and Released list 2018-19". Salford City FC. 5 June 2019. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
35. https://www.ligue1.fr/joueur?id=amine-linganzi-koumba ^{[ bare URL ]}
36. Tucker, Craig (25 July 2013). "Gillingham midfielder Amine Linganzi picks up an injury while playing for Congo". Kentonline.co.uk. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
37. "A. Linganzi". Soccerway. Retrieved 29 June 2017.

External links

• Official website
• Amine Linganzi at Soccerbase
• Amine Linganzi at National-Football-Teams.com