Rigobert Song

Cameroonian association football manager and former player

Rigobert Song Bahanag (born 1 July 1976) is a former Cameroonian football player. He played for Trabzonspor and the Cameroonian national team. He is the first African to play in four World Cups. He is regarded as one of the greatest African football players of all time.

Rigobert Song
Song with Cameroon in 2008
Personal information
Full name Rigobert Song Bahanag
Date of birth (1976-07-01) 1 July 1976 (age 48)
Place of birth Nkenglicock, Cameroon
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Position(s) Defender
Club information
Current team
Cameroon U-23 (manager)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–1998 Metz 123 (3)
1998 Salernitana 4 (1)
1999–2000 Liverpool 34 (0)
2001–2002 West Ham United 24 (0)
2001–20021. FC Köln (loan) 16 (0)
2002–2004 Lens 63 (3)
2004–2008 Galatasaray 104 (4)
2008–2010 Trabzonspor 46 (0)
Total 414 (11)
National team
1993–2010 Cameroon 137 (5)
Teams managed
2016–2018 Cameroon A'
2018 Cameroon (caretaker)
2018– Cameroon U-23
2022– Cameroon
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 8 May 2010
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 08:02, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

Career statistics

change
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[2]
Club Season League National cup League cup Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Metz 1994–95 French Division 1 24 2 2 0 1 0 27 2
1995–96 French Division 1 37 0 0 0 4 0 41 0
1996–97 French Division 1 34 0 0 0 1 0 6[a] 1 41 1
1997–98 French Division 1 28 1 1 0 0 0 4[a] 0 33 1
Total 123 3 3 0 6 0 10 1 142 4
Salernitana 1998–99 Serie A 4 1 2 0 6 1
Liverpool 1998–99 Premier League 13 0 0 0 0 0 13 0
1999–2000 Premier League 18 0 1 0 2 0 21 0
2000–01 Premier League 3 0 0 0 0 0 1[a] 0 4 0
Total 34 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 38 0
West Ham United 2000–01 Premier League 19 0 1 0 2 0 22 0
2001–02 Premier League 5 0 0 0 1 0 6 0
Total 24 0 1 0 3 0 28 0
1. FC Köln 2001–02 Bundesliga 16 0 3 1 19 1
Lens 2002–03 Ligue 1 35 3 1 0 1 0 8[b] 1 45 4
2003–04 Ligue 1 28 0 0 0 3 0 4[a] 0 35 0
Total 63 3 1 0 4 0 12 1 78 4
Galatasaray 2004–05 Süper Lig 28 2 4 0 36 2
2005–06 Süper Lig 29 1 2 0 2[a] 0 33 1
2006–07 Süper Lig 25 1 2 0 1[c] 0 7[d] 0 35 1
2007–08 Süper Lig 22 0 2 1 8[a] 1 32 2
Total 104 4 10 1 1 0 17 1 132 6
Trabzonspor 2008–09 Süper Lig 28 0 3 0 31 0
2009–10 Süper Lig 18 0 5 1 2[e] 1 23 2
Total 46 0 8 1 2 1 56 2
Career total 414 11 29 3 16 0 42 4 501 18
  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Appearance(s) in UEFA Cup
  2. Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances and one goal in UEFA Cup
  3. Appearance in Turkish Super Cup
  4. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  5. Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

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Appearances and goals by national team and year[3]
National team Year Apps Goals
Cameroon 1993 1 0
1994 4 1
1995 2 0
1996 5 0
1997 7 0
1998 12 1
1999 3 1
2000 11 0
2001 10 0
2002 15 0
2003 7 0
2004 11 1
2005 6 1
2006 7 0
2007 6 0
2008 12 0
2009 6 0
2010 4 0
Total 129 5
Source:[4]

List of international goals scored by Rigobert Song

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 28 January 1998 Roumdé Adjia Stadium, Garoua, Cameroon   Angola 1–0 Win Friendly match
2 6 June 1999 Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo, Yaoundé, Cameroon   Eritrea 1–0 Win 2000 African Cup qualifying
3 6 June 2004 Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo, Yaoundé, Cameroon   Benin 2–1 Win 2006 World Cup qualifying
4 4 June 2005 Stade de l'Amitié, Cotonou, Benin   Benin 1–4 Win 2006 World Cup qualifying
5 31 May 2008 Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo, Yaoundé, Cameroon   Cape Verde 2–0 Win 2010 World Cup qualifying

Managerial

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As of matches played 27 January 2024[5]
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record
P W D L Win %
Cameroon U23 23 October 2018 17 July 2022 3 1 1 1 033.33
Cameroon 1 March 2022 28 February 2024 23 6 8 9 026.09
Total 31 9 11 11 029.03

Honours

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Metz

Liverpool

Galatasaray[7]

Trabzonspor[7]

Cameroon[7]

Individual

Orders

References

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  1. Football : Rigobert Song
  2. Rigobert Song at National-Football-Teams.com
  3. Rigobert Song at National-Football-Teams.com
  4. RSSSF.com
  5. Rigobert Song coach profile at Soccerway
  6. "Rapid Bucharest 1 - 0 Liverpool". The Guardian. 14 September 2020.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 "R. SONG – profile – Soccerway.com".
  8. Jennings, Steve (20 June 2019). "What happened next? Every Afcon Player of the Tournament winner since 2000". Squawka. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  9. VII OSCARS UNFP – Simone, Trezeguet, Pédron and Fontaine honored in France Football, n°2718, May 12, 1998, page 20.
  10. "IFFHS". IFFHS. 29 May 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  11. "Yaya Toure crowned 2012 African Footballer of the Year". My Joy Online. 20 December 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  12. "Toure named 2012 African player of year". Toure named 2012 African player of year. 20 December 2012. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  13. "Cameroun: Rigobert Song, nouveau sélectionneur des Lions indomptables". afrique-sur7.ci (in French). March 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  14. Rigobert Song. "Awin". Archived from the original on 4 September 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023.