N'Gotty Profile

By Mark Heys
November 14 2005

Bruno N'Gotty

Born: Lyon, France, 10th June 1971

International Honours: French Full, U21

Position: Defender

Squad Number: 5

Former Clubs: Olympique Lyonaisse (France), Paris Saint Germain (France), AC Milan (Italy), Venezia (Italy), Olympique Marseille (France)

Strong centre half Bruno has been a regular member of the Bolton Wanderers squad since signing from Olympique Marseille during the 2001-2002 season.

He moved from France initially on a loan basis in September 2001, but this deal was to be made permenant six months later after a number of assured performances for the Wanderers at right-back.

One of his major strengths is his aeriel ability and his knack of keeping his opponents in check and this proved useful in his second season with the club as he often shifted positions. 2002-2003 saw him play either right back or centre back due to various injuries to Mike Whitlow and Bernard Mendy, the latter of whom suffered a broken leg just a few months after his move from Paris Saint Germain.

In 2003 he terminally reverted to his more comfortable position of centre half after the departures of fellow veterans Whitlow and Gudni Bergsson. This proved to be a beneficial move for the team as Bruno scored a number of important goals for the club during the 2003-2004 season, including a fine header in the Carling Cup semi-final demolition of Aston Villa

That season he found he had many central defensive partners due to the long term injury sustained by his good friend and countryman Florent Laville in a game against Middlesbrough, a game in which he ironically scored the winning goal after replacing the unfortunate Laville.

Calmess also plays a big part in N'Gotty's game, and it was no surprise that he was one of the front-runners for the Player of the Season award in 2004-2005 as he formed an excellent double act with the young Israeli Tal Ben-Haim in the middle of the Trotters back line.

Sadly that season ended on a low after he was sent off for a debatable spat with Everton midfielder Tim Cahill, but he is sure to revel in 2005-2006 as the Wanderers get set for their debut season in Europe

N'Gotty has had extensive experience on such a stage, winning half a dozen caps for France is just a small fraction of the defender's European exploits as he has played in Europe for three of his previous clubs.

In 1996 he scored the winning goal for Paris Saint Germain in their European Cup Winners Cup Final win against Rapid Vienna in Brussells. This resulted in a big transfer to Italian giants AC Milan, where he played for two years.

BOLTON RECORD: 119 appearances, 5 goals