Radja Nainggolan

Radja Nainggolan

Nainggolan playing for Roma in 2014
Personal information
Full name Radja Nainggolan
Date of birth (1988-05-04) 4 May 1988
Place of birth Antwerp, Belgium
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Roma
Number 4
Youth career
2000–2005 Germinal Beerschot
2005–2007 Piacenza
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2010 Piacenza 71 (4)
2010 → Cagliari (loan) 7 (0)
2010–2014 Cagliari 131 (7)
2014 → Roma (loan) 17 (2)
2014– Roma 79 (12)
National team‡
2004 Belgium U16 1 (0)
2007 Belgium U19 2 (0)
2008–2009 Belgium U20 2 (0)
2007–2010 Belgium U21 13 (1)
2009– Belgium 24 (6)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:00, 26 October 2016 (UTC).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 1 July 2016

Radja Nainggolan (born 4 May 1988) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Italian club A.S. Roma and the Belgian national team.

He spent most of his professional career in Italy, representing Piacenza, Cagliari and Roma and making over 200 Serie A appearances.

A Belgian international since 2009, Nainggolan appeared for the country at Euro 2016.

Early life

Nainggolan was born in Antwerp, the son of Lizy Bogaerts, a Belgian of Flemish ethnicity who raised him with his three half brothers and his twin sister,[1][2] and Marianus Nainggolan, an Indonesian of Batak background and member of the Batak Christian Protestant Church[3] who left them with nothing when he was just a child.[4]

Nainggolan's mother died in 2010,[5] and after her death he tattooed two large wings on his back with her dates of birth and death.[4][6] He was raised Roman Catholic and speaks Dutch, English and Italian fluently, as well as understanding French.[7][8]

Club career

Piacenza

Nainggolan arrived at Piacenza Calcio 1919 in late 2005 at the age of 17, from local K.F.C. Germinal Beerschot. Still a junior he managed to appear in two Serie B games for the club, over the course of two separate seasons.

Nainggolan played 38 matches in the 2008–09 campaign for the Emilia-Romagna side, scoring three goals for an eventual 10th-place finish.

Cagliari

On 27 January 2010, Nainggolan was loaned to Cagliari Calcio in Serie A,[9] with the Sardinians having an option to buy the player permanently at the end of the season. He made his league debut on 7 February, playing seven minutes in a 0–3 away loss against Inter Milan.[10]

On 21 June 2010, Cagliari acquired Nainggolan on a permanent basis. In early October 2013, after three seasons as an undisputed first-choice,[11] he renewed his contract until 2016.[12]

However, on 7 January of the following year, Nainggolan was loaned to fellow league team A.S. Roma until the end of the campaign for a fee of €3 million, with an option to purchase 50% of his rights in the ensuing summer for €6 million.[13][14]

Roma

Nainggolan made his debut for his new club on 9 January 2014, starting in a 1–0 home win over U.C. Sampdoria for the season's Coppa Italia which qualified to the quarter-finals.[15] In the same competition, he also helped dispose of Juventus F.C. in said stage by playing the full 90 minutes 12 days later.[16]

On 22 February 2014, Nainggolan scored his first goal for the capital side, grabbing the 1–0 winner against Bologna F.C. 1909.[17] His second, which arrived on 19 April against ACF Fiorentina (same result) ensured his team automatic qualification to the UEFA Champions League.[18]

Nainggolan signed a permanent deal with Roma in the 2015 off-season, for €9 million.[19] On 6 July of the following year, after being the subject of three bids from Chelsea, with the last one reportedly valued at €40 million, he decided to stay after receiving an improved contract until June 2020.[20][21]

International career

Nainggolan in action for Belgium under-21s in 2009

Nainggolan earned his first cap for Belgium on 29 May 2009, against Chile in the Kirin Cup.[22] On 5 March 2014 he scored his first goal for the Red Devils, in a 2–2 friendly draw with Côte d'Ivoire.[18]

On 13 May 2014, Nainggolan was selected in a standby list for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.[23][24] He did not make the final cut, however.

Nainggolan was an undisputed starter for the Marc Wilmots-led Red Devils during the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying campaign,[25] scoring in an away draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina[26] and a 4–1 win in Andorra as the team qualified for the tournament for the first time in 16 years.[27]

Nainggolan was selected to the finals in France.[28] He made his debut in the tournament on 13 June, playing 62 minutes in a 0–2 loss against Italy.[29] After featuring as a second-half substitute in the second game, a 3–0 defeat of the Republic of Ireland,[30] he returned to the starting XI against Sweden, scoring the game's only goal at the Stade de Nice after a counter-attack to send his country to the knockout stage as second;[31] in the quarter-finals, he netted from 25 meters to put his country ahead against Wales after 12 minutes, but in an eventual 1–3 loss.[32]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 26 October 2016[33][34]
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
Division AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Piacenza 2005–06 Serie B1000——10
2006–07 1000——10
2007–08 10010——110
2008–09 38310——393
2009–10 21110——221
Total 71430——744
Cagliari 2009–10 Serie A7000——70
2010–11 36220——382
2011–12 37120——391
2012–13 34210——352
2013–14 17210——182
Total 131760—1377
Roma 2013–14 Serie A17230——202
2014–15 3552090—465
2015–16 3560070—426
2016–17 910050—141
Total 961450210—12214
Career total 29825140210—34325

International

As of match played 1 July 2016[35]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Belgium 200910
201110
201210
201310
201442
201592
201672
Total246

International goals

As of match played 1 July 2016 (Belgium score listed first, score column indicates score after each Nainggolan goal)[35]
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 5 March 2014King Baudouin, Brussels, Belgium5 Ivory Coast2–02–2Friendly
2 13 October 2014Bilino Polje, Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina8 Bosnia and Herzegovina1–11–1UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying
3 7 June 2015Stade de France, Paris, France11 France3–04–3Friendly
4 10 October 2015Estadi Nacional, Andorra la Vella, Andorra15 Andorra1–04–1UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying
5 22 June 2016Stade de Nice, Nice, France22 Sweden1–01–0UEFA Euro 2016
6 1 July 2016Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France24 Wales1–01–3UEFA Euro 2016

Honours

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Tottenham incar Radja Nainggolan" [Tottenham wants Radja Nainggolan] (in Indonesian). Tempo. 12 June 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  2. ↑ "Radja Nainggolan diincar klub besar Eropa" (in Indonesian). Ganlob. 16 June 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  3. ↑ "Radja Nainggolan bangga bermarga Batak" (in Indonesian). Mahasiswa Batak. June 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  4. 1 2 "La GdS racconta Nainggolan: cresciuto senza padre, salvato dalla madre" [GdS tells of Nainggolan: grown up without a father, rescued by mother] (in Italian). Il Vero Milanista. 29 December 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  5. ↑ "Grave lutto per Nainggolan" [Serious mourning for Nainggolan] (in Italian). Tutto Cagliari. 19 October 2010. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  6. ↑ "5 cose da sapere su Radja Nainggolan" [5 things you should know about Radja Nainggolan] (in Italian). Squer. 7 January 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  7. ↑ "Radja Nainggolan, serramannese d'adozione" [Radja Nainggolan, serramannese by adoption] (in Italian). A Serramanna. 11 May 2011. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  8. ↑ "Sorpresa Nainggolan: 'A Firenze meglio che a Lecce'" [Surprise Nainggolan: 'Better in Florence than Lecce'] (in Italian). Calcio Mercato. 3 December 2010. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  9. ↑ "Nainggolan: "Vengo per migliorare" – "La Serie A è un sogno"" [Nainggolan: "I come to improve" – "Serie A is a dream"] (in Italian). Cagliari Calcio. 27 January 2010. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  10. ↑ Internazionale 3–0 Cagliari; ESPN Soccernet, 7 February 2010
  11. ↑ "È Nainggolan il re dei contrasti" [Nainggolan is the king of tackles] (in Italian). Cagliari News 24. 29 May 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  12. ↑ "Cagliari, Nainggolan: rinnovo e scaramanzia per allontanare le big" [Cagliari, Nainggolan: renewal and good luck to stave off the big] (in Italian). Tutto Mercato Web. 5 October 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  13. ↑ "Radja Nainggolan" (PDF) (in Italian). A.S. Roma. 7 January 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  14. ↑ Nainggolan coming to Roma; UEFA.com, 7 January 2014
  15. ↑ "Coppa Italia, Roma-Sampdoria 1–0, decide Torosidis: c'è la Juventus nei quarti" [Italian Cup, Roma-Sampdoria 1–0, Torosidis decides it: it's Juventus in last-eight] (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 9 January 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  16. ↑ "Roma-Juventus 1–0: Vendetta servita, Gervinho manda la Lupa in semifinale" [Roma-Juventus 1–0: Revenge served, Gervinho sennds Lupa to semifinals] (in Italian). Goal.com. 21 January 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  17. ↑ "Nainggolan's first Roma goal sinks Bologna". Reuters. 22 February 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
  18. 1 2 "World Cup watch: Lionel Messi, Radamel Falcao & Carlos Tevez". BBC Sport. 21 April 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
  19. ↑ "Operazioni di mercato – Radja Nainggolan" [Transfer market – Radja Nainggolan] (PDF) (in Italian). A.S. Roma. 24 June 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  20. ↑ "Nainggolan: 'Staying at Roma'". Football Italia. 6 July 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  21. ↑ "Chelsea target Radja Nainggolan staying at Roma". Sky Sports. 6 July 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
  22. ↑ Kirin Cup: De Laet , Kitoko et Nainggolan aussi (Kirin Cup: De Laet, also Kitoko and Nainggolan); DH, 27 May 2009 (French)
  23. ↑ "World Cup squad announcement – Belgium". Twitter. 13 May 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  24. ↑ "Januzaj makes Belgium provisional World Cup squad". Goal.com. 13 May 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  25. ↑ "Nainggolan, Januzaj, Batshuayi and other tricky questions for Wilmots". Belgo Foot. 19 March 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  26. ↑ "Belgium make point at Bosnia and Herzegovina". UEFA.com. 13 October 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  27. ↑ "Belgium stroll past Andorra to qualify". UEFA.com. 10 October 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  28. ↑ "Marc Wilmots unveils Belgium squad for Euro 2016". Sky Sports. 31 May 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  29. ↑ "Impressive Italy leave Belgium floored". UEFA.com. 13 June 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  30. ↑ "Romelu Lukaku scores twice as Belgium beat Rep of Ireland". ESPN FC. 18 June 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  31. ↑ "Belgium send Sweden and Zlatan Ibrahimovic packing from Euro 2016". ESPN FC. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  32. ↑ "Wales shock Belgium to reach semifinals at Euro 2016". ESPN FC. 1 July 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  33. ↑ "R. Nainggolan". Soccerway. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  34. ↑ "Radja Nainggolan". Footballdatabase. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  35. 1 2 "Radja Nainggolan". Royal Belgian Football Association. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  36. ↑ "Oscar del Calcio, dominio Juve. Buffon: "Donnarumma ha doti da grande"" [Serie A Oscars, Juve dominate. Buffon: "Donnarumma has the characteristics to be great"] (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 14 December 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
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