Merlin Tandjigora

Merlin Tandjigora
Personal information
Full name	Merlin Koumba Abdoulaye Tandjigora
Date of birth	6 April 1990 (age 34)
Place of birth	Port-Gentil, Gabon
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s)	Central midfielder
Team information
Current team	Vila Real
Number	19
Youth career
1998–2004	Stade Mandji
2004–2008	ENF Port-Gentil
2009–2010	Metz
Senior career*
Years	Team
2008–2009	Stade Mandji
2010–2011	Metz
2010–2011	Metz B
2011–2014	Carquefou
2015	Istres
2015	Leixões
2016	Meizhou Hakka
2017–2018	Belenenses
2018–2019	Belenenses SAD
2019–	Vila Real
International career‡
2008	Gabon U20
2010–	Gabon
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10:02, 2 May 2020 (UTC); ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10:02, 2 May 2020 (UTC)

Merlin Abdoulaye Tandjigora (born 6 April 1990) is a Gabonese professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for S.C. Vila Real.

Career

Born in Port-Gentil, Tandjigora was a player of the national football school located in his hometown.^[2] On 9 July 2010, he became the first player from the academy to sign a professional contract with a European club after signing a one-year contract with Metz.^[3]^[4]

Tandjigora arrived at Metz in 2009 and joined the club's Championnat de France amateur 2 team for the 2009–10 season. He played in 21 matches and scored two goals as the reserve team of Metz were crowned champions of the league finishing with 107 points.^[5] After the season, Tandjigora signed his first professional contract and was, subsequently, promoted to the senior team and assigned the number 12 shirt by new manager Dominique Bijotat. He made his professional debut on 30 July 2010 in a Coupe de la Ligue match against Clermont. Tandjigora started the match and played 76 minutes in a 3–1 defeat.^[6] He made his league debut a week later in a 2–0 defeat to Évian.^[7]

Tandjigora was formerly a Gabonese youth international having earned caps with the nation's under-20 team in qualification for the 2009 African Youth Championship. On 30 September 2010, he was called up to the senior team for the first time by coach Gernot Rohr for matches against Oman and Saudi Arabia.^[8] He competed for Gabon at the 2012 Summer Olympics.^[9]

On 13 December 2019 it was confirmed, that Tandjigore had joined S.C. Vila Real.^[10]

Honours

Club

Stade Mandji

Gabon Championnat National D1: 2009

References

^ "Un sélectionné olympique à l'I2 des professionnels!" (in French). Ligue Atlantique. 5 April 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
^ "Merlin le travailleur" (in French). Le Républicain Lorrain. 10 August 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2010.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "Tandjigora porte le drapeau" (in French). FC Metz. 19 July 2010. Archived from the original on 22 July 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2010.
^ "Premier contrat professionnel de Tandjigora" (in French). Allez Les Pantheres. 15 July 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2010.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "Tandjigora passe pro" (in French). Foot Africa 365. 9 July 2010. Archived from the original on 11 July 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2010.
^ "Clermont v. Metz Match Report" (in French). Ligue de Football Professionnel. 30 July 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2010. ^{[dead link]}
^ "Metz v. Évian Match Report" (in French). Ligue de Football Professionnel. 6 August 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2010.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "Les 22 Panthères de Rohr pour le théâtre arabe" (in French). Gaboneco. 30 September 2010. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
^ "Merlin Tandjigora Bio, Stats, and Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
^ Merlin Tandjigora é reforço do SC Vila Real, desportivotransmontano.com, 13 December 2019

External links

Merlin Tandjigora profile at fcmetz.com
Merlin Tandjigora – French league stats at LFP – also available in French (archived)
Merlin Tandjigora at L'Équipe Football (in French)
Merlin Tandjigora – FIFA competition record (archived)
Merlin Tandjigora at National-Football-Teams.com
Merlin Tandjigora at Soccerway

[1] "Un sélectionné olympique à l'I2 des professionnels!" (in French). Ligue Atlantique. 5 April 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2012.

[2] "Merlin le travailleur" (in French). Le Républicain Lorrain. 10 August 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2010.^{[permanent dead link]}

[3] "Tandjigora porte le drapeau" (in French). FC Metz. 19 July 2010. Archived from the original on 22 July 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2010.

[4] "Premier contrat professionnel de Tandjigora" (in French). Allez Les Pantheres. 15 July 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2010.^{[permanent dead link]}

[5] "Tandjigora passe pro" (in French). Foot Africa 365. 9 July 2010. Archived from the original on 11 July 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2010.

[6] "Clermont v. Metz Match Report" (in French). Ligue de Football Professionnel. 30 July 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2010. ^{[dead link]}

[7] "Metz v. Évian Match Report" (in French). Ligue de Football Professionnel. 6 August 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2010.^{[permanent dead link]}

[8] "Les 22 Panthères de Rohr pour le théâtre arabe" (in French). Gaboneco. 30 September 2010. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2010.

[9] "Merlin Tandjigora Bio, Stats, and Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2019.

[10] Merlin Tandjigora é reforço do SC Vila Real, desportivotransmontano.com, 13 December 2019

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