Nicholas Lombaerts is the current Belgian footballer, player of the St. Petersburg “Zenith” and the national team of Belgium.
Dossier
Nicholas Lombaerts (photo - below) was born on March 20, 1985 in the city of Bruges. Belgian citizen. The playing position on the football field is the central defender. Height 188 cm, weight 84 kg. Education - College of Law. She speaks fluently in Dutch, English, French, German, Russian. Married.
Club career
The club career of the pupil of the famous football school "Brugge" began in 1991 with performances as part of various youth teams. At the same time, Nicholas Lombaerts played for the youth teams of Belgium (U-16, U-17, U-18). In July 2004, the footballer signed a contract with the Gent team, where he played 76 matches in four seasons (scoring 1 goal).
During a speech at the European Youth Championship in 2007, where the Belgian national team reached the semifinals of the tournament, Nicolas Lombaerts was the best player on the team (its captain). Zenit, Ajax and Anderlecht showed the greatest interest in acquiring a talented footballer from a modest Ghent. In this mini-fight, the wallet of the Russian club won.
In July of that year, Lombaerts became the footballer of the St. Petersburg team. The deal amounted to almost $ 5 million. “Gent” received money, and “Zenith” - one of the best young defenders necessary for the club to successfully fight for the championship in the national championship.
The first year of performance in the championship of Russia for Nicholas was very successful. Having played 13 matches, he won gold medals in the Russian championship. The second season for Nicholas Lomberts was unsuccessful. The player was constantly harassed by serious injuries. It all started with the Zenit European Cup match against the Spanish Villarreal, in which he suffered damage to his left knee. The final matches of the UEFA Cup, in which Zenit became a triumph of the tournament, were held without the participation of Lombaerts. Having barely recovered, in one of the trainings, he tore the cruciate knee ligaments of the same left leg. Therefore, the player was out of action for almost seven months.
The next time Nicholas appeared on the football field on November 16, in the match of the penultimate round of the Russian championship. In the final match, which took place after 6 days, he, having failed to finish the meeting, left the field. Another exit to the green lawn occurred after 5 months. July 19, 2009 Nicholas replaced in a meeting against the team “Terek”.
From 2010 to the present, footballer Nicholas Lombaerts is an indispensable defender of the St. Petersburg club. He plays competently, reliably and tenaciously in his position, which ensures the harmony of the defensive command lines. From 2007 to 2015, Nicholas played 284 matches for the Zenit team in various tournaments, scoring 12 goals.
Trophies and Achievements
Lomberts won all of his major awards and prizes at the Russian Zenit club. Together with the team, he became the four-time winner of the Russian championship, the Cup holder and two-time owner of the country's Super Cup, the silver and bronze medalist of the championship, the winner of the UEFA Cup and Super Cup. In addition, Nicholas five times entered the list of “ the best football players of the championship of Russia”, was recognized as the best foreign player of the championship (2012).
Career Team
From 2001 to 2006, Nicholas Lombaerts was involved in the youth and youth teams of Belgium, in which he played 50 matches, scored 3 goals. The footballer became a participant in the European Championship (U-21). He played his first match for the country's main team in 2006 in a friendly match with the Saudi national team. In this fight, he entered the field a minute before the end of the regular time of the match. The first official game for the national team was played against the Serbian team. In total, during the period from 2007 to 2015, Lombaerts went on the field in the shirt of the Belgian national team 37 times. In these fights, he spent 3 goals against the opponents. In 2014, Nicholas participated in the final games of the World Cup in Brazil.
In the history of football, there were players involved in criminal cases with theft of various goods and jewelry. Cases related to the foreign voyage of Igor Belanov or the same famous Belgian Van Moore, which the "prosecutor’s office" took up, come to mind. In the case of our hero, everything was exactly the opposite. Before the game of the away match with the team of Kazakhstan, he was robbed by an unknown robber. A wallet with money, credit cards, a driver’s license, an expensive mobile phone disappeared.
In conclusion - a few words about the family life of a football player. He is from an ordinary, average Belgian family. Father works as a lawyer, mother runs a household. Nicholas himself has long been married. In 2011, he married a girl named Carolina Van der Sprecht.