Christopher Samba is a Congolese defender well-known in Russia who was remembered for his appearances for Makhachkala's Anzhi and Dynamo Moscow. However, he spent his career not only in Russia, although it is worth noting that the athlete reached the peak there. What other clubs did Christopher Samba play in and what successes did he achieve?
Carier start
Christopher Samba was born March 28, 1984 in France in a family of Congolese immigrants. At thirteen, he joined the football academy of the club D'Issy les Molino, but spent only two years there. Then he moved for another two years to another academy at the Rouen club and only in 2001 entered the Sedan system, with which he signed a professional contract in 2002. However, Samba did not immediately make it to the base: he spent two years in the double, periodically calling himself into the adult team. But at the same time the footballer came out only three times. As a result, his short-term contract came to an end, Christopher Samba was forced to look for a new club - a young defender sheltered Berlin “Hertha”.
Go to Hertha
Christopher Samba is a football player who was not distinguished by outstanding abilities, no one saw a star in him. When he moved to the Hertha, he was already twenty years old, and on his account there were only three matches in the Third French League. But the Berlin club did not see him as a base player. Samba played for the double, but appeared in the main team much more often than in France. For a year and a half, he spent 32 matches, after which he was sold to Blackburn for five hundred thousand euros.
The game for Blackburn
In January 2007, the 22-year-old Samba moved to Blackburn, where he was finally able to find a club for himself where he could calmly perform at his own level and develop. The footballer immediately became a base player and spent a total of five years for the English team. During this time, he entered the field in 185 matches, scoring 18 goals. It was in Blackburn that Samba, unnoticed by everyone, became a rather interesting footballer who even aroused interest in other more prestigious clubs. However, in the end, everyone decided the money that the rich Russian club Anji had offered him at that time, which bought up many talented players.
Moving to "Russia"
In February 2012, Samba became an Anji player - the club paid 14 million euros for it. For the year there, Christopher Samba, a soccer player who showed his best side in England, spent 39 matches, scoring four goals. In “Anji”, he reached the peak of his career and immediately received an even more impressive offer from the English “CRC”, which paid Makhachkala residents fifteen million euros.
Short term in KPR
However, in the "CRC" Samba was not destined to linger. He spent ten matches for a new club, which eventually flew to the Championship. As a result, Christopher, as one of the highest paid players, was forced to leave the club, which could no longer afford to support him.
Return to Russia
Samba returned to Anji in July 2013, spent five matches for the club, after which he was bought by Dynamo Moscow for ten million euros. In the remaining half of the season he played in 11 matches, but next year he had already played 37 matches on the field. But in the 15/16 season, an unpleasant incident happened to him. After the athlete went to Turkey to move to play there, since Dynamo was selling all foreign players due to problems with financial fair play, it turned out that he had health problems requiring surgical intervention. The transfer failed, and Samba spent the whole season in the infirmary, having entered the field only four times. In the summer of 2016, on the last day of the transfer window, he still moved to the Greek Panathinaikos, for which he has currently played three matches.
Team appearances
Christopher Samba played 26 matches for the Congo national team. He made his debut in September 2004 in a game against the Togo national team. And he played his last match in September 2013 - it was a duel against the Niger national team.