René Salomon Olembé-Olembé (born 8 December 1980) is a Cameroonian former professional footballer who played as a left midfielder.

Salomon Olembé
Personal information
Full name René Salomon Olembé-Olembé
Date of birth (1980-12-08) 8 December 1980 (age 43)
Place of birth Yaoundé, Cameroon
Height 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Left midfielder
Youth career
Nantes
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997–2002 Nantes 103 (7)
2001–2002Marseille (loan) 8 (0)
2002–2007 Marseille 67 (1)
2003–2004Leeds United (loan) 12 (0)
2005–2006Al Rayyan (loan) 14 (3)
2007–2008 Wigan Athletic 8 (0)
2009 Kayserispor 17 (1)
2010 Larissa 0 (0)
Total 229 (12)
International career
1997–2007 Cameroon 64 (5)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

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Olembé started his career with Nantes, where he contributed 30 appearances as his side won 2000–01 French Division 1.[1] He also played in the victorious 1999 and 2000 Coupe de France finals and the 1999 Trophée des Champions.[2][3][4] He then transferred to Marseille in 2002. While at Marseille he spent a season on loan at English Premiership strugglers Leeds United and a season at Qatari club Al Rayyan.

After leaving Marseille permanently in 2007, Olembé spent the summer on trial at Premiership newcomers Derby County, where he scored in a friendly match against Burton Albion. However, he was not offered a contract by Derby and, on 4 September, he was snapped up by Wigan Athletic manager Chris Hutchings on a one-year initial contract.[5] He was signed as a replacement for the recently departed Leighton Baines, but only made eight appearances for the Lancashire club.

In April 2008, it was revealed that Olembé would transfer to Turkish club Kayserispor.[6]

In January 2010, in the winter break of his second season in the Süper Lig, Olembé transferred to Greek side Larissa, but spent only a few months with the club before joining English Championship team Burnley on trial in March. He played in a reserve game against Manchester City but was substituted at half-time.[7]

International career

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Olembé holds Cameroonian and French nationalities.[8] He acquired French nationality by naturalization on 17 June 1999.[9]

He made his debut for the Cameroon national team in 1997, and made a total of 64 appearances for his country. He represented Cameroon at the 1998 FIFA World Cup and the 2004 African Cup of Nations.

Career statistics

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Cameroon score shown first[10]

# Date Opponent Result Competition
1 23 April 2000   Somalia 3–0 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
2 29 January 2002   Togo 3–0 2002 Africa Cup of Nations
3 7 February 2002   Mali 3–0 2002 Africa Cup of Nations
4 7 February 2002   Mali 3–0 2002 Africa Cup of Nations

Honours

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Marseille

References

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  1. ^ "CALENDRIER LIGUE 1 2000-01". fcnhisto.fr. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  2. ^ "Nantes : seule la victoire est belle". ladepeche.fr. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  3. ^ "France Cup 1999/2000". RSSSF. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  4. ^ "Girondins de Bordeaux - FC Nantes". ligue1.com. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  5. ^ "Wigan sign Cameroon star Olembe". BBC Sport. 4 September 2007. Retrieved 4 September 2007.
  6. ^ "Olembe to Kayserispor". Vitalfootball. 15 April 2008. Archived from the original on 7 April 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2008.
  7. ^ "Olembe plays in reserves". Clarets-Mad. 1 March 2010. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  8. ^ "Joueur".
  9. ^ "JORF n° 0140 du 19 juin 1999 - Légifrance". www.legifrance.gouv.fr. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  10. ^ "Home". RSSSF.
  11. ^ "Marseille 5-1 Deportivo (Aggregate: 5 - 3)". uefa.com. Archived from the original on 31 May 2006. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
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