Marvelous Nakamba
| Marvelous Nakamba | |
|---|---|
| Born | Marvelous Nakamba January 19, 1994 |
| Residence | United Kingdom |
| Nationality | Zimbabwean |
| Education | Njube High School |
| Occupation |
|
| Years active | 2010 |
| Employer | Aston Villa |
| Known for | Playing for Aston Villa |
| Notable work | Became one of the youngest players to play in the Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League |
| Home town | Bulawayo |
Marvelous Nakamba is a Zimbabwean professional footballer who plays for Luton Town Football Club in the English Premier League and also a senior squad member of the Zimbabwe National Football Team. His joining of the club was officially announced on 20 July 2023.
Before joining Luton Town from Aston Villa, Nakamba played for Belgian giants Club Brugge whom he had joined from Dutch side Vitesse.
Background
Marvelous was born on 19 January 1994.[1]
Cars
Marvelous Nakamba bought a Lamborghini Aventador SVJ in 2021. Nakamba was spotted arriving at his training sessions at Aston Villa in a number of luxurious vehicles such as a Mercedes Benz CLA-250 Coupe and a Brabus 800 Widestar.[2]
Education
He did his secondary education at Njube High School in Bulawayo[1]
Career
Marvelous professional debut came at Bantu Rovers Football Club in 2010, when he became one of
the youngest players ever to feature in the local premiership, after turning out for Bantu at 16 in 2010.[3]
He played for the Methembe Ndlovu’s side from 2010 to 2012 when he was sent on trials to AS Nancy reserve team of France in July 2012 [4]
After a trial stint at Cercle Brugge in Belgium in April 2012 which was yet to be finalised by the time he signed for Vitesse.
In 2014 he then joined Nancy's, first team, making 2 appearances against Angers SCO on 9 May 2014 [5] and he came on as a substitute against AJ Auxerre on 16 May 2014 [6] before he joined Vitesse.
On 30 July 2014, while on trials at Vitesse Marvelous played against Chelsea when he came on as a substitute replacing Marko Verjinovic, he then signed a 4-year contract on the 13th of August 2014.[7]
Club Brugge
On 20 June 2017, Nakamba joined Belgian side Club Brugge on a four-year deal for a fee around the margin of £4 million, aged 23 years.
He made his league debut for the club on 29 July 2017 in a 4–0 away victory over Sporting Lokeren.
He was replaced by Hans Vanaken in the 75th minute, having picked up a yellow card.
Aston Villa
On 1 August 2019, Marvelous Nakamba signed for Aston Villa aged 25 years, for a fee of €12 million.
He joined up with former Club Brugge team-mate Wesley Moraes and former Club Brugge player Björn Engels, who had already joined Villa in that transfer window.
Nakamba made five appearances for the club in the Champions League against AS Monaco, Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid.
Nakamba made his first appearance for Villa in a 6–1 emphatic victory against Crewe Alexandra in an EFL Cup game.
After the game, former Zimbabwean footballer Peter Ndlovu confirmed that Nakamba would have a statue built in his honour in Hwange, as he was only the 4th Zimbabwean player to play in the English Football League after him, Bruce Grobbelaar and Benjani Mwaruwari.
Nakamba made his Premier League debut on 16 September 2019, in a 0–0 draw against West Ham at Villa Park.
On 31 January 2023, English Championship club Luton FC announced they had signed Nakamba from Aston Villa on a loan deal for the rest of the 2022/23 season.[8]
Luton Town
On 20 July 2023, Luton Town Football Club announced they had signed Nakamba from Aston Villa on a three-year deal.[9]
National Team Caps
Marvelous Nakamba represented Zimbabwe at the young warriors under 20 level under coach Taurai Mangwiro in 2013.
He also represented the Young Warriors under 23 side and made his appearance against Morocco on the 15th of November 2014.
Nakamba made his Warriors debut against Malawi during the 2015/16 season. He has since represented Zimbabwe 26 times including at the Africa Cup of Nations finals in 2017, 2019 and in 2021.
Awards
- Won the KNVB Beker Cup with Vitesse in 2017.
- Won the Belgian First Division with Club Brugge in 2018.
- 2023 Football League Championship play-off final Trophy
Teams Played For
- Club Brugge
- AS Nancy
- Vitesse
- Bantu Rovers Football Club
- Aston Villa
- Luton Town
Injury History
11 December 2021
On 11 December 2021, Marvellous Nakamba sustained a knee injury in Aston Villa's 1-0 defeat to Liverpool.[10]
Nakamba underwent surgery to fix the issues and was expected to be out for between 12 to 16 weeks. The 12 to 16-week estimate after his surgery suggested that Nakamba could have injured the medial collateral ligament (MCL).[11]
Picture Gallery
in new Aston Villa shirt
Portrait
Marvelous Nakamba Before Villa
Nakamba in Warriors Match
Marvelous Nakamba Portrait
Marvelous Nakamba at the airport in October 2020
Marvelous Nakamba First Class Plane in October 2020
Trivia
- Nakamba became one of the youngest players to play in the local premier league
- In October 2019, a video purportedly showing racist chants from Aston Villa fans about Nakamba and teammate John McGinn surfaced, and was condemned by the club.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Marvelous Nakamba, ‘’Facebook Profile’’, Published: No Date Given, Retrieved: June 24, 2015
- ↑ Nakamba splashes US$400 000 on new Lamborghini, Zimbabwe Independent, Published: May 14, 2021, Retrieved: January 19, 2022
- ↑ Munashe Ndoro, Nakamba tipped for success, ‘’The Zimbabwean’’, Published 12 February 2013, Retrieved: 14 November 2014
- ↑ Sukholuhle Mthetwa, Nakamba keen to impress,’’NewsDay Sports’’, Published: 31 December 2012, Retrieved: 14 November 2014
- ↑ [1], League 1 Match Stats, Published: 9 May 2014, Retrieved: 14 November 2014
- ↑ [2], ‘’League 1 Match Stats’’, Published: 16 may 2014, Retrieved: 14 November 2014
- ↑ Marvelous Nakamba signs a 4-year contract, ‘’Soccer24.co.zw’’, Published: 14 August 2014, Retrieved: 14 November 2014
- ↑ Marvelous Nakamba joins Luton Town on loan!, Luton F.C, 31 January 2023, Retrieved: 02 February 2023
- ↑ OFFICIAL: Marvelous Nakamba Joins Luton Town On A Three-year Deal, Pindula News, Published: 20 July 2023, Retrieved: 21 July 2023
- ↑ FORTUNE MBELE, Nakamba injury a blow: Villa legend, NewsDay, Published: December 18, 2021, Retrieved: February 4, 2022
- ↑ Patrick Rowe, Marvelous Nakamba's injury details revealed as expert provides positive Aston Villa update, Birmingham Mail, Published: December 23, 2021, Retrieved: February 4, 2022
