Leon_Balogun

Leon Balogun

Leon Balogun

German-born Nigerian footballer (born 1988)

Leon Aderemi Balogun (born 28 June 1988) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or right-back for Rangers and the Nigeria national team. Balogun has previously played for Türkiyemspor Berlin, Hannover 96, Werder Bremen, Fortuna Düsseldorf, Darmstadt 98, Mainz 05, Brighton & Hove Albion, Wigan Athletic, a previous spell at Rangers and Queens Park Rangers.

Quick Facts Personal information, Full name ...

Club career

Early career

He made his Bundesliga debut on 19 April 2009 for Hannover 96 in a game against Hamburger SV.[5]

After his contract with 2. Bundesliga side Fortuna Düsseldorf expired in summer 2014, he was without a club for three months until he joined fellow leaguer Darmstadt 98. He signed a contract until the end of the 2014–15 season.[6]

Brighton & Hove Albion

On 22 May 2018, Balogun signed a two-year deal with Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion.[7]

Balogun made his competitive debut for the Sussex club coming on as an early substitute against Manchester United replacing injured Lewis Dunk. The Seagulls went on to beat United 3–2 at Falmer Stadium.[8]

He scored his first goal for the Albion to make it 2–0 against bitter rivals Crystal Palace at Falmer Stadium where he scored in 25 seconds after being subbed on replacing Pascal Groß as a result of a Shane Duffy red card for head butting. The game finished 3–1 to the Albion to claim the boasting rights in the M23 derby.[9]

On 27 August 2019, Balogun played in his first ever EFL Cup match in a 2–1 away win over Bristol Rovers.[10]

Wigan Athletic

Balogun signed for Wigan Athletic on 31 January 2020 on a six-month loan deal.[11] On 25 June 2020, he signed a short term permanent contract with the Latics until the end of the 2019–20 season.[12]

Rangers

Balogun signed for Scottish Premiership club Rangers on 24 July 2020 on a one-year contract, with an option in the club's favour to extend for a further year.[13] He made his debut for Rangers a week later, on 1 August, in a Scottish Premiership match against Aberdeen where he impressed during a 1–0 win.[14] During February 2021, he deputised at right back after an injury to club captain James Tavernier and the suspension of reserve player Nathan Patterson. Balogun previously played at right back earlier in his career when in Germany.[15]

On 9 April 2021, Balogun signed a new one-year contract with Rangers.[16] He scored his first goal for the club on 27 October 2021, in a Europa League group stage match against Brøndby IF.[17] Balogun left Rangers in June 2022 after his contract expired, with his final appearance coming in their 2022 Scottish Cup Final victory.[18][19] Rangers legend Ally McCoist commented two months later that he had been "surprised" by Balogun's departure, and suggested that the club should re-sign him.[18]

Queens Park Rangers

Balogun signed a one-year contract with Queens Park Rangers on 26 August 2022.[20] He scored his first goal for the club on 22 October 2022, which proved to be the winner, against his former club Wigan Athletic.[21]

Return to Rangers

He returned to Rangers on 12 July 2023, a year after departing from the club as a free agent. His return was one celebrated by the club and its fans, as well as Balogun himself, who felt as though he had “come home”.[22]

International career

Balogun with Nigeria against Iceland at the 2018 FIFA World Cup

Born to a Nigerian father and German mother, Balogun was called up by Nigeria for a March 2014 friendly against Mexico as a replacement for Joseph Yobo.[23] Balogun entered at half-time, but was injured after 20 minutes in a collision with signage on the touchline. He fractured his foot and was set to miss 2–3 months after surgery. However, he later confirmed to news media that his injury did not require surgery.[24][25]

On 25 March 2015, he played his second game for Nigeria in a 1–0 loss against Uganda. He played his third game for the country on 13 June 2015 when he featured in a 2–0 win over Chad in the opening game of qualifying for the 2017 African Nations Cup.

In June 2018, he was named in Nigeria's final 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[26] Balogun played in every minute of the three games Nigeria played in, including a 2–0 win over Iceland, but were eliminated after finishing 3rd in their group.[27]

Balogun was included in Nigeria's squad for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.[28] His first appearance in the competition came in Nigeria's second group game against Guinea in which Nigeria won 1–0 to seal qualification into the knockouts.[29] Balogun made 4 appearances in the competition where The Super Eagles finished as bronze medallists.[30]

Personal life

Balogun was born in Berlin, West Germany[31] to a Nigerian-Yoruba father and a German mother.[32] Balogun was raised Roman Catholic and attended a Catholic primary school, but was not religious as a child.[33] However, during the hardships of his early footballing career he became more devout.[33][34] Balogun speaks fluent English and German, but does not speak Yoruba, as his parents tried to assimilate him into German culture.[32]

In November 2019 Balogun said there needed to be a collective response from players to racism in football.[35]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 30 December 2023[36]
More information Club, Season ...
  1. Includes DFB-Pokal, FA Cup, Scottish Cup
  2. Includes EFL Cup, Scottish League Cup
  3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. One appearance in UEFA Champions League, ten appearances and two goals in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 13 June 2022[37]
More information National team, Year ...
Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Balogun goal.[37]
More information No., Date ...

Honours

Rangers

Nigeria

References

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    "Leon Balogun: Overview". ESPN. Archived from the original on 13 August 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
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    "Leon Balogun: Overview". Premier League. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  4. [4]
    Leon Balogun at WorldFootball.net
  5. [5]
    "Petric als Blitzarbeiter" (in German). kicker.de. Archived from the original on 11 June 2009. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
  6. [6]
    "Lilien verstärken sich mit Leon Balogun" [Lilien strengthens with Leon Balogun] (in German). SV Darmstadt 98. 2 October 2014. Archived from the original on 4 October 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  7. [7]
    "Leon Balogun: Brighton sign Nigeria international on free transfer". BBC Sport. 22 May 2018. Archived from the original on 5 August 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  8. [8]
    "Brighton 3–2 Man Utd: Brighton score three first-half goals to stun visitors – BBC Sport". BBC Sport. 19 August 2018. Archived from the original on 10 May 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
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    "Brighton 3–1 Crystal Palace: Ten-man Seagulls sweep Eagles aside – BBC Sport". BBC Sport. 4 December 2018. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
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    "Bristol Rovers v Brighton & Hove Albion - BBC Sport". BBC Sport. 27 August 2019. Archived from the original on 27 August 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  11. [11]
    "LATICS COMPLETE LOAN SIGNING OF BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION DEFENDER LEON BALOGUN". Wigan Athletic FC. 31 January 2020. Archived from the original on 31 January 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
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    "Update | Wigan Athletic Player Contracts". Wigan Athletic. 26 June 2020. Archived from the original on 28 June 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
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    "Rangers: Leon Balogun exits at end of contract along with Andy Firth". BBC Sport. BBC. 3 June 2022. Archived from the original on 3 June 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  20. [20]
    "Leon Balogun: QPR sign ex-Rangers defender on one-year deal". BBC Sport. 26 August 2022. Archived from the original on 26 August 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  21. [21]
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  22. [22]
    "Leon Balogun: It Feels Like Coming Home". Rangers F.C. 12 July 2023. Archived from the original on 17 December 2023. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  23. [23]
    "Joseph Yobo ruled out of Nigeria friendly against Mexico". BBC Sport. 4 March 2014. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
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    "New Eagles star Balogun out for 2 months". MTNFootball.com. Archived from the original on 7 March 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
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    Udoh, Colin (3 June 2018). "Super Eagles drop Aina, Agu from World Cup squad". ESPN. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2018.
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    "World Cup - Football - BBC Sport". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 2 July 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
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  30. [30]
    "Africa Cup of Nations third-place play-off - Tunisia 0–1 Nigeria - Live - BBC Sport". BBC Sport. 17 July 2019. Archived from the original on 17 July 2019. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  31. [31]
    "Leon Balogun: Profile". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  32. [32]
    "Why I did not learn Yoruba — Leon Balogun". Nigeria Village Square. 23 March 2014. Archived from the original on 26 August 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  33. [33]
    Dede, Steve (11 September 2017). "Bologun said he found strength in religion when he was struggling to make the grade as a teenager". pulse.ng. Archived from the original on 26 August 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  34. [34]
    Gleeson, Patrick (16 June 2018). "Leon Balogun: What can Premier League fans expect from Nigeria star?". Sporting News. Archived from the original on 26 August 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  35. [35]
    "Nigeria's Leon Balogun says fight against racism is a collective responsibility". BBC Sport. 5 December 2019. Archived from the original on 5 December 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  36. [36]
    Leon Balogun at Soccerway
  37. [37]
    "Leon Balogun". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
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