On This Day 2002: Bruno N'Gotty joins Bolton

28th January 2002, and a struggling Bolton Wanderers made on-loan French defender Bruno N'Gotty's loan move permanent, by paying Marseille £500,000 and signing him up on a four year deal.

N'Gotty has started his career at Lyon, where he made 237 appearances before joining rivals Paris Saint-Germain.

There he scored the winning goal which defeated Austrian club Rapid Vienna in the 1996 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final, giving PSG their only cup triumph in the tournament.

He was also included in the squad that reached the final again the next year, losing to Barcelona 1-0 at Feyenoord Stadion.

He moved to Italian giants AC Milan in 1998 after 80 appearances for PSG. There he was part of the Serie A winning side, making 25 appearances along the way.

However he fell out of favour the following season and was loaned out to Venezia where he made 16 appearances. That summer he returned to Marseille.

When Sam Allardyce came calling, N'Gotty originally rejected Bolton's loan offer, but later agreed to spend the rest of the season with the club.

He made his Bolton debut against Blackburn Rovers, in a match which finished in a 1-1 draw, on 19 September 2001, but had to wait for his first goal for the club, which came seven months later in a 3-1 defeat at Everton.

In January 2002, this move became permanent, N'Gotty and became a key member of the squad, helping Wanderers avoid relegation.

After this rather disappointing start he became a regular part of the first team and was voted supporters player of the year for the 2005 season.

He expressed a desire to end his career at the Reebok Stadium,but with manager Sam Allardyce wanting to reduce the average age of the squad, N'Gotty was released at the end of his contract in May 2006 following 134 appearances and five goals for the club.

He would spend a further year at Birmingham City, and another 18 months at Leicester City before joining French 6th tier side l'AS Lattes in January 2011, though he soon announced his retirement from the game.

A full French international, he made only 6 appearances for the side, making his debut in August 1994 against Czech Republic, making just five further appearances, none of which came at tournament level.

Honours

A.C. Milan
Serie A: 1998-99

Paris Saint-Germain
Coupe de France: 1997-1998
Coupe de la Ligue: 1997-1998
Trophée des champions: 1995
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1995-96

Career Statistics