Japhet N'Doram

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Japhet N'Doram

| image =

| caption =

| fullname =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1966|2|27|df=y}}

| birth_place = N'Djamena, Chad

| height = 1.82 m

| position = Striker

| youthyears1 =

| youthclubs1 = Tourbillon

| years1 = 1984–1988

| clubs1 = Tourbillon

| caps1 =

| goals1 =

| years2 = 1988–1990

| clubs2 = Tonnerre Yaoundé

| caps2 = ?

| goals2 = 33

| years3 = 1990–1997

| clubs3 = Nantes

| caps3 = 192

| goals3 = 72

| years4 = 1997–1998

| clubs4 = Monaco

| caps4 = 13

| goals4 = 1

| totalcaps =

| totalgoals =

| nationalyears1 = 1989–1997

| nationalteam1 = Chad

| nationalcaps1 = 36

| nationalgoals1 = 13

| manageryears1 = 2007

| managerclubs1 = Nantes

}}

Japhet N'Doram ({{langx|ar|يافث ندورام}}; born 27 February 1966) is a Chadian former professional footballer who played as a striker.

His 14-year senior career was mainly spent with Nantes, which he represented in several capacities. He was nicknamed The Wizard.[http://www.afrik.com/article20970.html Japhet N’Doram, le sorcier tchadien (Japhet N’Doram, the Chadian wizard)]; Afrik Foot, 10 October 2010 (in French)

Club career

Born in N'Djamena, N'Doram begun his career with local Tourbillon FC, then spent three seasons in Cameroon with Tonnerre Yaoundé, one of the biggest clubs in Sub-Saharan Africa. In 1990 the 24-year-old signed for FC Nantes in France, scoring two goals in 19 games in his first season in Ligue 1; his first professional contract arrived as Argentine Jorge Burruchaga was recovering from injury and accepted to be given an amateur licence on behalf of his teammate.[http://footnostalgie.free.fr/ndoram.htm Japhet N'Doram, le buteur sensible (Japhet N'Doram, the sensible scorer)]; at Foot Nostalgie (in French)

N'Doram became something of a cult hero at Stade de la Beaujoire, scoring important goals as the club's 2000th in the top division, through a penalty against Lille OSC (1–0 win) or the second in a 3–2 home triumph against Juventus FC in the 1995–96 UEFA Champions League semi-finals (3–4 aggregate loss).[http://tchachadi.com/japhet_ndoram_surnomme_le_sorcier_de_la_beaujoire.aspx Japhet N’Doram: le sorcier de La Beaujoire (Japhet N’Doram: the wizard of La Beaujoire)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120422105234/http://tchachadi.com/japhet_ndoram_surnomme_le_sorcier_de_la_beaujoire.aspx |date=22 April 2012 }}; at Tchachadi (in French) In 1994–95, he netted 12 goals as Les Canaris won their seventh national championship – the first in 12 years – bettering to a career-best 21 in the 1996–97 campaign (second-best in the competition).

Aged 31, N'Doram left Nantes and signed for fellow league side AS Monaco FC, winning the 1997 Trophée des Champions,{{cite news |url=https://www.ogcnice.com/en/news/20985/beziers-17-ans-plus-tard |title=Béziers, 17 ans plus tard |publisher=ogcnice.com |accessdate=6 January 2020 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} but retired at the end of the season following a persistent injury sustained during a match against his former team. He then joined his last club's technical staff, working as a scout.

N'Doram returned to Nantes on 28 June 2005, replacing Robert Budzynski as director of football. In February 2007 he was appointed team manager, leaving his post in July as the season ended in relegation.[http://www.journaldutchad.com/article.php?aid=307 Japhet N’Doram, l’ancien international tchadien de Nantes et Monaco (Japhet N’Doram, former Chad international of Nantes and Monaco)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170921000434/http://www.journaldutchad.com/article.php?aid=307 |date=21 September 2017 }}; Journal du Tchad, 5 November 2010 (in French)[https://www.ouest-france.fr/pays-de-la-loire/loire-atlantique/ndoram-la-voix-des-champs-4438999 N'Doram, la voix des champs (N'Doram, the voice of champs)]; Ouest-France, 26 August 2016 (in French)

Personal life

N'Doram holds Chadian and French nationalities.https://www.ligue1.fr/joueur?id=japhet-ndoram {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230716103445/https://www.ligue1.fr/joueur?id=japhet-ndoram |date=16 July 2023 }} {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2024}} His son, Kévin, is also a footballer. He played for Monaco.[http://sport24.lefigaro.fr/football/ligue-1/actualites/germain-et-n-doram-tel-peres-tel-fils-859851 Germain et N’Doram, tels pères, tels fils (Germain and N’Doram, like fathers, like sons)]; Le Figaro, 18 May 2017 (in French)

Career statistics

rowspan="2"\|Club !rowspan="2"\|Season !colspan="3"\|League !colspan="2"\|Cup !colspan="2"\|Continental !colspan="2"\|Total
class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" \|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition{{cite web\|url=https://www.pari-et-gagne.com/joueur/japhet_ndoram.html\|title=Japhet N'Doram\|publisher=Pari et Gagne\|language=French\|accessdate=10 February 2017}}{{citation needed\|date=January 2025}}
Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
rowspan="5"\|Tourbillon \|1984 \|rowspan="5"\|Chad Premier League							\|
1985							\|
1986							\|
1987							\|
1988							\|
rowspan="3"\|Tonnerre \|1988 \|rowspan="3"\|Elite One							\|
1989	\|15						15
1990 \|32	18					32	18
rowspan="8"\|Nantes Atlantique \|1990–91 \|rowspan="7"\|French Division 1 \|19	2	3	1	0	0	22	3
1991–92 \|25	4	1	0	0	0	26	4
1992–93 \|31	10	5	0	0	0	36	10
1993–94 \|26	8	4	0	1	0	31	8
1994–95 \|32	12	1	1	8	3	41	16
1995–96 \|24	15	2	1	7	3	33	19
1996–97 \|35	21	0	0	0	0	35	21
colspan="2"\|Total !192	72	17	3	16	6	225	81
Monaco \|1997–98 \|French Division 1 \|13	1	1	2	2	0	16	3
colspan="3"\|Career total !237	91	18	5	18	6	273	102

Honours

Nantes Atlantique

French Division 1: 1994–95

AS Monaco

Trophée des Champions: 1997

Individual

French Division 1 Foreign Player of the Year: 1994{{cite web |url=https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/franpoy.html |title=France – Footballer of the Year |first1=Erik |last1=Garin |first2=José Luis |last2=Pierrend |publisher=Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF) |date=18 January 2018 |access-date=10 April 2018 |archive-date=5 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905115225/http://rsssf.com/miscellaneous/franpoy.html |url-status=live }}
1995 Ballon d'Or:nominated