20 Facts About Umtiti

Umtiti began his professional career with Lyon in 2012, winning both the Coupe de France and Trophee des Champions in his first year.

Umtiti won three Copa del Rey and two La Liga titles at Barcelona.

Umtiti scored the only goal of the match in the semi-final against Belgium.

Umtiti was born in Yaounde, Cameroon, he moved with his family when he was two-years-old to Villeurbanne, France.

Thereafter, Umtiti joined the local football club Menival at the age of five.

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Umtiti made a total of 18 appearances across all competitions in his debut season.

Umtiti finished the season with 32 appearances in all competitions and two goals.

Umtiti picked up a knee injury in September 2016 while in Barcelona training, causing him to miss a crucial La Liga clash against Atletico Madrid.

Now established as first-choice in defence at the club, after Barcelona's subpar 2017 Supercopa de Espana while reeling off the loss of Neymar, Umtiti began the season with great performances, under the guidance of new manager Ernesto Valverde.

Additionally, Umtiti won his first La Liga winners' medal during his second season in Spain, with the defender appearing in 40 games and scoring one goal across all competitions.

Umtiti was named as a substitute for the 2018 Supercopa de Espana behind Pique and a new summer signing Clement Lenglet.

In 2018, Umtiti picked up a knee injury which could have been treated with surgery, but he instead opted for conservative treatment, and proceeded to play in the 2018 World Cup, which he won with France.

However, this choice resulted in Umtiti spending much of the following season with Barcelona injured.

Umtiti was a France youth international, having represented the country from under-17 to under-21 levels.

Umtiti was an integral member of the team that won France's first ever U-20 World Cup in 2013.

Umtiti was born and spent the first two years of his life in Cameroon.

Umtiti, who was at the time uncapped at senior level, was selected by the French national team manager Didier Deschamps to be part of the France's squad for the European Championship in 2016, following an injury to the compatriot Jeremy Mathieu.

Umtiti later earned extremely positive reviews for his performance in the semi-final against the incumbent world champions Germany.

Umtiti is a powerful and rangy left-footed central defender, who is predominantly known for his physical strength, anticipation, pace, ability in the air, and tackling, as well as his distribution, technique, and ability on the ball, which enables him to carry the ball out from the defence, or start attacking plays from the back with his passing.

In 2018, ESPN FC journalist Sam Marsden praised Umtiti's reading of the game, timing and risk-taking, adding that he could lead Barcelona's defence for the next five to 10 years.