Nicolas Lombaerts is a former Belgian professional football player born in 1985.
He played for FC Zenit Saint Petersburg from 2007 to 2017, winning the Russian Premier League title in 2007.
Before joining Zenit, Lombaerts played for KAA Gent from 2004 to 2007, where he became a regular starter.
Biography
Early Life
Nicolas Robert Christian Lombaerts was born in 1985 in Belgium, where he began his journey in football at a young age. He joined Club Brugge, progressing through the youth ranks and winning various league titles as part of a talented generation that included notable players like Jason Vandelannoite and Glenn Verbauwhede. Despite his success, Lombaerts sought more playing time and moved to KAA Gent in 2004, where he quickly established himself as a key player and made his debut for the Belgium national team in 2006.
Professional Career
In July 2007, Lombaerts made a significant career move by transferring to FC Zenit Saint Petersburg in Russia. This decision marked a turning point as he left his studies in law at Ghent University to fully commit to football. At Zenit, he contributed to the team's success, including winning the 2007 Russian Premier League title. However, his career faced challenges, including a serious knee injury that sidelined him for over six months. Lombaerts continued to represent Belgium internationally, debuting in a friendly against Saudi Arabia and participating in Euro 2008 qualifying matches.
Coaching Career
After retiring from professional play, Lombaerts transitioned into coaching. In May 2021, he was appointed as the assistant manager at K.A.A. Gent, returning to the club where he had previously made his mark as a player. His journey from player to coach reflects his deep commitment to the sport and his desire to contribute to the development of future talents in Belgian football.
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Gallery
Career & Clubs
Brugge
Lombaerts joined Club Brugge at young age where he went through all youth ranks. He claimed various league titles at young age as he was part of a strong generation at Brugge, with players such as Jason Vandelannoite, Glenn Verbauwhede and Thomas Matton.
Gent
As his ambition was to play in the starting lineup of a first division team as soon as possible and Club Brugge was not able to guarantee this, he moved to Gent where he soon was able to play almost every match in the 2005–06 Belgian First Division and also got his first appearance for the Belgium national football team. Apart from football, he was at that point still studying law at Ghent University. Several times he was selected for the Belgian national youth teams such as the Belgium national under-21 football team. Highlights were the 2004 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship and the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.
Zenit Saint Petersburg
In July 2007, Lombaerts chose a lucrative transfer to the Zenit Saint Petersburg in Russia. At that point he quit his studies and chose for a football career. Zenit eventually won its first Russian league title with the 2007 Russian Premier League. At the beginning of 2008, Lombaerts was sidelined for over half a year as the result of a knee injury. He received knee injury in UEFA Cup game against Villarreal CF during the attack that led to the only away goal against the Spanish team. His actions in this game (goal…
Lombaerts made his debut for the Belgium national team in May 2006 in a friendly against Saudi Arabia, and played 3 matches in Euro 2008 qualifying. On 26 May 2014, in a pre-World Cup match against Luxembourg, Lombaerts came on as a substitute in the 77th minute for Jan Vertonghen. As Belgium had already made the six permitted substitutions, the match was therefore declared invalid on 4 June.
On 28 May 2021, it was confirmed that Lombaerts would become the assistant manager of Hein Vanhaezebrouck at his former club K.A.A. Gent from the start of the 2021–22 season.
Club
As of 22 December 2017
International
Scores and results list Belgium's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Lombaerts goal.
- Club
- KAA Gent (2004–2007)
- Club
- Belgium men's national football team (2006–2016)
- Club
- Belgium national under-17 association football team (2001–2002)
- Club
- Belgium national under-19 football team
- Club
- Belgium national under-21 football team (2004–2007)
- Club
- KV Oostende (2017–2020)
- National team
- Belgium
- Club
- FC Zenit Saint Petersburg (2007–2017)
Clubs
- Belgium national under-19 football teamcurrent
- Belgium national under-17 association football team2001–2002
- Belgium national under-21 football team2004–2007
- KAA Gent2004–2007
- Belgium men's national football team2006–2016
- FC Zenit Saint Petersburg2007–2017
- KV Oostende2017–2020
Played together with
Aboubakary KoitaKAA Gent- Adekanmi OlufadéKAA Gent · 2006–2010
Ahmed Salah HosnyKAA Gent · 2001–2002
Alan KasaevFC Zenit Saint Petersburg · 2004–2007
Alejandro DomínguezFC Zenit Saint Petersburg · 2007–2009
Aleksandar LukovićFC Zenit Saint Petersburg · 2010–2014
Aleksandr AnyukovFC Zenit Saint Petersburg · 2005–2020
Aleksandr BukharovFC Zenit Saint Petersburg · 2010–2014- Aleksandr IvanovFC Zenit Saint Petersburg · 1949–1960
Aleksandr KerzhakovFC Zenit Saint Petersburg · 2001–2006- Aleksandr KerzhakovFC Zenit Saint Petersburg · 2010–2017
Aleksandr KokorinFC Zenit Saint Petersburg · 2016–2019
Archive
Passport
Identifiers & aliases
Nicolas Robert Christian Lombaerts is a Belgian professional football coach and a former centre-back.
Opinions of fans — not verified facts.
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