Thomas Gaëtan Bong (born 25 April 1988) is a Cameroonian former professional footballer who played as a left back. He has made 16 appearances for the Cameroon national team. He previously played at senior level for Metz, Tours, Valenciennes, Olympiacos, Wigan Athletic, Brighton & Hove Albion, Nottingham Forest and represented France at under-21 level, before switching his allegiance to Cameroon.
Career FC Metz Bong was born in Sackbayeme, the hometown of renowned goalkeeper Jacques Songo'o. He began his career in Metz's youth ranks at age fourteen, having started out at La Madine Training Centre in his native Cameroon.
Bong was part of the FC Metz youth side when he helped the team win the 25th edition of the "Mondial de la Saint-Pierre" by beating FC Nantes on penalties on 22 April 2002. While progressing the youth team, Olivier Perrin commented about Bong, saying: "He's a real competitor. He still has a lot of work to do, especially on the technical side. Physically, he is able to repeat high-level efforts. But its main quality is to succeed in making the most of its potential." In July 2005, he was one of the four players to receive the BEP LEC following his exam results.
In October 2005, Bong suffered an injury during training that required stitches. Two months later, he was called up to the first team for the first time at age seventeen. Bong made his FC Metz debut against Sochaux on 10 December 2005, starting the whole game, in a 1–1 draw. He appeared two more matches later in the 2005–06 season. However, he was plagued with injuries that saw him sidelined for the rest of the 2005–06 season. Despite this, Bong signed his first professional contract with the club.
Bong continued to recover from his injuries at the start of the 2006–07 season, playing for the club's reserves side to gain playing time. He returned to the first team on 20 October 2006 as a late substitute in a 2–0 win over Guingamp. Bong made another start in a 0–0 draw against FC Istres on 22 December 2006. However, Bong was dropped from the first team and never played again, due to his first team opportunities, as well as, his own injury concern. At the end of the 2006–07 season, Bong had made two appearances in all competitions.
Bong continued to recover from his injuries at the start of the 2007–08 season. He made his first appearances of the season on 27 October 2007 as a substitute in the second half of a 0–0 draw against AS Nancy. Bong started the next game, a 0–0 draw with Toulouse. He kept his first team place, playing in the left–back position, for a few weeks, but found his first team opportunities limited for the rest of the 2007–08 season. As a result, Bong played in the club's reserves side in a number of matches. During the 2007–08 season, he made 12 appearances in all competitions.
Bong was loaned out for the 2008–09 season to Ligue 2 club Tours. He made his FC Tours debut against Dijon FCO on 22 August 2008, coming on as a substitute in just 18 minutes from the game, in a 2–1 loss. Bong then quickly established himself in the starting eleven for the side and went on to make thirty–six appearances in all competitions.
Valenciennes
On 29 July 2009, the 21-year-old left Metz to sign a four-year deal with Valenciennes for £595,000.
Bong made his Valenciennes debut, coming on as a late substitute, in a 3–1 loss against AS Nancy in the opening game of the season. He quickly became a first team regular for the side. Bong played against his former club, FC Metz, for the first time in the round of 16 of Coupe de la Ligue, as they lost 2–0 on 22 September 2009. He scored his first goal for Valenciennes, in a 2–0 win over US Boulogne on 20 January 2010. A month later, Bong kept two clean sheets in two matches between 20 February 2010 and 27 February 2010 against Grenoble Foot 38 and Saint-Étienne. He scored his second goal of the season on 5 May 2010 in a 2–2 draw against Paris Saint-Germain. During the 2009–10 season, Bong made 31 appearances and scored twice in all competitions.
Bong continued to remain in the first team for the side at the start of the 2010–11 season. He then scored his first goal of the season, in a 1–1 draw against Lyon on 11 September 2010. Shortly after, Bong served a two match suspension by the Disciplinary Commission of the LFP, due to the incident he was involved during a 3–2 win over Marseille on 14 August 2010. Bong returned from suspension and continued to feature in the first team for the side. He scored his second goal of the season and set up one of the goals, in a 4–0 win over US Boulogne in the round of 16 of the Coupe de la Ligue. But his return was short–lived when he suffered a knee injury that saw him sidelined for two months. He returned to the first team on 29 January 2011, starting in a 2–1 win over Lyon. However, during a 2–2 draw against SM Caen on 19 February 2011, Bong suffered a muscular injury to the adductors that saw him sidelined for several weeks. By April, he returned to training and made his return from injury against Arles-Avignon on 17 April 2011 and set up a goal for Grégory Pujol to score the only goal of the game. Since returning from injury, Bong, once again, regained his first team place for the remaining matches of the 2010–11 season. Bong then kept two clean sheets in two matches between 8 May 2011 and 11 May 2011. At the end of the 2010–11 season, Bong went on to make twenty–four appearances and scoring two times in all competitions.
Ahead of the 2011–12 season, Bong was linked with a move to Ligue 1 side Stade Rennais but stayed at the club in the end. He continued to establish himself in the first team for the side at the start of the 2011–12 season. For his performance, Bong signed a contract extension with the club, keeping him until 2014. During a 3–0 win against Sochaux on 16 October 2011, he set up the opening goal for Vincent Aboubakar. However, Bong suffered an injury that saw him sidelined throughout November. He made his return from injury on 3 December 2011, starting in a 2–1 loss against Évian. Bong continued to regain his first team place despite suffering from a thigh injury along the way. However, during a 2–1 loss against Saint-Étienne on 10 March 2012, Bong suffered a foot injury that saw him sidelined for a month. He came on as a late substitute in a 2–0 win over OGC Nice on 29 April 2012. Over the 2011–12 season, Bong made 30 appearances in all competitions.
At the start of the 2012–13 season, Bong suffered ankle injury, having sustained an injury in the club's pre–season friendly. He made his return on 22 September 2012 as a second–half substitute in a 2–1 loss against Stade Brestois 29. Since returning to the first team, Bong regained his place for the rest of the 2012–13 season. During a 1–0 win over Stade de Reims on 3 December 2012, he set up a goal for Foued Kadir to score the only goal of the game. Bong then kept three clean sheets between 12 April 2013 and 27 April 2013 for the side. At the end of the 2012–13 season, he went on to make thirty–one appearances in all competitions.
Bong made his only appearance of the 2013–14 season, keeping a clean sheet, in a 3–0 win over Toulouse in the opening game of the season. By the time he departed the club, Bong made 117 overall appearances for the club and scored four goals.
Olympiacos On 19 August 2013, he signed a contract with Olympiacos for £850,000, signing a three–year contract. Bong was previously linked with a move to Olympiacos, who was interested in signing him.
Bong made his Olympiacos debut, starting the whole game in the left–back position, in a 2–1 win over Atromitos on 25 August 2013. This was followed up by keeping two clean sheets in the next two matches. Three days later on 17 September 2013, he made his UEFA Champions League debut in a 4–1 loss against Paris Saint-Germain and went on to make four appearances in the UEFA Champions League. However, Bong was sidelined for two months, due to sustaining ankle and foot injuries. He returned as a late substitute in a 4–0 win against rivals' PAOK on 10 November. Bong then set up a goal for Alejandro Domínguez to score the club's third goal of the game, in a 3–0 win over Ergotelis on 1 December 2013. A month later on 8 January 2014, he scored his first goal for the club, in a 4–0 against Asteras Tripolis in the Greek Cup. During a 2–0 win over Skoda Xanthi on 26 January 2014, Bong received a racist abuse from Skoda Xanthi's supporters; after the match, he condemned the action via his social media account. From 1 December 2013 to 26 January 2014, Bong helped the side keep eight consecutive clean sheets, which he played six matches. Throughout the 2013–14 season, Bong was the first choice left–back position despite being placed on the substitute bench. At the end of the 2013–14 season, making twenty–eight appearances and scoring once in all competitions, he helped Olympiacos win their 41st Super League Greece title this season.
However, in the 2014–15 season, Bong found his first team opportunities at Olympiacos limited, due to fallen out of favour under the new management of Michel and was expected to leave over the summer, which never happened. It was announced on 30 January 2015 that Olympiacos has terminated a contract of Bong.
Wigan Athletic On 2 February 2015, Bong signed for English club Wigan Athletic on a short-term contract.
He made his Wigan Athletic debut, starting the whole game, in a 1–0 loss against Cardiff City on 24 February 2015. Since joining the club, Bong quickly became a first team regular for the side, playing in the left–back position. However, Wigan's relegation from the Championship was confirmed on 28 April 2015. At the end of the 2014–15 season, making fourteen appearances, Bong was released at the end of the season.
Brighton & Hove Albion It was announced on 2 July 2015 that Bong joined EFL Championship side Brighton & Hove Albion on a free transfer, signing an initial two-year contract with the south coast club. Upon signing for the club, he revealed that he rejected a "lucrative offers from at France and abroad" to join Brighton & Hove Albion. Bong was also given a number twelve shirt for the new season as well.
Bong made his Brighton & Hove Albion debut in the opening game of the season, starting the whole game, in a 1–0 win over Nottingham Forest. Since joining the club, he appeared regularly for the club, playing in the left–back position. In a match against Ipswich Town on 29 August 2015, Bong set up the first goal of the game for Kazenga LuaLua, in a 3–2 win. Bong also played a role when he set up the winning goal for Bobby Zamora, in a 2–1 win over Leeds United on 17 October 2015. This lasted until tearing his tendon during a 0–0 draw against Preston North End on 24 October 2015, ruling him out for 21 games throughout the season. By February, Bong returned to full training. However, because Liam Rosenior was the first choice left–back position in Bong's absent, he appeared as a substitute for the rest of the season, making three appearances He also played in the playoffs, as the club lost to Sheffield Wednesday in the semi-finals 3–1 on aggregate. Despite this, Bong finished his 2015–16 season, making nineteen appearances in all competitions.