Lalaïna Henintsoa Nomenjanahary (born 16 January 1986) is a former Malagasy professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
Early and personal life Nomenjanahary grew up in a poor family in Antananarivo. During his youth, he made toys from recycled tin cans to sell them. He is married to Julia and since arriving in France, most of his and his wife's family live there as well.
Known for his speed, Nomenjanahary is sometimes referred to by his childhood nickname Bolida. He is good friends with fellow Malagasy footballer Faneva Imà Andriatsima and he looks up to Hervé Arsène as a mentor.
Club career Early on, Nomenjanahary gained attention as a wing-back. His first club was Ajesaia before moving to play on the island of Réunion.
On the advice of fellow Malagasy player Hervé Arsène, Nomenjanahary decided to sign for Arsène's former club RC Lens in 2012. After two seasons, Nomenjanahary's impressive performances earned him a new three-year contract, keeping him at the club until 2016. When Lens made their return to the Ligue 1 in the 2014–15 season, Nomenjanahary played 26 of the team's 38 matches, and in the third game of the season he scored the only goal in a shock 1–0 win over Olympique Lyonnais. Despite this, Lens ended the season in the bottom of the table and were relegated. On 11 May 2016, after four years with Lens, Nomenjanahary's contract expired.
On 9 September 2016, Nomenjanahary joined fellow Ligue 2 team Paris FC on a one-year contract. On 10 October 2016, Nomenjanahary scored his first goals for Paris as he netted a brace in a 7–0 victory over Val d'Europe in the fifth round of the Coupe de France.
In 2021, after his contract with Paris FC expired, he joined 4th-tier side Paris 13 Atletico.
International career From 2006 to 2021, Nomenjanahary made 44 appearances and scored 5 goals for the Madagascar national team, including one at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt in a surprise victory over Nigeria. He has said that it is his dream for Madagascar to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Career statistics
Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueCoupe de FranceCoupe de la LigueTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsCS Avion2010–11National 290000090Lens B2011–12National 2141––1412012–1310––102015–1610––10Total1610000161–Lens2011–12Ligue 2200000202012–1334240103922013–1434450104042014–15Ligue 127100102812015–16Ligue 22810010281Total125890401388–Paris FC B2016–17National 330––30Paris FC2016–17National23300002332017–18Ligue 236211203932018–1932200103322019–202301020260Total117721501248–Career total267161119028717–
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsMadagascar200620200792200850200910201020201130201200201300201400201500201600201710201860201961Total353
Scores and results list Madagascar's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Nomenjanahary goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Lalaïna NomenjanaharyNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition117 November 2007Stade Said Mohamed Cheikh, Mitsamiouli, Comoros1–12–22010 FIFA World Cup qualification22–13 22 June 2019 Alexandria Stadium, Alexandria, Egypt 1–02–0 2019 Africa Cup of Nations419 November 2019Stade Général Seyni Kountché, Niger1–16–22021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification52–1
Honours Ajesaia THB Champions League: 2007, 2009 Super Coupe de Madagascar: 2007; 2009 Coupe de Madagascar: 2006
Madagascar Football at the Indian Ocean Island Games silver medal: 2007
Madagascar U20 COSAFA CUP U20: COSAFA U-20 Challenge Cup 2005
Individual Best Player of the THB Champions League: 2007 Lens Player of the year: 2012 Ligue 2 Player of the Month: September 2018 Trophy OFC: Finalist for African Player revelation of the year: 2019
Orders Knight Order of Madagascar: 2019
References
External links