Samuel Ipoua Hamben (born 1 March 1973) is a Cameroonian former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a striker. He played for several European clubs, including

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million Torino Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

(Italy),

Rapid Wien Sportklub Rapid (), commonly known as Rapid Wien or Rapid Vienna in English, is an Austrian professional football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid has won the most Austrian championship titles (32), including the f ...

(Austria),

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

(France),

Mainz 05 1. Fußball- und Sport-Verein Mainz 05 e. V., usually shortened to 1. FSV Mainz 05 or simply Mainz 05 (), is a German professional sports club, founded in 1905 and based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Mainz 05 play in the Bundesliga, the top tie ...

1860 Munich , commonly known as TSV 1860 München (; ''sechzig'' locally ; lettered as ) or 1860 Munich, is a sports club based in Munich. The club's football team plays in the 3. Liga, the third tier of the German football pyramid. Their current home gr ...

and

LR Ahlen Rot Weiss Ahlen is a football in Germany, German football club based in Ahlen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Until 2006 the club was known as ''LR Ahlen'' for its major sponsor, but underwent a name change when the sponsor withdrew its support after th ...

in Germany. At the local level, he played for Union de Douala (Cameroon). He played for the

Cameroon national football team The Cameroon national football team (French language, French: ''Équipe du Cameroun de football''), also known as the Indomitable Lions (French: ''les lions indomptables''), represents Cameroon in men's international Association football, footb ...

and played in two of their three group stage matches at the

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 1 ...

. Ipoua was also a member of the Cameroon squad for the

1998 African Cup of Nations The 1998 African Cup of Nations in Burkina Faso was the 21st edition of the Africa Cup of Nations (ACN), the national Association football, football championship of Africa, administered by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). Just like in ...

, featuring in two matches, including their quarter-final defeat to

DR Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

. His brother

Guy Ipoua Guy Ipoua (born 14 January 1976) is a former Cameroonian footballer who played as a striker. He previously played for a string of British and Continental clubs. His elder brother, Samuel, represented Cameroon at the 1998 World Cup. Career Born ...

was also a footballer and spent most of his career playing in England. In 2001 he went on trial at Everton, starting in a friendly against

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil, a town in Somerset, England, with a council named Yeovil Town * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town W.F.C., an English women's football team affiliated with Yeovil T ...

but was not signed by the club. In July 2005, he also had a failed trial with

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...

. After his playing career Ipoua worked with the French

blind football Football 5-a-side, more commonly known as blind football or blind soccer, is a variation of association football designed for players who are blind or visually impaired. It is currently a Paralympic sport, and the International Blind Sports A ...

national team and managed at

Toulouse Rodéo FC Rodéo Football Club (Rodéo F.C.) is a football club based in Toulouse, France. Though the club's proper name is Rodéo Football Club, the club is often referred to as Toulouse Rodéo Football Club to show the club's location. The club played in C ...

Personal life

Samuel Ipoua holds Cameroonian and French nationalities.

References

External links

* 1973 births Living people Cameroonian men's footballers Naturalized citizens of France French men's footballers Cameroon men's international footballers Torino FC players OGC Nice players Toulouse FC players SK Rapid Wien players 1. FSV Mainz 05 players TSV 1860 Munich players Rot Weiss Ahlen players Serie B players Ligue 1 players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Austrian Football Bundesliga players Cameroonian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Austria Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in France Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in Austria Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in Germany 1998 FIFA World Cup players 1998 African Cup of Nations players Men's association football forwards 20th-century French sportsmen {{Cameroon-footy-forward-stub