Isetsima Blaise Nkufo (born 25 May 1975) is a Swiss former international

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 ...

who played as a striker and current coach of Rino's Tigers in the Vancouver Metro Soccer League. He was born in Zaire and raised in Switzerland from the age of seven. Nkufo played professionally in Switzerland, Qatar, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States, scoring 209 goals in 442 career league appearances. Nkufo was also a member of the Switzerland national team, having won 34 caps and scored seven goals. He played for them at the

2010 World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

Club career

Nkufo played for Lausanne Sport, FC Echallens, Al-Arabi,

Yverdon-Sport FC Yverdon-Sport FC is a Swiss football team from the town of Yverdon-les-Bains. The club plays in a green and white strip, and were promoted from the Swiss 1. Liga Promotion, the third tier of Swiss football after winning in the 2020–21 season. ...

, Grasshopper Club Zürich, AC Lugano,

FC Lucerne Fussball-Club Luzern (), or simply abbreviated to FCL, is a Swiss sports club based in Lucerne (german: Luzern). It is best known for its professional football team, which plays in the Super League, the top tier of the Swiss football league syste ...

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

, Hannover 96,

FC Twente Football Club Twente () is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Enschede, sometimes known internationally as Twente Enschede. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Dutch champions Sportclub Enschede with Enschedese ...

and Seattle Sounders FC. Nkufo v Toronto2

In early 2010, Nkufo left Twente and was linked to sign with the Major League Soccer team Seattle Sounders FC. On 4 March 2010, the Sounders confirmed that they had signed Nkufo and that he would be joining the Sounders' squad on 13 July 2010 when his contract with Twente expired. In his final season with Twente, Nkufo scored 12

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

goals helping the club to their first league title in their 45-year history. Nkufo made 223

appearances for Twente, and scored 114 goals - a club record. Twente erected a statue in his honour outside of the stadium following his departure. His first appearance for the Sounders was on 18 July 2010 during a friendly vs. Celtic. Nkufo was the first Sounders player to record a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

in league play, doing so against the

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...

on 18 September 2010. It ended a scoreless drought of 415 minutes for him after joining the club. On 5 October 2010, Nkufo featured in the final of the U.S. Open Cup as the Sounders defeated the Columbus Crew by a score of 2–1. On 15 March 2011, Seattle and Nkufo agreed mutually to the termination of his deal. Nkufo announced his retirement thirteen days later.

International career

Nkufo made his international debut for Switzerland in 2000. He was a squad member at the

in South Africa. At the tournament, Nkufo played an influential role in helping the Swiss upset eventual world champions

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

in the group stage.

International goals

:''Scores and results list Switzerland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Nkufo goal.''

Coaching career

Nkufo owned the Nkufo Academy Sports in the Greater Vancouver area, is managing director of the Blaise Soccer Elite Training INC, and works as Head coach of Rino's Tigers in the Vancouver Metro Soccer League Premier Division.

Personal life

Born in Kinshasa,

Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...

, Nkufo emigrated to Switzerland with his family when he was seven and became naturalised as a Swiss citizen. Nkufo is married to a woman from

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Name confusion

Nkufo has himself said in interviews that his surname is ''Nkufo''. The incorrect version ''N'Kufo'' is often found in media. The surname is pronounced ''Kufo'', without the ''N''.

Honours

Twente *

: 2009–10 Seattle Sounders FC * U.S. Open Cup: 2010

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nkufo, Blaise 1975 births Living people Swiss men's footballers Association football forwards FC Lausanne-Sport players Grasshopper Club Zürich players Yverdon-Sport FC players FC Lugano players FC Luzern players 1. FSV Mainz 05 players Hannover 96 players FC Twente players Qatar Stars League players Swiss Super League players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Eredivisie players Switzerland international footballers 2010 FIFA World Cup players Swiss expatriate footballers Al-Arabi SC (Qatar) players Democratic Republic of the Congo expatriate footballers Democratic Republic of the Congo footballers Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Germany Democratic Republic of the Congo expatriate sportspeople in Germany Swiss expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Democratic Republic of the Congo expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate footballers in Germany Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Democratic Republic of the Congo emigrants to Switzerland Swiss people of Democratic Republic of the Congo descent Naturalised citizens of Switzerland Footballers from Kinshasa Seattle Sounders FC players Expatriate soccer players in the United States Major League Soccer players Designated Players (MLS)