Pascal Nouma

Pascal Olivier Nouma (born 6 January 1972) is a Senegalese/French footballer. He is particularly famous for his eccentric behaviour both on and off the pitch. During an interview with Hürriyet he admitted being Turkish and feeling that Turkey is his home country.

He started his career in the Paris Saint-Germain youth team before moving around other teams in France. He played for Lille and Caen before moving back to PSG for two seasons in 1994. In 1996 he left for Strasbourg, spending two seasons there before he moving to Lens. After two seasons at Lens, he left for the Turkish club Beşiktaş, where he achieved phenomenal success and still maintains his popularity among Beşiktaş fans, who composed special songs for him. He played for them for one season, moving to play for Marseille the next year. He returned for a short spell at Beşiktaş the next season, but his contract was cancelled by the board following a bizarre incident in which he celebrated a goal against arch-rivals Fenerbahçe by putting his hands down his shorts, a gesture he described as 'a private moment of joy'. He was forced to leave Beşiktaş because of a suspension for 7 months from the Turkish Football Federation due to this behaviour.

Following this incident he played in Qatar and tried his luck by turning out for trials in countries like the U.S.A. and Scotland.

Pascal Nouma was so popular among Beşiktaş fans that he has a chant dedicated to him. The lyrics are "Fransa'da doğdu, Beşiktaşlı oldu, helal olsun sana, Pascal Nouma", which can be translated as "He was born in France, but he became a Beşiktaş man, God bless you Pascal Nouma". Another chant dedicated to him was "Pascal bizi diskoya götür", literally "Pascal, take us to the disco". This was because of his addiction to nightlife in Istanbul.

Currently he's attempting his first experience as an actor in a Turkish movie called Dünyayı Kurtaran Adamın Oğlu (The Son of the Man Who Saved the World).

His lob shot against Dynamo Kiev in the third round of UEFA Cup 2003 was perhaps the finest among his many amazing goals and is still cherished by Beşiktaş fans who remember Nouma with nostalgia.