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Noa Lang

Noa Lang
Lang with Netherlands U18 in 2017
Personal information
Full name Noa Noëll Lang[1]
Date of birth (1999-06-17) 17 June 1999 (age 25)[2][3]
Place of birth Capelle aan den IJssel, Netherlands
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[4]
Position(s) Winger
Team information
Current team
 PSV
Number 10
Youth career
2003–2005 HION
2005–2013 Feyenoord
2013–2017 Ajax
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2021 Jong Ajax 47 (12)
2019–2021 Ajax 9 (3)
2019–2020 → Twente (loan) 7 (1)
2020–2021 → Club Brugge (loan) 29 (16)
2021–2023 Club Brugge 70 (16)
2023– PSV 21 (6)
International career‡
2014–2015 Netherlands U16 6 (0)
2017–2018 Netherlands U18 2 (3)
2017–2019 Netherlands U19 6 (3)
2018–2019 Netherlands U20 8 (2)
2019–2021 Netherlands U21 8 (1)
2021– Netherlands 11 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 9 November 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16 November 2024

Noa Noëll Lang (born 17 June 1999) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a winger for Eredivisie club PSV Eindhoven and the Netherlands national team.

Club career

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Ajax

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On 1 December 2019, Lang became the first Ajax player to score a hat-trick on his first league start in 60 years as Ajax came from two goals down to beat Twente 5–2.[5] Later that month, Lang scored his first goal in the KNVB Cup for Ajax, netting the opening goal in a 4–3 away win over Telstar in the second round.[6]

In January 2020, following Ajax's signing of Ryan Babel in Lang's position, he was loaned out to fellow Eredivisie side Twente for the remainder of the season.[7]

Club Brugge

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2020–21 season: Loan and league title

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On 5 October 2020, Ajax and Club Brugge reached a transfer agreement for Lang to move to Brugge on an initial loan with an obligation to make the signing permanent by 1 July 2021.[8] Three weeks later, he scored his first goal for the club from the penalty-spot in a losing effort against OH Leuven.[9] Lang scored in Club Brugge's 3–0 victory over Zenit Saint Petersburg in their penultimate UEFA Champions League group stage match on 2 December to keep alive Club Brugge's hopes of qualifying for the knock-out round.[10] However, Club Brugge could only manage a 2–2 draw in the final match against Italian side Lazio and were parachuted down to the Europa League for the Round of 32.[11]

On 28 January 2021, in his first appearance in a Bruges derby against Cercle, Lang scored the winning goal as Club Brugge came back from 1–0 down to win 1–2.[12]

On 20 May, Lang scored as Brugge drew 3–3 with rivals Anderlecht to win the Belgian First Division A title for the fourth time in six years and 17th time overall.[13] Lang was involved in 28 goal contributions during his first campaign with Club Brugge, scoring 17 goals and adding a further 11 assists.[14]

2021–22 season

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On 17 July 2021, Lang scored in Club Brugge's 3–2 win over Genk in the Belgian Super Cup.[15] On 15 September, he earned the player of the match award in a 1–1 draw against Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the UEFA Champions League.[16]

PSV

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On 8 July 2023, Dutch side PSV announced the signing of Lang on a five-year deal for a club record fee of €15 million.[17][18] In his first training session, he suffered an injury.[19] At first, the injury looked serious, but shortly after, Noa Lang was spotted training alone. His first game for the Dutch side was the 2023 Johan Cruyff Shield, which he decided by scoring the only goal.

International career

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Born in the Netherlands, Lang is of Surinamese descent through his biological father. He is a youth international for the Netherlands.[20] Lang considers himself Dutch, Surinamese and Moroccan but can't internationally represent the latter due to not having Moroccan citizenship.[21]

On 8 October 2021, he made his debut for the Netherlands national team in a World Cup qualifier against Latvia.[22] On 11 November 2022, Lang was selected to represent the Netherlands at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[citation needed]

Personal life

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Lang was born in the Netherlands. His father is Surinamese, while his mother is Dutch.[23] He was raised by his stepfather, Moroccan international footballer Nourdin Boukhari.[24]

During the 2009–10 football season, Boukhari and Lang resided in Turkey, playing for Kasımpaşa and Beşiktaş junior team respectively.[25]

Controversy

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In May 2021, a video circulated online showing Lang joining an antisemitic chant of the Club Brugge supporters aimed at rival Anderlecht, who is seen as historically linked to the Jewish community.[26] He was investigated by the Royal Belgian Football Association. While ignoring calls to apologize,[27] Lang justified his chantings with supporters as "a nickname" claiming that "racism and prejudice are well known to me [...] I didn’t want to offend anyone with that. I’m done with the subject and won’t be revisiting it." Lang, who played with Ajax, before joining Club Brugge, was defended by the team's organisation claiming that "there was no anti-Semitic undertone".[28] The Club Brugge fans have been noticed by the press for racist chants.[29]

The RBFA condemned his behavior, the Belgian Foreign Minister Sophie Wilmès declared: "Unacceptable, unbearable and it has no place in our society. We must fight it as vigorously as all other forms of racism", political parties condemned the chant, while he was obliged by the Federal prosecutor's office to visit the Kazern Dossin Centre as a disciplinary measure.[30]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 9 November 2024[3]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Jong Ajax 2016–17 Eerste Divisie 2 0 — — — 2 0
2017–18 Eerste Divisie 14 2 — — — 14 2
2018–19 Eerste Divisie 22 5 — — — 22 5
2019–20 Eerste Divisie 9 5 — — — 9 5
Total 47 12 — — — 47 12
Ajax 2018–19 Eredivisie 3 0 1 0 0 0 — 4 0
2019–20 Eredivisie 5 3 1 1 3[b] 0 0 0 9 4
2020–21 Eredivisie 1 0 — — — 1 0
Total 9 3 2 1 3 0 0 0 14 4
Twente (loan) 2019–20 Eredivisie 7 1 — — — 7 1
Club Brugge (loan) 2020–21 Belgian Pro League 29 16 2 0 6[b] 1 — 37 17
Club Brugge 2021–22 Belgian Pro League 37 7 4 1 6[b] 0 1[c] 1 48 9
2022–23 Belgian Pro League 33 9 2 3 4[b] 0 1[c] 0 40 12
Total 99 32 8 4 16 1 2 1 125 38
PSV 2023–24 Eredivisie 11 4 2 0 5[b] 0 1[d] 1 19 5
2024–25 Eredivisie 10 2 0 0 4[b] 1 1[d] 1 15 4
Total 21 6 2 0 9 1 2 2 34 9
Career total 183 54 12 5 28 2 4 3 227 64
  1. ^ Includes KNVB Cup, Belgian Cup
  2. ^ a b c d e f Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  3. ^ a b Appearance in Belgian Super Cup
  4. ^ a b Appearance in Johan Cruyff Shield

International

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As of match played 16 November 2024[31]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Netherlands 2021 3 0
2022 3 1
2023 4 1
2024 1 0
Total 11 2
As of match played 14 June 2023
Netherlands score listed first, score column indicates score after each Lang goal.[31]
List of international goals scored by Noa Lang
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 14 June 2022 De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands 5  Wales 1–0 3–2 2022–23 UEFA Nations League A
2 14 June 2023 De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands 7  Croatia 2–2 2–4 (a.e.t.) 2023 UEFA Nations League Finals

Honours

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Jong Ajax[3]

Ajax[3]

Club Brugge

PSV

Individual

References

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  1. ^ "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ – Squad List: Netherlands (NED)" (PDF). FIFA. 15 November 2022. p. 20. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 December 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  2. ^ UEFA.com. "Noa Lang | Netherlands | UEFA Nations League". UEFA.com. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d "N. Lang: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  4. ^ "Noa Lang". Club Brugge. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  5. ^ "FC Twente 2-5 Ajax: Lang hits hat-trick on league debut as leaders fight back". BBC Sport. 1 December 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  6. ^ "Telstar 3–4 Ajax". Soccerway. 18 December 2019.
  7. ^ "Official: Noa Lang joins FC Twente on loan for the rest of the season". All About Ajax. 18 January 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  8. ^ "Noa Lang goes to Club Brugge, Bandé returns to Ajax". english.ajax.nl. 5 October 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  9. ^ "OH Leuven 2-1 Club Brugge". Pro League (in Dutch). 24 October 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  10. ^ "Club Brugge 3-0 Zenit". UEFA. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  11. ^ "Lazio 2-2 Brugge: Aquile squeak through". Football Italia. December 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  12. ^ "Cercle Brugge 1-2 Club Brugge". Pro League (in Dutch). 28 January 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  13. ^ "Club Brugge clinch Belgian title". Reuters. 20 May 2021.
  14. ^ "Club Brugge double down on Noa Lang transfer stance as Leeds United-linked forward pictured". Leeds Live. 1 July 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  15. ^ "Lang nets as Club Brugge take Belgian super cup". Football Oranje. 17 July 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  16. ^ "Bruges-PSG: passé par Nantes, look à la Neymar… qui est Noa Lang, désigné homme du match" [Bruges-PSG: gone by Nantes, looking like Neymar, who is Noa Lang, designated man of the match]. RMC Sport (in French). 16 September 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  17. ^ "Oficial: Noa Lang é o reforço mais caro da história do PSV" [Official: Noa Lang is the most expensive reinforcement in PSV history]. O Jogo. 8 July 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  18. ^ "Transfer | PSV bolster attack with Dutch international Noa Lang". www.psv.nl. 8 July 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  19. ^ "Catastrophe en vue pour Noa Lang ? L'ancien joueur de Bruges s'est blessé lors de son premier entraînement avec le PSV (photo)". Sudinfo (in French). 10 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  20. ^ "Zo kan het nationaal elftal van Suriname eruit gaan zien". Elfvoetbal.nl.
  21. ^ "Noa Lang lacht: 'Op mijn Instagram heb ik daar veel vragen over gehad'". Voetbalzone. 29 August 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  22. ^ "Latvia v Netherlands game report". FIFA. 8 October 2021.
  23. ^ "Arsenal transfer target Noa Lang has been investigated over anti-Semitic chant and refused to apologise". 14 October 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  24. ^ "Noa Lang schiet in verdediging: 'Mensen denken: hij is een lichte jongen'" (in Dutch). voetbalzone.nl. 11 March 2020.
  25. ^ "Futbol Dünyası Onu Konuşuyor... Noa Lang Beşiktaşlı Çıktı". kartalhaber.com. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
  26. ^ "Brugge's Lang investigated for joining anti-Semitic chant". Yahoo. 22 May 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  27. ^ "Belgian soccer star defends chanting he'd 'rather die than be a Jew'". The Jerusalem Post | Jpost.com.
  28. ^ "Club Brugge komt met statement: 'Noa Lang was jarenlang speler bij Ajax". Voetbalzone. 21 May 2021.
  29. ^ "Racism Amongst Club Brugge Fans: Supporters from CB and RSC Anderlecht Give Their Opinion on What Happened During Sundays Match – 21bis." 21bis – Mediaplatform Voor Studenten, 21bis.be/2021/12/racism-amoungst-club-brugge-fans-supporters-from-cb-and-rsc-anderlecht-give-their-opinion-on-what-happened-during-sundays-match/.
  30. ^ "Noa Lang Undergoes Punishment and Visits Former Deportation Camp." LFOTV.NET, 9 Sept. 2021, livefootballontv.net/noa-lang-undergoes-punishment-and-visits-former-deportation-camp
  31. ^ a b "Noa Lang". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  32. ^ "Lang nets as Club Brugge seal Belgian title". Football Oranje. 20 May 2021.
  33. ^ "Club Brugge completes hat trick of Belgian titles". AP News. 15 May 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  34. ^ "Club Brugge vs. Gent 3-2". Soccerway. 17 July 2021.
  35. ^ "Club Brugge vs. Gent 1-0". Soccerway. 17 July 2022.
  36. ^ "Lang beslist duel met Feyenoord en bezorgt PSV veertiende Johan Cruijff Schaal" [Long decided duel with Feyenoord and gives PSV fourteenth Johan Cruijff Shield]. nos.nl (in Dutch). 4 August 2023. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  37. ^ "Noa Lang talent van het jaar in België". ESPN. 25 May 2021.
  38. ^ "AZ and PSV main suppliers of the Eredivisie Team of the Month". 6 October 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
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