Ngassam Nana Falemi (born 5 May 1974) is a Romanian-born Cameroonian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.
Falemi began playing junior-level football in 1981, aged 7 at local club Steaua, being coached by Lajos SÃÂtmÃÂreanu. In 1992 he joined VoinÃÂa, and one year later began his senior career at Divizia C team, Viscofil, before moving to Chimia in the same league in 1995. Afterwards he signed with Petrolul PloieÃÂti where he made his Divizia A debut on 11 November 1997 under coach Alexandru Pall in a 1âÂÂ0 away victory against Steaua. He played regularly for The Yellow Wolves, most notably under the guidance of coach Marin Ion, attracting the interest of Steaua who decided to transfer him in the middle of the 1999âÂÂ2000 season.
Falemi helped Steaua win the 2000âÂÂ01 title, playing 25 games and scoring three goals, being coached by one of his childhood idols, Victor PiÃÂurcÃÂ. Afterwards, Falemi made four appearances in the 2001âÂÂ02 Champions League qualifying rounds, helping them get past Sloga Jugomagnat against whom he scored a goal, but got eliminated in the following round by Dynamo Kyiv. In the following season, he played in the 2003âÂÂ04 UEFA Cup, as Steaua eliminated Neman Grodno and Southampton in the first two rounds, then after a 1âÂÂ1 draw in the first leg against Liverpool, they lost the away leg with 1âÂÂ0, thus the campaign ended. In his last season with The Military Men he played four matches in the 2004âÂÂ05 UEFA Cup, including a 2âÂÂ0 victory in the group stage against Standard Liège. He also made five league appearances, leaving in the middle of the season to Ergotelis, Steaua managing to win the title without him.
Falemi made his Alpha Ethniki debut for Ergotelis on 12 February 2005 when coach Manolis Patemtzis sent him in the 66th minute to replace Stavros Labrakis in a 1âÂÂ1 draw against Aris Thessaloniki. He stayed until the end of the season with The Yellow-Blacks, returning afterwards in Romania at Vaslui. In 2006, Volyn Lutsk paid â¬10,000 for his transfer from Vaslui, making his Vyshcha Liha debut on 2 April as coach Vitaliy Kvartsyanyi used him the entire match in a 2âÂÂ0 away loss to Chornomorets Odesa.
Falemi left Volyn at the end of the season, moving to China League One side Jiangsu Shuntian for a short while, before returning to Romania to second league team, DunÃÂrea Giurgiu. For the last season of his career he played for Gaz Metan Mediaàwhere coach Cristian Pustai wanted him. He made his last appearance in the Romanian first league on 23 November 2008 in Gaz Metan's 1âÂÂ0 away loss to Farul ConstanÃÂa, totaling 168 matches with eight goals in the competition.
Falemi played five games for Cameroon, making his debut under coach Winfried Schäfer on 27 March 2003 when he came as a substitute and replaced Bill Tchato in a 2âÂÂ0 friendly victory against Madagascar. His following two appearances were a 0âÂÂ0 draw against United States in the group stage and a 1âÂÂ0 win over Colombia in the semi-finals of the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup. Cameroon reached the final, but lost it with 1âÂÂ0 to France, without Falemi playing in the match. His last two games for the national team were friendlies, a 0âÂÂ0 draw against Japan and a 3âÂÂ0 loss to Bulgaria. He was also part of Cameroon's squad for the 2004 African Cup of Nations, but did not play in any game.
Falemi was born in Bucharest, Romania to a Cameroonian father and a Romanian mother. He has a twin brother, Nomi, and a younger brother, Cody. In 1981, his parents moved to West Berlin for work, and he was raised by his maternal grandmother.
In 2018, he opened his own football school, "Nana Juniors".
Steaua BucureÃÂti
Cameroon