User:Davykamanzi/sandbox/Davy Kamanzi/vis

Davy Sheja Kamanzi (born 10 August 1997 in Nairobi) is a Rwandan professional footballer who plays for Olympique Lyonnais in the French Ligue 1 and the Rwanda national team as a goalkeeper. He became the first Rwandese footballer in history to play in the French Ligue 1 when he made his debut for Stade Rennais on 2 September 2017.

Early career
Born in Nairobi, Kenya to Rwandan parents, Kamanzi began playing football at the age of 5 at Ligi Ndogo as a goalkeeper. However, he switched to the left back position before he left the club in 2008, but rejoined in 2012 as a goalkeeper once again, and left again the same year, this time for the Elite Soccer Academy.

After completing his IGCSE finals at St. Mary's School at the end of 2013, he moved in with relatives in Le Havre, France to pursue a professional football career. He trained and played with 2 local teams, Havre Caucriauville Sportif and CSSM Le Havre. It was here that he was scouted, trialled and then signed by the city's biggest club, Havre Athletic Club.

Le Havre
Kamanzi signed his first professional contract for Le Havre on 17 January 2015, at the age of 17.

Loan to Union Saint-Gilloise
On 19 January 2015, Kamanzi agreed to move to Union Saint-Gilloise in the Belgian Third Division on loan until the end of the season. He helped the team gain promotion to the Second Division, amassing 7 clean sheets and conceding only 15 goals from 14 matches in all competitions throughout the entire season. At the beginning of the 2015–16 season, Kamanzi agreed to an extension on his loan contract, and remained at Union Saint-Gilloise until the end of the season. Helping the team finish mid-table in the Second Division, Kamanzi improved on his performance from the previous season, this time amassing 15 clean sheets and conceding only 32 goals from 29 matches in all competitions. His performances earned him the Union Saint-Gilloise Player of the Year Award for the season.

Return to Le Havre
On his return to his parent club, Kamanzi competed for playing time with his French counterpart Zacharie Boucher. He made his debut for the side in the first game of the season away to Caen on 6 August 2016, which his team lost 3–1, before starting in their first Coupe de la Ligue match against Gazélec Ajaccio on 14 August. He did not play another match until the club's second Coupe de la Ligue game against Créteil, which resulted in a 3–2 win. It was the last time he would play in the competition, where they were eliminated by Marseille in the round of 16 on 25 October.

Kamanzi had to wait until 12 November to play again, this time in his side's first Coupe de France match against Armentières, in which he kept a clean sheet to help his side win 2–0. He kept another clean sheet in his home debut against Châteauroux in a league match on 4 December, helping his side to a 1–0 win. He then played in his club's second Coupe de France match against Plabennec in a 4–1 win a week later. These and other appearances earned him the UNFP Ligue 2 Player of the Month for December.

During a training session on 5 January 2017, Kamanzi injured his calf, and had to remain on the sidelines for 4 weeks. He played his first match since returning from injury in a league match at home against Laval, in which he kept a clean sheet and helped his side to an emphatic 5–0 win. He played in 2 other league matches before playing his first Coupe de France game since August the previous year on 21 February against Evian TG in a Round of 16 match. Against all odds, Kamanzi's side managed to beat their Ligue 1 opponents 4–2 and advance to the quarter-finals. Due to his amazing comeback from injury, Kamanzi again won the UNFP Ligue 2 Player of the Month award for February. Kamanzi was largely kept on the sidelines for the rest of the season, and did not participate in Le Havre's quarter-final clash with Saint-Étienne in the Coupe de France on 18 April, where they were beaten 2–0. He finished the season with 9 clean sheets in 23 appearances for the club in all competitions, helping them to a 3rd place finish and promotion to the Ligue 1 for the first time since the 2007–08 season.

Loan to Stade Rennais
On 28 July 2017, Kamanzi agreed a season-long loan move with an option to buy at the end of the season to nearby Ligue 1 club Stade Rennais. However, he was not allowed to play against Le Havre, who were now promoted to the top flight, as part of the contract. On 2 September, at the age of 20, Kamanzi became the first Rwandan footballer to play in the Ligue 1 when he made his debut at home against Evian TG, whom he had faced 7 months earlier. The match ended in a 1–1 draw. Kamanzi went on to make only 6 more league appearances for the club, due to competition from first-choice Benoît Costil. He finished the season with 3 clean sheets in 8 appearances for the club in all competitions. Stade Rennais opted not to buy Kamanzi at the end of the season and sent him back to his parent club.

Lyon
At the beginning of the 2018–19 season, Kamanzi agreed to a permanent move from Le Havre to Olympique Lyonnais for a reported €6.5 million. He was brought in by the club as a long-term replacement for 37-year-old Rémy Vercoutre, and to provide competition for Anthony Lopes. Kamanzi signed a long-term contract with the club on 16 July 2017.

Rwanda U-17
Kamanzi got his first international call-up to the Rwanda national under-17 football team for a second round 2015 African U-17 Championship qualifier against Seychelles on 18 July and 2 August 2014, 8 days before his 17th birhday, where he helped his side to a 5–2 aggregate win.

On 13 September, Kamanzi was named captain of the team for the first time in the first leg of the third round tie against Botswana, by whom they were knocked out 2 years earlier in the same competition, on home soil. He kept a clean sheet to help his team to a narrow 1–0 win. In the second leg on 28 September, his side played to a 0–0 in Gaborone, clinching their first African U-17 Championship slot since 2011. However, due to his age, Kamanzi was ineligible to compete in the final tournament.

Rwanda U-20
Kamanzi was named in the Rwanda squad for the 2015 African Youth Championship while on loan at Union Saint-Gilloise. He helped his team advances through the group stage and qualify for the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup for the first time in the country's history. However, Rwanda were beaten by hosts Senegal in the semi-finals, but beat highly-favoured Egypt in the third place playoff to clinch the bronze medals. Kamanzi was later named in the Team of the Tournament and won the Goalkeeper of the Tournament award.

Kamanzi was then named again in the squad for the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, this time as the team captain. He helped his team advance through the group stage, finishing in second place ahead of the highly-favoured United States and China. However, they were knocked out in the round of 16 by reigning champions France, suffering a narrow 3–2 defeat.

Rwanda senior team
Kamanzi earned his first call up to the senior team for a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against the Central African Republic in November 2015, and started both legs ahead of Jean-Claude Ndoli, in which Rwanda won 6–2 on aggregate. He was then called up to the squad for the entire second round, and helped them finish first in their group, ahead of heavily fancied Togo, as well as Madagascar and Guinea Bissau. However, they crashed out in the third round, narrowly losing 5–4 on aggregate to South Africa.

Honours

 * Union Saint-Gilloise
 * Belgian Third Division B (1): 2014–15


 * Individual
 * Union Saint-Gilloise Player of the Year (1): 2015–16
 * UNFP Ligue 2 Player of the Month (2): December 2016, February 2017
 * African Youth Championship Goalkeeper of the Tournament (1): 2015