Quentin Bena | |
Birth Date: | 11 May 1998 |
Birth Place: | Poitiers, France |
Height: | 1.85 m |
Position: | Centre-back, defensive midfielder |
Youthyears1: | –2013 |
Youthclubs1: | Châtellerault |
Youthyears2: | 2013–2017 |
Years1: | 2015–2022 |
Caps1: | 63 |
Goals1: | 1 |
Years2: | 2017–2022 |
Caps2: | 41 |
Goals2: | 1 |
Years3: | 2022–2024 |
Caps3: | 34 |
Goals3: | 0 |
Years4: | 2024– |
Caps4: | 1 |
Goals4: | 0 |
Club-Update: | 19 August 2024 |
Quentin Bena (born 11 May 1998) is a French professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder. Bena made his senior debut for Niort in April 2017 having signed for the club as a youth player from Châtellerault four years previously.
Bena was born in Poitiers and played junior football for Coussay-les-Bois, Saint-Pierre-de-Maillé,[1] Pleumartin and Châtellerault.[2] After Châtellerault won an under-15s tournament in Jaunay-Clan in June 2013, during which he scored a goal and made an assist in the final,[1] Bena joined the youth setup at Chamois Niortais.[3] Over the next four years, he progressed through the ranks at the club, representing Niort at the under-17 and under-19 levels, and playing for the reserve team in the Championnat de France Amateur 2.[4] Originally playing as a forward as a junior, he became a defensive midfielder during his time at Niort.[1]
Towards the end of the 2016–17 season with Niort already assured of a mid-table finish, Bena began to become involved in the first-team squad. He eventually made his Ligue 2 debut on 21 April 2017, coming on as a substitute for the injured Laurent Agouazi in a 1–3 defeat away at AC Ajaccio.[2] He made his first start for the senior team the following week, playing in an unfamiliar left-back position in the 0–3 defeat to Reims at the Stade René Gaillard.[5] He went on to make two further appearances during the remainder of the season, and was rewarded for his breakthrough into the first-team with a three-year professional contract, which he signed on 9 May 2017.[6]
Bena left Niort at the end of the 2021–22 season,[7] having made 48 appearances for the club in all competitions.
In August 2022, he joined Romanian side Dinamo București,[8] playing for the first time in their history in the Liga II. During the 2022-2023 season, he was a squad player, appearing in a total of 17 games, 8 of them in the starting eleven.[9] He played a full 180 minutes in the promotion play-off games against FC Arges Pitesti, which Dinamo won 8-5 on aggregate,[10] [11] promoting back to Liga I after just one season in the lower division. In the first leg of the promotion play-off, Bena scored his first goal for the club, through a header after a corner kick in the 15th minute.[12]
For the 2023-2024 season, he remained with Dinamo București to play in Liga I. After the 1-1 draw at home against Petrolul Ploiești on 26 August 2023, he was selected in the Liga I team of the week.[13] He was released by Dinamo on 2 July 2024.
Born in France, Bena is of Congolese descent.[14]
Club | Season | League | Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
Chamois Niortais B | 2015–16 | National 3 | 9 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | |||
2016–17 | 19 | 1 | — | — | 19 | 1 | |||||
2017–18 | 14 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 0 | |||||
2018–19 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||||
2019–20 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||||
2020–21 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||||
2021–22 | 14 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 0 | |||||
Total | 63 | 1 | — | — | 63 | 1 | |||||
Chamois Niortais | 2016–17 | Ligue 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
2017–18 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |||
2018–19 | 23 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 1 | |||
2019–20 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |||
2020–21 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | ||||
2021–22 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||||
Total | 41 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 48 | 1 | |||
Dinamo București | 2022–23 | Liga II | 17 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 22 | 1 | |
2023–24 | Liga I | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 19 | 0 | |||
Total | 34 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 41 | 1 | |||
Career total | 138 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 152 | 3 |