Nicolas Louis Marcel Cozza (born 8 January 1999) is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or left-back for Ligue 2 club Nantes on loan from German 2. Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg.
 Cozza with Nantes in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Nicolas Louis Marcel Cozza[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 8 January 1999 | ||
| Place of birth | Ganges, France | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2] | ||
| Positions | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team |
Nantes (on loan from VfL Wolfsburg) | ||
| Number | 3 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2005–2008 | FC Pays Viganais Aigoual | ||
| 2008–2010 | US Basses Cévennes | ||
| 2010–2017 | Montpellier | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2019 | Montpellier II | 22 | (0) |
| 2017–2023 | Montpellier | 99 | (5) |
| 2023– | VfL Wolfsburg | 11 | (0) |
| 2024 | → Nantes (loan) | 13 | (0) |
| 2024– | → Nantes (loan) | 55 | (1) |
| International career | |||
| 2017 | France U18 | 2 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | France U19 | 12 | (1) |
| 2018–2019 | France U20 | 5 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | France U21 | 7 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 2 May 2026 | |||
Club career
editCozza joined Montpellier in 2010 and signed his first professional contract on 14 June 2017.[3] He made his professional debut for Montpellier in a 0–0 Ligue 1 draw against Lyon on 19 November 2017.[4]
On 25 January 2023, Cozza signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg.[5]
On 1 February 2024, Cozza was loaned out to French side Nantes until the end of the season.[6]
After remaining on the bench in the first two Wolfsburg games of the 2024–25 season, on 28 August 2024 Cozza returned to Nantes on a new season-long loan.[7] A new Nantes loan for the 2025–26 season was announced on 8 July 2025.[8]
Personal life
editCozza is the grandson of former Montpellier captain Jean-Louis Besson. He is of Italian descent from Calabria.[9]
Career statistics
edit- As of match played 2 May 2026
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Montpellier B | 2016–17 | CFA | 8 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | National 3 | 9 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | |||
| 2018–19 | National 3 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| Total | 22 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 0 | ||||
| Montpellier | 2017–18 | Ligue 1 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2[a][b] | 0 | 12 | 1 |
| 2018–19 | Ligue 1 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 14 | 0 | |
| 2019–20 | Ligue 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2020–21 | Ligue 1 | 20 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 23 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | Ligue 1 | 34 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | 37 | 2 | ||
| 2022–23 | Ligue 1 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 18 | 2 | ||
| Total | 99 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 112 | 5 | ||
| VfL Wolfsburg | 2022–23 | Bundesliga | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | |
| 2023–24 | Bundesliga | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | ||
| Total | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 13 | 0 | |||
| Nantes (loan) | 2023–24 | Ligue 1 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 13 | 0 | |
| Nantes (loan) | 2024–25 | Ligue 1 | 27 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 29 | 1 | |
| 2025–26 | Ligue 1 | 28 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 30 | 0 | ||
| Total | 55 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | 59 | 1 | |||
| Career total | 200 | 6 | 15 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 219 | 6 | ||
- 1 2 3 Appearance(s) in the Coupe de la Ligue
- ↑ Appearance(s) in the Coupe de la Ligue
References
edit- ↑ "FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland 2019: List of Players: France" (PDF). FIFA. 13 June 2019. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 February 2020.
- ↑ "Nicolas Cozza". FC Nantes. Archived from the original on 5 August 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- ↑ "Nicolas Cozza poursuit son rêve pailladin". www.mhscfoot.com.
- ↑ "LFP.fr - Ligue de Football Professionnel - Ligue 1 Conforama - Saison 2017/2018 - 13ème journée - Olympique Lyonnais / Montpellier Hérault SC". www.lfp.fr.
- ↑ "New arrival from France". VfL Wolfsburg. 25 January 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
- ↑ "Transferts : Nicolas Cozza (Wolfsburg) arrive à Nantes" [Transfers : Nicolas Cozza (Wolfsburg) arrives in Nantes] (in French). L'Équipe. 2 February 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
- ↑ "Nicolas Cozza de retour au FC Nantes" [Nicolas Cozza returns to FC Nantes] (in Italian). FC Nantes. 28 August 2024. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
- ↑ "Nicolas Cozza revient au FC Nantes" [Nicolas Cozza returns to FC Nantes] (in French). FC Nantes. 8 July 2025. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
- ↑ "Football. MHSC : blessé, le défenseur central Nicolas Cozza est indisponible". actu.fr.
External links
edit- Profile at the VfL Wolfsburg website
- Nicolas Cozza at the French Football Federation (in French)
- Nicolas Cozza – French league stats at LFP – also available in French (archived)
- Nicolas Cozza at Soccerway
- Nicolas Cozza at L'Équipe Football (in French)
- Nicolas Cozza – UEFA competition record (archive)
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