Émile Mpenza

Eka Basunga Lokonda "Émile" Mpenza (born 4 July 1978) is a Belgian former footballer of Congolese descent who played as a striker. He has been capped at international level by Belgium. His older brother, Mbo, was also a footballer who represented Belgium.

Émile Mpenza
Mpenza with Manchester City in 2007
Personal information
Full name Eka Basunga Lokonda Mpenza
Date of birth (1978-07-04) 4 July 1978[1]
Place of birth Zellik, Belgium
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1986–1989 LC Mesvins
1989–1995 Kortrijk
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–1996 Kortrijk 32 (5)
1996–1997 Mouscron 31 (12)
1997–1999 Standard Liège 46 (20)
2000–2003 Schalke 04 79 (28)
2003–2004 Standard Liège 28 (21)
2004–2006 Hamburger SV 36 (5)
2006–2007 Al-Rayyan 19 (9)
2007–2008 Manchester City 25 (5)
2008–2009 Plymouth Argyle 9 (2)
2009–2010 Sion 31 (21)
2010–2012 Neftchi Baku 31 (6)
2013–2014 Eendracht Aalst 0 (0)
Total 367 (134)
National team
1995–1996 Belgium U18 7 (6)
1995 Belgium U19 7 (0)
1996 Belgium U21 3 (0)
1997–2009 Belgium 57 (19)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Belgium, Germany and Qatar

Mpenza started his career at K.V. Kortrijk, and then moved to R.E. Mouscron and Standard Liège in quick succession, with older brother Mbo playing alongside in all three clubs. In 2000, he moved to Bundesliga side FC Schalke 04, in an exchange with Michaël Goossens. At Schalke he was very successful together with his compatriot Marc Wilmots and other striker Ebbe Sand but they failed to win the German title on the last day of competition. Mpenza returned to Standard three years later. In 2004–05 he returned to Germany, signing for Hamburger SV. However, in January 2006 he made a surprise move to Qatari team Al Rayyan.

Manchester City

Mpenza signed for Manchester City, after playing and scoring in a specially arranged match at Eastlands on 14 February 2007. "I am not finished and I will prove it in Manchester", Mpenza told Belgian radio station Bel RTL. "I make this move as revenge, with respect to all those who criticised my decision to play in Qatar".[3][4] He made his debut against Wigan Athletic on 3 March 2007 as a half-time substitute replacing Georgios Samaras.[5] He scored his first goal for the club in the 2–0 win at Middlesbrough on 17 March 2007,[6][7] and his second in the 1–0 victory at Newcastle United on 30 March.[8] He scored once more in the 2006–07 season, away to Tottenham Hotspur on the last day of the season, as City lost 2–1.[9]

Having signed until the end of the 2007–08 season, Mpenza scored on City's first pre-season game of the 2007–08 season away to Doncaster Rovers. He would also equalise against Fulham and put City ahead against Bristol City and Newcastle United. However, facing competition for his place from Rolando Bianchi, Valeri Bojinov, Geovanni and Elano, all signed by new City manager Sven-Göran Eriksson in summer 2007, Mpenza did not score again after September, and was released in July 2008.[10]

Plymouth Argyle

He then signed for Championship side Plymouth Argyle on 2 September 2008.[11] Mpenza went on to make his Argyle debut as a sub on 70 minutes in a 2–1 defeat to Norwich City on 13 September. He then scored his first goal for the club against Charlton Athletic in a 2–2 draw,[12] and scored again in a 2–1 win over Cardiff City.[13] However Mpenza's time at Plymouth Argyle was blighted by injury and therefore he was not offered a new contract.

Sion

For the 2009–10 season, Mpenza signed a one-year contract with Swiss Topflight club FC Sion. Here he rediscovered his eye for goal by scoring 21 goals in 32 matches.

Neftchi Baku

In August 2010, Mpenza signed a three-year contract with Azerbaijan Premier League club Neftchi Baku.[14] He left the club in January 2012, having lost his place in the team during the 2011–12 season.[15][16]

In June 2015, Neftchi Baku were ordered by FIFA to pay Mpenza €1 million in unpaid wages.[17]

Eendracht Aalst

After searching a club for over a year, Mpenza finally signed a one-year contract with Eendracht Aalst on 1 October 2013.[18]

International career

Mpenza played for the Belgium national football team between 1997 and 2009, though he was frequently injured in times of international call-ups. He played alongside his brother Mbo in the 1998 World Cup and in Euro 2000 where he scored a goal in the opening match against Sweden (which ended with Belgium's victory 2–1), but missed out on the World Cup in 2002 with a groin injury.

Career statistics

International goals
GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
17 June 1997Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels San Marino6–0Won1998 World Cup Qualification
27 June 1997Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels San Marino6–0Won1998 World Cup Qualification
33 February 1999Tsirion Stadium, Limassol Cyprus0–1WonFriendly
418 August 1999Jan Breydel Stadium, Bruges Finland3–4LostFriendly
54 September 1999Feijenoord Stadion, Rotterdam Netherlands5–5DrawnFriendly
67 September 1999Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège Morocco4–0WonFriendly
729 March 2000Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels Netherlands2–2DrawnFriendly
810 June 2000Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels Sweden2–1WonEuro 2000
916 August 2000Georgi Asparuhov Stadium, Sofia Bulgaria1–3WonFriendly
1028 February 2001Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels San Marino10–1Won2002 World Cup Qualification
1125 April 2001Letná Stadium, Prague Czech Republic1–1DrawFriendly
122 June 2001Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels Latvia3–1Won2002 World Cup Qualification
1312 February 2003Stade 19 Mai 1956, Annaba Algeria1–3WonFriendly
1412 February 2003Stade 19 Mai 1956, Annaba Algeria1–3WonFriendly
1526 March 2005Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels Bosnia and Herzegovina4–1Won2006 World Cup Qualification
1626 March 2005Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels Bosnia and Herzegovina4–1Won2006 World Cup Qualification
1717 August 2005Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels Greece2–0WonFriendly
1810 October 2009Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels Turkey2–0Won2010 World Cup Qualification
1910 October 2009Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels Turkey2–0Won2010 World Cup Qualification

Honours

Club

Schalke 04[19]

Hamburger SV

Neftchi Baku

Individual

References
  1. "Emile Mpenza". Soccerway. Global Sports Media. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
  2. "Emile Mpenza". ESPNsoccernet. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
  3. "Man City set to seal Mpenza deal". ESPN FC. 15 February 2007. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  4. "Man City complete Mpenza signing". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 16 February 2007. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  5. May, John (3 March 2007). "Man City 0–1 Wigan". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  6. "Premiership clockwatch". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 17 March 2007. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  7. Stewart, Rob (19 March 2007). "City still not united as Distin snaps at Dunne". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  8. "Mpenza eases City's relegation fears". Independent Online (South Africa). 31 March 2007. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  9. Burnton, Simon (14 May 2007). "Tottenham find progress in parity while City suffer". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
  10. "Club confirms released players list". Manchester City FC. 3 July 2008. Archived from the original on 5 July 2008. Retrieved 3 July 2008.
  11. "Mpenza pens deal". Plymouth Argyle FC. 2 September 2008. Retrieved 2 September 2008.
  12. "Plymouth 2–2 Charlton". BBC. 8 November 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2009.
  13. "Plymouth 2–1 Cardiff". BBC. 22 November 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2009.
  14. "Ex-Schalke Emile Mpenza changes to Azerbaijan". Goal.com. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  15. "Emile Mpenza de retour au Standard?" (in French). RTL Sport. 3 January 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
  16. Aliyev, Elmir (20 January 2012). "Belgian footballer Emile Mpenza leaves Neftchi". News.az. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
  17. "ФИФА пригрозила Нефтчи: Выплатите Мпензе миллион евро или клуб ждут санкции!". azerifootball.com (in Russian). Azerifootball. 18 June 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  18. "Eendracht Aalst brings back forgotten Mpenza" (in Dutch). sporza.be. 1 October 2013. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  19. "Schalke 04 | Palmarès".
  20. "Valencia 0-0 Hamburg (Aggregate: 0 - 1)". uefa.com. Archived from the original on 12 September 2006. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  21. "FC Neftci Baku | Trophies".
  22. "Jonge Prof van het Jaar".
  23. "Erelijst Ebbehouten Schoen". Eurosport. Archived from the original on 6 February 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  24. "Kevin De Bruyne volgt zichzelf op als Beste Belg in het buitenland". Eurosport. Archived from the original on 6 February 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
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