Albert Meyong

Albert Meyong Zé (born 19 October 1980), known as Meyong, is a Cameroonian former footballer who played as a striker, and the assistant manager of Portuguese club Vitória de Setúbal.

Albert Meyong

Personal information
Full name	Albert Meyong Zé
Date of birth	19 October 1980
Place of birth	Yaoundé, Cameroon
Height	1.84 m (6 ft ^1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Club information
Current team	Vitória Setúbal (assistant)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1997–1998	Canon Yaoundé
1998–1999	Ravenna	7	(2)
2000–2005	Vitória Setúbal	150	(53)
2005–2006	Belenenses	26	(17)
2006–2008	Levante	12	(1)
2007	→ Albacete (loan)	13	(0)
2008	→ Belenenses (loan)	1	(1)
2008–2011	Braga	65	(21)
2012–2013	Vitória Setúbal	25	(16)
2013–2015	Kabuscorp	?	(50)
2016–2017	Vitória Setúbal	19	(1)
Total		318	(162)
National team
2004–2009	Cameroon	12	(3)
Teams managed
2017–	Vitória Setúbal (assistant)
2019	Vitória Setúbal (caretaker)
2020	Vitória Setúbal (caretaker)
Honours Men's Football Representing  Cameroon Olympic Games 2000 Sydney Team Competition
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He spent most of his professional career in Portugal, amassing Primeira Liga totals of 231 matches and 79 goals over 13 seasons and representing mainly in the competition Vitória de Setúbal (seven years) and Braga (three and a half).[1]

Meyong appeared with Cameroon at the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations.

Club career

Born in Yaoundé, Meyong started playing in Europe still a youngster, for Italian club Ravenna Calcio. After one and a half seasons he moved to Portuguese Primeira Liga side Vitória Futebol Clube; he won the Taça de Portugal in 2005, having scored the winning goal in the final against S.L. Benfica.[2]

In the summer of 2005, Meyong signed a two-year contract with C.F. Os Belenenses – where he was the league's top scorer despite the club's bottom-four finish[3]– moving to Levante UD a year later.[4] Due to late payment of salary he was loaned to Albacete Balompié, after one appearance for Levante in 2007–08.[5]

In January 2008, Meyong returned to Portugal and Belenenses, netting the penalty winner against Associação Naval 1º de Maio in a 2–1 home win but, being this the third club he represented in the season, which went against FIFA regulations, his registration was deemed illegal and Belenenses condemned to lose six points in the table (awarded 0–3 loss and three-point penalty in this match).[6] This led to fans of the latter assaulting director of football Carlos Janela before the decision was taken, with him also being immediately sacked.[7]

In August 2008, Meyong joined fellow league side S.C. Braga.[8] He scored his first goal for his new team on the 23rd, in a 2–0 win at F.C. Paços de Ferreira.[9] He added a hat-trick on 18 September in a UEFA Cup first-round tie against Artmedia Bratislava, a 4–0 home victory;[10] midway through 2008–09 he agreed to a new one-year deal, running until June 2011.[11]

In 2009–10, Meyong was an essential attacking unit for Braga, scoring 11 league goals as the Minho club finished in the second position, a best-ever.[12] During the campaign, for example, he found the net against Sporting CP (2–1 away triumph),[13] adding two late penalties against neighbours Vitória de Guimarães (3–2 home win).[14]

In late December 2011, Meyong was released by Braga after very little playing time in his last two seasons, along with Rodrigo Galo, Marcos and Fran Mérida.[15] After being linked to C.D. Nacional and C.D. Feirense[16][17] he eventually returned to Setúbal and Vitória, after nearly seven years.[18]

Meyong led the national scoring charts midway through the 2012–13 season, alongside FC Porto's Jackson Martínez and Benfica's Óscar Cardozo. Highlights included three goals against Rio Ave FC (but in a 3–5 home loss)[19] and Moreirense FC (5–0, home).[20] In early January 2013, however, he moved to Luanda-based Kabuscorp S.C. in Angola.[21]

After retiring at the age of 36, Meyong joined Vitória de Setúbal's coaching staff as an assistant.[22] On 28 October 2019, after Sandro Mendes' dismissal, he was named caretaker,[23] and held this post again next July between the resignation of Julio Velázquez and appointment of Lito Vidigal;[24] his managerial debut was on 31 October, in a 1–1 draw at C.D. Santa Clara.[25]

International career

Meyong played for the Cameroon national team over five years, his debut coming in 2004. He also represented his country at the 2000 Summer Olympics, where he won a gold medal.

Meyong was picked for the squad that appeared at the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations: manager Artur Jorge started him alongside FC Barcelona's Samuel Eto'o during the tournament and he scored two goals, one in the group stage against Togo and another in the quarter-finals against Ivory Coast as the Lions Indomptables exited after losing on penalties 11–12.[26][27]

Career statistics

Club

[28][29]

Club	Season	League		Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Ravenna	1998–99	7	2	0	0	–		–		7	2
Vitória Setúbal	1999–00	9	2	0	0	–		–		9	2
	2000–01	22	13	0	0	–		–		22	13
	2001–02	29	3	0	0	–		–		29	3
	2002–03	24	7	0	0	–		–		24	7
	2003–04	33	20	4	1	–		–		37	21
	2004–05	33	11	4	4	–		–		37	15
	Total	150	56	8	5	0	0	0	0	158	61
Belenenses	2005–06	26	17	1	0	–		–		27	17
	Total	26	17	1	0	0	0	0	0	27	17
Levante	2006–07	11	1	0	0	–		–		11	1
	2007–08	1	0	0	0	–		–		1	0
	Total	12	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	12	1
Albacete	2007–08	13	0	0	0	–		–		13	0
	Total	13	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	13	0
Belenenses	2007–08	1	1	0	0	–		–		1	1
	Total	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
Braga	2008–09	18	8	2	1	0	0	10	5	30	14
	2009–10	29	11	4	0	1	0	2	1	36	12
	2010–11	15	3	2	0	2	1	9	0	28	4
	2011–12	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	4	0
	Total	65	22	8	1	3	1	22	6	98	30
Vitória Setúbal	2011–12	9	3	0	0	2	0	–		11	3
	2012–13	13	13	2	2	2	2	–		17	17
	Total	22	16	2	2	4	2	0	0	28	20
Kabuscorp	2013	?	20	1	0	–		–		?	20
	2014	29	17	3	1	–		2	0	34	18
	2015	28	13	?	?	–		2	1	?	?
	Total	?	50	?	?	0	0	4	1	?	?
Vitória Setúbal	2015–16	7	0	0	0	0	0	–		7	0
	2016–17	12	1	1	0	0	0	–		20	0
	Total	19	1	1	0	2	0	0	0	22	1
Career Total		305	162	18	6	7	1	22	6	352	114

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Result	Competition
1	25 January 2006	Military Academy Stadium, Cairo, Egypt	Togo	2–0	2006 Africa Cup of Nations
2	4 February 2006	Military Academy Stadium, Cairo, Egypt	Ivory Coast	1–1	2006 Africa Cup of Nations
3	11 October 2008	Omnisports Ahmadou Ahidjo, Yaoundé, Cameroon	Mauritius	5–0	2010 World Cup qualification
4	11 October 2008	Omnisports Ahmadou Ahidjo, Yaoundé, Cameroon	Mauritius	5–0	2010 World Cup qualification

Honours

Club

Setúbal

• Taça de Portugal: 2004–05

Braga

• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2008
• UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2010–11

Kabuscorp

• Girabola: 2013
• Supertaça de Angola: 2014

International

• Summer Olympic Games: 2000

Individual

• Primeira Liga Top Scorer: 2005–06 (17 goals)
• Taça de Portugal Top Scorer: 2004–05 (4 goals)
• Girabola Top Scorer: 2013 (20 goals), 2014 (17 goals), 2015 (13 goals)[30][31]

References

1. Almeida, Isaura (11 June 2017). "Meyong e Silas. A difícil despedida dos relvados sem dizer adeus ao futebol" [Meyong e Silas. The hard farewell to the pitches without saying goodbye to football]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 6 November 2017.
2. Meyong magic seals Setúbal joy; UEFA, 29 May 2005
3. "Meyong foi o artilheiro e deixa o Restelo" [Meyong was top gunner and leaves the Restelo]. Record (in Portuguese). 8 May 2006. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
4. Strikers boost Levante and Atlético; UEFA, 25 July 2006
5. "El Abacete [sic] ficha a Meyog [sic] Zé y traspasa a De la Calle al Nástic" [Albacete sign Meyong Zé and transfer De la Calle to Nástic]. Marca (in Spanish). 31 August 2007. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
6. "Belenenses docked six points in Portugal". UEFA. 30 April 2008. Retrieved 1 May 2008.
7. "Agredido y destituido por fichar a Meyong, ex del Levante y Albacete" [Assaulted and fired for signing Meyong, formerly of Levante and Albacete]. El País (in Spanish). 16 January 2008. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
8. Braga bring Meyong back to Portugal; UEFA, 31 July 2008
9. "P. Ferreira-Sp. Braga, 0–2 (Meyong 47, Paulo César 85)". Record (in Portuguese). 23 August 2008. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
10. "Meyong: "Conto as vitórias e não os golos"" [Meyong: "I count the wins and not the goals"]. Record (in Portuguese). 19 September 2008. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
11. "Meyong está à venda e Keita é dispensável" [Meyong for sale and Keita expendable]. Record (in Portuguese). 23 May 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
12. "Djalmir foi o marcador mais eficaz" [Djalmir was the most effective scorer]. Record (in Portuguese). 10 May 2010. Archived from the original on 22 February 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
13. Braga outplay uninspired Sporting; PortuGOAL, 22 August 2009
14. "El Braga decide con penaltis" [Braga decide with penalties] (in Spanish). UEFA. 3 April 2010. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
15. Pinto, Paulo (27 December 2011). "Marcos, Mérida, Meyong e Galo já não se apresentaram" [Marcos, Mérida, Meyong and Galo did not return]. A Bola (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 8 January 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
16. "Cimeira na Madeira envolve Luís Alberto" [Summit in Madeira involves Luís Alberto]. Record (in Portuguese). 2 January 2012. Archived from the original on 8 January 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
17. "Meyong é hipótese" [Meyong is a possibility]. A Bola (in Portuguese). 4 January 2012. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
18. "O regresso do goleador" [The return of the goalscorer]. Record (in Portuguese). 13 January 2012. Archived from the original on 16 January 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
19. "Liga round-up: Rio Ave hammer Setúbal". PortuGOAL. 25 November 2012. Archived from the original on 22 May 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
20. Amaro, Miguel (13 January 2013). "Meyong marca mais três" [Meyong scores three more]. Record (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
21. "Meyong assina pelo Kabuscorp" [Meyong signs for Kabuscorp]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 14 January 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
22. "Meyong vai integrar equipa técnica do Vitória de Setúbal" [Meyong to join Vitória de Setúbal's coaching staff]. Observador (in Portuguese). 16 June 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
23. "Meyong temporariamente no comando" [Meyong temporarily in charge]. A Bola (in Portuguese). 28 October 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
24. "Lito Vidigal é o novo treinador do V. Setúbal" [Lito Vidigal is the new manager of V. Setúbal] (in Portuguese). TVI 24. 6 July 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
25. Nasedkin, Ilya (31 October 2019). "Boavista vence Braga e sobe ao 5º lugar, V. Setúbal empata Santa Clara" [Boavista defeat Braga and rise to 5th place, V. Setúbal draw with Santa Clara] (in Portuguese). Rádio Estádio. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
26. Davies, Martin (25 January 2006). "Cameroon 2–0 Togo". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
27. Copnall, James (4 February 2006). "Cameroon 1–1 Ivory Coast". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
28. Albert Meyong at ForaDeJogo
29. "A. Meyong". Soccerway. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
30. "Lista completa de melhores marcadores do Girabola" [Girabola top scorers full list] (in Portuguese). Girabola. 12 October 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
31. Magalhães, Anaximandro (13 October 2015). "Maior goleador do Girabola continua ser Carlos Alves" [Best Girabola top scorer is still Carlos Alves]. Jornal de Angola (in Portuguese). Retrieved 6 November 2019.

External links

• Albert Meyong at ForaDeJogo
• Albert Meyong at BDFutbol
• Albert Meyong at National-Football-Teams.com
• Albert Meyong – FIFA competition record
• Albert Meyong – UEFA competition record