Émile Mpenza

Émile Mpenza

Personal information
Full name	Eka Basunga Lokonda Mpenza
Date of birth	4 July 1978 (1978-07-04)
Place of birth	Brussels, Belgium
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Neftchi Baku
Number	10
Youth career
–	LC Mesvins
–	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–	Neftchi Baku	31	(6)
National team‡
1997–	Belgium	57	(19)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 00:44, 19 December 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14:43, 18 June 2011 (UTC)

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

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 when Hamburger SV signed him for €2.5million. 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".

He made his debut against Wigan Athletic as a half-time substitute replacing Georgios Samaras and was arguably City's best player. He scored his first goal for the club in the 2–0 win at Middlesbrough on 17 March 2007, and his second in the 1–0 victory at Newcastle United on 30 March. 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.

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 score goals against Bristol City, Fulham and Newcastle United before he was released in July 2008.

Plymouth Argyle

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

Sion

For the season 2009–2010 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.

Neftci Baku

In August 2010, Mpenza signed a three-year contract with Azerbaijan Premier League club Neftchi Baku.

International career

Mpenza has been playing for the Belgium national football team since 1997, though he has frequently been 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.

Honours

Club

Schalke 04

• German Cup: 2000–01, 2001–02

Hamburger SV

• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2005

Neftchi Baku

• Azerbaijan Premier League: 2010–11

Individual

• Belgian Young Professional Footballer of the Year: 1996–97
• Belgian Ebony Shoe: 1997
• Belgian Footballer of the Year in a Foreign Competition: 2000
• Standard Liège Man of the Season: 2003–04

Career statistics

International goals scored by Emile Mpenza

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	7 June 1997	Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels	San Marino	6 – 0	Won	1998 World Cup Qualification
2	7 June 1997	Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels	San Marino	6 – 0	Won	1998 World Cup Qualification
3	3 February 1999	Tsirion Stadium, Limassol	Cyprus	0 – 1	Won	Friendly
4	18 August 1999	Jan Breydel Stadium, Bruges	Finland	3 – 4	Lost	Friendly
5	4 September 1999	Feijenoord Stadion, Rotterdam	Netherlands	5 – 5	Drawn	Friendly
6	7 September 1999	Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège	Morocco	4 – 0	Won	Friendly
7	29 March 2000	Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels	Netherlands	2 – 2	Drawn	Friendly
8	10 June 2000	Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels	Sweden	2 – 1	Won	Euro 2000
9	16 August 2000	Georgi Asparuhov Stadium, Sofia	Bulgaria	1 – 3	Won	Friendly
10	28 February 2001	Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels	San Marino	10 – 1	Won	2002 World Cup Qualification
11	25 April 2001	Letná Stadium, Prague	Czech Republic	1 – 1	Draw	Friendly
12	2 June 2001	Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels	Latvia	3 – 1	Won	2002 World Cup Qualification
13	12 February 2003	Stade 19 Mai 1956, Annaba	Algeria	1 – 3	Won	Friendly
14	12 February 2003	Stade 19 Mai 1956, Annaba	Algeria	1 – 3	Won	Friendly
15	26 March 2005	Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels	Bosnia and Herzegovina	4 – 1	Won	2006 World Cup Qualification
16	26 March 2005	Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels	Bosnia and Herzegovina	4 – 1	Won	2006 World Cup Qualification
17	17 August 2005	Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels	Greece	2 – 0	Won	Friendly
18	10 October 2009	Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels	Turkey	2 – 0	Won	2010 World Cup Qualification
19	10 October 2009	Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels	Turkey	2 – 0	Won	2010 World Cup Qualification

External links

• Émile Mpenza career stats at Soccerbase
• Émile Mpenza at National-Football-Teams.com