Émile Mpenza

Émile Mpenza

Personal information
Full name	Émile Lokonda Mpenza
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	Manchester City
Number	9
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 March 2007

Émile Lokonda Mpenza (born July 4, 1978) is a Belgian footballer, of Congolese parentage. He currently plays as a striker for Manchester City F.C., having signed until the end of the 2006-07 season. He has been capped more than 50 times by Belgium.

Football career

Mpenza started his career at K.V. Kortrijk, and then moved to R.E. Mouscron and Standard Liège in quick succession. At Liège he played alongside his elder brother Mbo Mpenza. In 2000 he moved to to Bundesliga side FC Schalke 04, returning to Standard Liège three years later. In 2004-05 he returned to Germany when Hamburger SV signed him for €2.5million. In January 2006 he made a suprise move to Qatari team Al Rayyan.

He signed for Manchester City Football Club 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 then made his debut against Wigan Athletic as a half time sub replacing Georgios Samaras and was probably Manchester City's best player. He scored his first goal for City in the 2-0 win at Middlesbrough on 17 March 2007 and scored his second in the 1-0 victory at Newcastle FC on the 30 March 2007.

International career

He plays with the Belgium national football team since 1997, though he has frequently been injured in times of international call-ups (He recently had to cancel a call-up for the 40th!!!) time. He missed out on the World Cup in 2002 with a groin injury. Mpenza played alongside his brother in the 1998 World Cup, and in Euro 2000.

External links

• Émile Mpenza at Soccerbase