Julien Kialunda

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Julien Kialunda
Kialunda with Anderlecht
Personal information
Date of birth (1940-04-24)24 April 1940
Place of birth Matadi, Belgian Congo
Date of death 14 September 1987(1987-09-14) (aged 47)
Place of death Antwerp, Belgium
Position(s) Central defender
Youth career
1960 Daring Léopoldville
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1960–1965 Union Saint-Gilloise
1965–1973 Anderlecht 123 (3)
1973–1980 Léopold FC
International career
1972 Zaire 5 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Julien Kialunda (24 April 1940 – 14 September 1987[1]) was a Congolese footballer. He was one of the first Congolese footballers to play professionally in Europe.[2] He represented Zaire at the 1972 African Cup of Nations.[3]

Club career[edit]

Kialunda played for Union Saint-Gilloise, RSC Anderlecht and Léopold FC in Belgium.[1] He was a four time Belgian league champion with Anderlecht.

International career[edit]

Kialunda represented Zaire at the 1972 African Cup of Nations in Cameroon, where he started in all of his team's five matches as Zaire finished fourth.[3]

Post-career[edit]

After his retirement, Kialunda was national coach of the Zaire national team, without much success. He also owned a cafe for a while in the Brussels neighborhood of Matonge, known for its predominantly African population. In 1987, sick with AIDS, he decided to return to Belgium to be treated and die there. He died on 14 September the same year.

A charity is founded in his memory, the "Julien Kialunda Foundation", that is engaged in worthy causes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is sponsored by professional players of African origin playing or having grew up in Belgium, like the brothers Mbo and Émile Mpenza, Mohammed Tchité and Anthony Vanden Borre.[4]

Honours[edit]

Union Saint-Gilloise

Anderlecht

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Julien Kialunda". www.voetbal.com. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  2. ^ C. Onwumechili; G. Akindes (8 April 2014). Identity and Nation in African Football: Fans, Community and Clubs. Palgrave Macmillan UK. pp. 289–. ISBN 978-1-137-35581-2.
  3. ^ a b "African Nations Cup 1972 - Final Tournament Details". RSSSF. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  4. ^ Benoît Delhauteur (30 November 2006). "VdB, Tchité et les frères Mpenza parrains de la fondation Kialunda". www.dhnet.be. Retrieved 3 May 2018.