Junior Kabananga Kalonji (born 4 April 1989) is a Congolese former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was a member of DR Congo national team.
Club career Born in Kinshasa, Kabananga began his early career with FC MK Etanchéité.
Anderlecht He made his senior debut for Belgian club Anderlecht in the 2010–11 season, although Anderlecht later admitted negligence when transferring the player from Democratic Republic of the Congo after a forged document was used.
Loans to Beerschot and Roeselare He moved on loan to Germinal Beerschot in January 2011, and also spent the 2012–13 season on loan at Roeselare.
Cercle Brugge He signed a permanent two-year contract with Cercle Brugge in July 2013.
Astana In June 2015 he signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Kazakhstan Premier League side FC Astana. In June 2016 he returned from the loan. On 27 July 2017, Kabananga signed a new two-year contract with Astana.
Karabükspor(loan) On 1 February 2016, Kabananga joined Kardemir Karabükspor on loan until the end of the 2015–16 Turkish season.
Al-Nassr and Astana(loan) return On 31 January 2018, Kabananga signed a $2 million two-and-a-half-year contract with Al-Nassr. He returned on loan to Astana in September 2018.
Suzhou Dongwu On 10 June 2021, Kabananga joined China League One side Suzhou Dongwu.
Mioveni In August 2022, Kabananga joined Liga I club Mioveni. He left the club in January 2023.
Maktaaral In February 2023, Kabananga signed a contract with Kazakh club Maktaaral.
International career Kabananga made his international debut for DR Congo in 2014. In January 2015 he was named in the final squad for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
Career statistics
Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational CupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsRoeselare (loan)2012–13Belgian Second Division29500——295Cercle Brugge2013–14Belgian Pro League34532——3772014–1530820——328Total641352——6915Astana2015Kazakhstan Premier League13520100002552016135231220027102017311900114104323Total572943336109538Kardemir Karabükspor (loan)2015–16TFF First League7200——72Al-Nassr2017–18Saudi Professional League6410——74Astana (loan)2018Kazakhstan Premier League6000110—1702019142100012164Total2021011012334Qatar2019–20Qatar Stars League5100—0051Shakhtyor Soligorsk2020Belarusian Premier League5000——50Suzhou Dongwu2021China League One22310——233Mioveni2022–23Liga I10041——141Maktaaral2023Kazakhstan Premier League7020——90Career total232591864462229773
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearDR CongoYearAppsGoals201431201580201793201820Total224
Scores and results list DR Congo's goal tally first.
+ List of international goals scored by Junior KabanangaGoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition 1. 15 October 2014 Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, Ivory Coast 2–1 4–3 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification 2. 16 January 2017 Stade d'Oyem, Oyem, Gabon 1–0 1–0 2017 Africa Cup of Nations 3. 20 January 2017 Stade d'Oyem, Oyem, Gabon 2–1 2–2 2017 Africa Cup of Nations 4. 24 January 2017 Stade de Port-Gentil, Port-Gentil, Gabon 1–0 3–1 2017 Africa Cup of Nations
Honours Astana Kazakhstan Premier League: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 Kazakhstan Cup: 2016 Kazakhstan Super Cup: 2019
DR Congo Africa Cup of Nations bronze: 2015
Individual Africa Cup of Nations top scorer: 2017 Africa Cup of Nations Team of the tournament: 2017
References