Eka Basunga Lokonda "Émile" Mpenza (born 4 July 1978) is a Belgian former footballer who played as a striker. He has been capped at international level by Belgium. His older brother, Mbo, also 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, signing for Hamburger SV. 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 on 3 March 2007 as a half-time substitute replacing Georgios Samaras. 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 equalise against Fulham and put City ahead against Bristol City and Newcastle United. However, facing competition for his place from Rolando Bianchi, Valeri Bojinov, Geovanni and Elano, all signed by new City manager Sven-Göran Eriksson in summer 2007, Mpenza did not score again after September, and 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 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 2009–10 season, 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.

Neftchi Baku In August 2010, Mpenza signed a three-year contract with Azerbaijan Premier League club Neftchi Baku. He left the club in January 2012, having lost his place in the team during the 2011–12 season.

In June 2015, Neftchi Baku were ordered by FIFA to pay Mpenza €1 million in unpaid wages.

Eendracht Aalst After searching a club for over a year, Mpenza finally signed a one-year contract with Eendracht Aalst on 1 October 2013.

International career Mpenza played for the Belgium national football team between 1997 and 2009, though he was frequently 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.

Career statistics +Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupEuropeOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsKortrijk1995–96Belgian Second Division31420—43357Mouscron1996–97Belgian First Division311210——3212Standard Liège1997–98Belgian First Division1961021—2271998–99171031—1121121999–20001141100—125Total47205221115524 Schalke 041999–2000 Bundesliga15600——1562000–0127135131—35152001–0216400—201842002–0321532—00247Total79288331209232Standard Liège2003–04Belgian First Division282110——2921 Hamburg2004–05 Bundesliga2641141—3162005–061010071—172Total36511112—488Al-Rayyan2005–06Qatar Stars League11600——1162006–078300——183Total19900—00199Manchester City2006–07Premier League10310——1132007–0815210—21183Total25520—21296Plymouth Argyle2008–09First Division9200——92Sion2009–10Swiss Super League312110—203421Neftchi Baku2010–11 Azerbaijan Premier League23600—512872011–128000—20100Total31600—71387Eendracht Aalst2011—12Belgian Second Division0000——00Career total367133196164186420149

+Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsBelgium199752199880199994200073200163200220200342200410200573200630200720200832Total5719

International goals Scores and results list Belgium's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mpenza goal. Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1 7 June 1997 Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels 3–0 rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" 1998 World Cup Qualification2 5–0 3 3 February 1999 Tsirion Stadium, Limassol 1–0 Friendly 4 18 August 1999 Jan Breydel Stadium, Bruges 3–4 Friendly 5 4 September 1999 Feijenoord Stadion, Rotterdam 5–5 Friendly 6 7 September 1999 Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège 3–0 Friendly 7 29 March 2000 Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels 2–0 Friendly 8 10 June 2000 Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels 2–0 Euro 2000 9 16 August 2000 Georgi Asparuhov Stadium, Sofia 2–0 Friendly 10 28 February 2001 Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels 2–0 2002 World Cup Qualification 11 25 April 2001 Letná Stadium, Prague 1–0 Friendly 12 2 June 2001 Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels 3–1 2002 World Cup Qualification 13 12 February 2003 Stade 19 Mai 1956, Annaba 1–0 rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" Friendly14 3–0 15 26 March 2005 Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels 1–1 rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" 2006 World Cup Qualification16 3–1 17 17 August 2005 Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels 1–0 Friendly 18 10 October 2009 Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels 1–0 rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" 2010 World Cup Qualification 19 2–0

Honours

Club Schalke 04 DFB-Pokal: 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 Best Belgian Footballer Abroad: 2000 kicker German Football Rankings - International Class Player: 2000-01 Standard Liège Man of the Season: 2003–04

References

External links