Mbo Mpenza
Encyclopedia
Mbo Jérôme Mpenza is a retired Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 footballer who played as a striker. He was capped
Cap (sport)
In sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...

 by Belgium at international level, scoring three goals in 56 appearances. His younger brother, Émile
Émile Mpenza
Eka Basunga Lokonda "Émile" Mpenza 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....

, is also a footballer who has represented Belgium.

Club career

During the start of his career, Mbo shared clubs with Émile, until he eventually left Standard Liège
Standard Liège
Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège (Dutch: Standard Luik [], German: Standard Lüttich , is a Belgian football club from the city of Liège....

 for Sporting Clube de Portugal, where he won the 2000 league championship
Portuguese Liga
The Primeira Liga , formerly called Primeira Divisão, currently named Liga ZON Sagres after their main sponsors, is the top professional association football division of the Portuguese football league system...

 as a January transfer. He was once nicknamed Monsieur Un But Par Match (Mr. One-Goal-A-Match) for his regular club scoring exploits. Had an uneventful stint in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

, playing almost no part in Galatasaray S.K.
Galatasaray S.K. (football team)
Galatasaray Anonim Şirketi is a Turkish football club, part of the Galatasaray S.K. multi-sport club of Istanbul. Galatasaray is a major sports club in Turkey, holding 17 Turkish Super League titles and the highest number of Turkish Cups....

's season during the first part of 2001–02. He subsequently returned to Belgium, and served second stints with R.E. Mouscron
R.E. Mouscron
R.E. Mouscron was a Belgian association football club from the municipality of Mouscron, Hainaut. In December 2009 they were declared bankrupt and suspended operations soon after marking the end of professional football in Mouscron.-History:...

 (one half season) and R.S.C. Anderlecht
R.S.C. Anderlecht
Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht, usually known as Anderlecht or RSCA , is a Belgian professional football club based in Anderlecht in the Brussels Capital Region. Anderlecht plays in the Belgian Pro League and is the most successful Belgian football team in European competitions as well as in the...

 (four).

In July 2008, Mpenza joined Greek Super League outfit Larissa FC.
On 8 December 2008 Mpenza announced his retirement due to a back-injury. At this time he had not played a game for Larissa FC yet, due to the same injury.

After football

Mpenza is now working at Anderlecht
R.S.C. Anderlecht
Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht, usually known as Anderlecht or RSCA , is a Belgian professional football club based in Anderlecht in the Brussels Capital Region. Anderlecht plays in the Belgian Pro League and is the most successful Belgian football team in European competitions as well as in the...

 as a scout following his retirement.

International career

Mpenza also played for the Belgium national football team since 1997, for which he scored his first goal in a friendly against Greece
Greece national football team
The Greece national football team represents Greece in association football and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation, the governing body for football in Greece. Greece's home ground is Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus and their head coach is Fernando Santos...

 in August 2005. He represented his adopted nation in two World Cups
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...

 and in UEFA Euro 2000, held in his country and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 (with brother Émile in the final squads for 1998
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...

and 2000's competitions). He collected 56 caps (66 selections).
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