Mbo Jérôme Mpenza (born 4 December 1976) is a Belgian former professional football player and coach, who played as a striker. He was capped by Belgium at international level, scoring three goals in 56 appearances. His younger brother, Émile, is also a former footballer who represented Belgium.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mbo Jérôme Mpenza | ||
| Date of birth | 4 December 1976[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Kinshasa, Zaire | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Mesvins | |||
| 1989–1993 | Kortrijk | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1993–1996 | Kortrijk | 73 | (34) |
| 1996–1997 | Mouscron | 30 | (12) |
| 1997–1999 | Standard Liège | 52 | (20) |
| 2000–2001 | Sporting CP | 35 | (3) |
| 2001 | Galatasaray | 0 | (0) |
| 2002–2004 | Mouscron | 62 | (27) |
| 2004–2008 | Anderlecht | 86 | (20) |
| 2008 | AEL | 0 | (0) |
| Total | 338 | (116) | |
| International career | |||
| 1991 | Belgium U15 | 1 | (0) |
| 1992 | Belgium U16 | 1 | (0) |
| 1992 | Belgium U17 | 4 | (3) |
| 1994 | Belgium U18 | 1 | (0) |
| 1996 | Belgium U21 | 2 | (0) |
| 1997–2007 | Belgium | 56 | (3) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2009 | Anderlecht (scout)[3] | ||
| 2009 | Anderlecht U13[4][5] | ||
| 2011– | Belgium (scout)[6] | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career
During the start of his career, Mbo shared clubs with Émile, until he eventually left Standard Liège for Sporting CP, where he won the 2000 league championship 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, playing almost no part in Galatasaray's season during the first part of 2001–02. He subsequently returned to Belgium, and served second stints with R.E. Mouscron (one half season) and R.S.C. Anderlecht (four).
In July 2008, Mpenza joined Greek Super League outfit AEL FC. On 8 December 2008, he announced his retirement due to a back-injury. At this time he had not played a game for the club yet, due to the same injury.[7]
International career
Mpenza also played for the Belgium national team from 1997, for which he scored his first goal in a friendly against Greece in August 2005. He represented his adopted nation in two World Cups and in UEFA Euro 2000, held in his country and the Netherlands (with brother Émile in the final squads for 1998 and 2000's competitions). He collected 56 caps (66 selections).
After football
Mpenza works at Anderlecht as a scout following his retirement.[8]
Honours
Sporting CP[9]
Anderlecht[11]
Belgium