Albert Meyong Zé (born 19 October 1980), known as Meyong, is a Cameroonian former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a striker, currently a

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

. He spent most of his professional career in Portugal, amassing

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...

totals of 231 matches and 79 goals over 13 seasons and representing mainly in the competition

Vitória de Setúbal Vitoria or Vitória may refer to : People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Steven Vitória ...

(seven years) and

Braga Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (in ...

(three and a half). Meyong appeared with

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

at the

2006 Africa Cup of Nations The 2006 Africa Cup of Nations was the 25th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of Africa. It was hosted by Egypt. Just like in 2004, the field of sixteen teams was split into four groups of four. Egypt w ...

Club career

Born in

Yaoundé Yaoundé (; , ) is the capital of Cameroon and, with a population of more than 2.8 million, the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region of the nation at an elevation of about 750 metres (2,50 ...

, Meyong started playing in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

still a youngster, for Italian club Ravenna Calcio. After one and a half seasons he moved to Portuguese

side Vitória Futebol Clube; he won the

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; "Cup of Portugal") is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Placard since the 2015–16 seaso ...

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, having scored the winning goal in the final against

S.L. Benfica Sport Lisboa e Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional association football, football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football league system, Portuguese footba ...

. In the summer of 2005, Meyong signed a two-year contract with

C.F. Os Belenenses Clube de Futebol Os Belenenses, commonly known as Os Belenenses (), is a Portuguese sports club best known for its football team. Founded in 1919, it is one of the oldest Portuguese sports clubs. It is based in the 25,000-seat Estádio do Rest ...

– where he was the league's top scorer despite the club's bottom-four finish– moving to

Levante UD Levante Unión Deportiva, S.A.D. (, ca-valencia, Llevant Unió Esportiva ) is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club in Valencia, in the Valencian Community, namesake autonomous community. Founded on 9 September 1909, Levante ...

a year later. Due to late payment of salary he was loaned to

Albacete Balompié Albacete Balompié is a Spanish football team based in Albacete, in the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. Founded on 2 August 1940, it currently plays in Segunda División, the second tier of Spanish football, holding home matches ...

, after one appearance for Levante in 2007–08. Meyong returned to Portugal and Belenenses in January 2008, netting the

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) A p ...

winner against

Associação Naval 1º de Maio Associação Naval 1º de Maio or Associação Naval 1893, commonly known as Naval, is a Portuguese football club based in Figueira da Foz, Coimbra District. Founded on 1 May 1893, it plays in the Division of Honour in the Coimbra Football Associ ...

in a 2–1 home win but, being this the third team he represented in the season, which went against

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

regulations, his registration was deemed illegal and Belenenses condemned to lose six points in the table (awarded 0–3 loss and three-point penalty in this match). This led to fans of the latter assaulting

director of football A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The sport ...

Carlos Janela before the decision was taken, with him also being immediately sacked. In August 2008, Meyong joined

S.C. Braga Sporting Clube de Braga () (), commonly known as Sporting de Braga or just Braga, is a Portuguese sports club from the city of Braga. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese ...

of the same league. He scored his first goal for his new team on the 23rd, in a 2–0 defeat of

F.C. Paços de Ferreira Futebol Clube Paços de Ferreira () is a Portuguese football club based in Paços de Ferreira, Porto district. Founded in 1950, the club competes in the Primeira Liga, holding home games at the 9,077-seater Estádio da Mata Real, a municipal s ...

. He added a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

on 18 September in a

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

first-round tie against Artmedia Bratislava, a 4–0 home victory. Midway through 2008–09 he agreed to a new one-year deal, running until June 2011. In 2009–10, Meyong was an essential attacking unit for Braga, scoring 11 league goals as the Minho club finished in the second position, a best-ever. During the campaign, for example, he found the net against

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foot ...

(2–1 away win), adding two late penalties against neighbours

Vitória de Guimarães Vitoria or Vitória may refer to : People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Steven Vitória ...

(3–2, at home). In late December 2011, Meyong was released by Braga after very little playing time in his last two seasons, along with

Rodrigo Galo Rodrigo Galo Brito (born 19 September 1986) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a right back for Portuguese club Casa Pia. Club career Early career In 2000, Rodrigo Galo joined the academy of club Juventus. He spent four years ...

Marcos Marcos may refer to: People with the given name ''Marcos'' *Marcos (given name) Sports ;Surnamed * Dayton Marcos, Negro league baseball team from Dayton, Ohio (early twentieth-century) * Dimitris Markos, Greek footballer * Nélson Marcos, Portugue ...

and Fran Mérida. After being linked to

C.D. Nacional Clube Desportivo Nacional, commonly known as Nacional and sometimes Nacional da Madeira (), is a Portuguese football club based in Funchal, on the island of Madeira. Founded on 8 December 1910, it currently plays in the Liga Portugal 2, Portug ...

and C.D. Feirense he eventually returned to

Setúbal Setúbal (, , ; cel-x-proto, Caetobrix) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population in 2014 was 118,166, occupying an area of . The city itself had 89,303 inhabitants in 2001. It lies within the Lisbon metropolitan area. In the ti ...

and Vitória, after nearly seven years. Meyong led the national scoring charts midway through the 2012–13 season, alongside

FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, MHIH, OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portu ...

Jackson Martínez Jackson Arley Martínez Valencia (; born 3 October 1986) is a Colombian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He started his career with Independiente Medellin in 2004 and becoming the league's top scorer in 2009, before be ...

and Benfica's

Óscar Cardozo Óscar René Cardozo Marín (; born 20 May 1983) is a Paraguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Club Libertad and the Paraguay national team. Known for his powerful left-foot shot and free-kick skills, he first gained att ...

; highlights included three goals against

Rio Ave FC Rio Ave Futebol Clube, commonly known as Rio Ave (), is a Portuguese professional football club based in Vila do Conde, that competes in the Primeira Liga. The club is named after the Ave River, which flows through the town and into the Atlant ...

(but in a 3–5 home defeat) and

Moreirense FC Moreirense Futebol Clube is a Portuguese professional football club based in Moreira de Cónegos, Guimarães Municipality, in Minho. Founded on 1 November 1938, it plays in the Liga Portugal 2, holding home games at Parque de Jogos Comendador Joa ...

(5–0, home). In early January 2013, however, he moved to

Luanda Luanda () is the capital and largest city in Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Angola's administrative centre, its chief seaport ...

-based Kabuscorp S.C. in

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

. After retiring at the age of 36, Meyong joined Vitória de Setúbal's coaching staff as an assistant. On 28 October 2019, after

Sandro Mendes Sandro Miguel Laranjeira Mendes (born 4 February 1977), known simply as Sandro, is a Cape Verdean former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder, currently manager of Portuguese club União Futebol Comércio e Indústria. Mos ...

' dismissal, he was named

caretaker Caretaker may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''The Caretaker'' (film), a 1963 adaptation of the play ''The Caretaker'' * '' The Caretakers'', a 1963 American film set in a mental hospital * Caretaker, a character in the 1974 film '' ...

, and held this post again next July between the resignation of

Julio Velázquez Julio Velázquez Santiago (born 5 October 1981) is a Spanish football manager, currently in charge of Eredivisie club Fortuna Sittard. He began coaching at 15, and was the youngest ever Segunda División manager with Villarreal B at 30. He ma ...

and appointment of

Lito Vidigal José Carlos Fernandes Vidigal (born 11 July 1969), commonly known as Lito, is an Angolan professional football manager and former player who played as a defender. He spent his entire playing career in Portugal, mainly with Belenenses in the P ...

; his managerial debut was on 31 October, in a 1–1 draw at

C.D. Santa Clara Clube Desportivo Santa Clara is a Portuguese football club from Ponta Delgada, Azores. They play in the 13,277-seat Estádio de São Miguel. They are the most successful football team from the Azores Islands as the only team from the archipelag ...

. Meyong briefly came out of retirement aged 40, appearing for amateurs

União Futebol Comércio e Indústria União Futebol Comércio e Indústria is a football club based in Setúbal, Portugal. They currently compete in the First Division of the Setúbal Football Association. The club was founded in 1917 under the name União dos Empregados do Comércio ...

after an invitation from his friend João Tavira who was their vice-president.

International career

Meyong played for the Cameroon national team over five years, his debut coming in 2004. He also represented his country at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

, where he won a gold medal. Meyong was picked for the squad that appeared at the

: manager Artur Jorge started him alongside

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...

Samuel Eto'o Samuel Eto'o Fils (; born 10 March 1981) is a Cameroonian football administrator and former player who is the current president of the Cameroonian Football Federation from 11 December 2021. In his prime, Eto'o was regarded by pundits as one of ...

during the tournament and he scored two goals, one in the group stage against

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

and another in the quarter-finals against

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

as the ''Lions Indomptables'' exited after losing on penalties 11–12.

Career statistics

Club

International goals

Honours

Vitória Setúbal *

: 2004–05 Braga *

UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from la, Inter, 'between' + german: toto, 'betting pool'),Most precisely, from (football pool); cf. often abbreviated and more known in the German-speaking world as UI Cup and originally called the International Foot ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

runner-up: 2010–11 Kabuscorp *

Girabola Girabola, or ''Campeonato Nacional de Futebol em Séniores Masculinos'', is the top division of Angolan football. It is organized by the Angolan Football Federation. The league winner and runner-up qualify for the CAF Champions League. Gira ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

* Supertaça de Angola: 2014 Cameroon *

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

Individual *

top scorer: 2005–06 (17 goals) *Taça de Portugal top scorer: 2004–05 (4 goals) * Girabola top scorer:

(20 goals),

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

(17 goals),

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

(13 goals)

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Meyong, Albert 1980 births Living people Footballers from Yaoundé Cameroonian footballers Association football forwards Canon Yaoundé players Serie B players Ravenna F.C. players Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Vitória F.C. players C.F. Os Belenenses players S.C. Braga players La Liga players Segunda División players Levante UD footballers Albacete Balompié players Girabola players Kabuscorp S.C.P. players Cameroon international footballers 2006 Africa Cup of Nations players Footballers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers of Cameroon Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in football Olympic gold medalists for Cameroon Cameroonian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in Portugal Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in Angola Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in Angola Cameroonian football managers Primeira Liga managers Vitória F.C. managers Cameroonian expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Portugal