Frédéric Vinami Henri Gounongbe (born 1 May 1988) is a former professional

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

centre forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

. A latecomer to professional football, he rose to prominence during a spell with Belgian Third Division side Woluwe-Zaventem, scoring 19 times in the 2011–12 season. His form attracted the attention of Belgian Pro League side

Zulte Waregem Sportvereniging Zulte Waregem (), commonly known as Zulte Waregem or by their nickname Essevee (), is a Belgian professional football club based in Waregem, West Flanders. Zulte Waregem plays in the Belgian First Division A. Their highest finish a ...

and he joined the club on a two-year deal. However, he never appeared for the first team and after spending the 2012–13 season on loan at the club, he joined RWDM Brussels on a permanent deal. In 2014, he returned to the Pro League with Westerlo where he spent two seasons, before spending two seasons with Welsh club

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

. After leaving Cardiff in 2018, he retired from football. Born in Belgium, Gounongbe chose to represent Benin at international level, making his debut in 2014.

Early and personal life

Gounongbe was born in Brussels to a Beninese father and a Belgian mother. He played tennis as a teenager and regarded the sport as his number one discipline. He later graduated from EPHEC University College with a bachelor's degree in international business.

Club career

Belgium

At the age of 16, he took up football after visiting a training session with a friend, training with local amateur sides in Auderghem before joining Belgian Fourth Division side Léopold. However, he did not become a full professional until the relatively late age of 23. He joined Woluwe-Zaventem in 2008 and attracted attention after scoring 35 goals in 71 matches for the club during a four-year spell, including 19 during the 2011–12 season in the Belgian Third Division B. His form attracted interest from several clubs and he eventually joined Belgian Pro League side

on a two-year deal. The club's head scout, Toon Mertens described Gounongbe as "a powerful forward with flair to score. He has already scored 16 goals this season ..he is lively and quick for his size". He was named as a substitute on four occasions for the side but never made a first team appearance and eventually joined RWDM Brussels on loan in August 2012. He scored 9 goals in 28 appearances for the club but was released by Zulte Waregem on his return to the club at the end of the season, signing a permanent one-year deal with RWDM Brussels. He scored 11 times for the club during the 2013–14 season, despite being restricted to just 18 appearances due to a fibula injury. With the club experiencing financial difficulties, Gounongbe left the club at the end of the season following the end of his contract, joining newly promoted Belgian Pro League side Westerlo. He scored his first goal in the Pro League on 2 August 2014 during a 3–2 victory over

Charleroi Charleroi ( , , ; wa, Tchålerwè ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. By 1 January 2008, the total population of Charleroi was 201,593.

Cardiff City

On 1 July 2016, he joined

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the En ...

side

on a free transfer following the expiry of his contract at Westerlo, signing a two-year deal. He made his debut for the club in a 0–0 draw with Birmingham City on the opening day of the 2016–17 season. Gounongbe failed to score in nine games and was eventually dropped by new manager,

Neil Warnock Neil Warnock (born 1 December 1948) is an English former football manager and player. He is also a television and radio pundit. In a managerial career spanning five decades, Warnock has managed sixteen different clubs from the Premier League to ...

. He made three more substitute appearances before suffering an injury that required surgery, ruling him out of the rest of the season. He made his return on 18 November, coming on a substitute against

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

, playing two more games before suffering a groin injury, which ruled him out for several months. Gounongbe was released at the end of the 2017–18 season, following Cardiff's promotion to the Premier League. Following his departure, he decided to retire from football on doctor's advice due to a long-term injury.

International career

Gounongbe received his first call-up to the Benin national football team from manager Didier Ollé-Nicolle in 2014, making his debut on 17 May 2014 as a substitute in place of Mohamed Aoudou during a 2–0 victory over

São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe (; pt, São Tomé e Príncipe (); English: " Saint Thomas and Prince"), officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe ( pt, República Democrática de São Tomé e Príncipe), is a Portuguese-speaking i ...

in the first leg of the first qualifying round for the

2015 Africa Cup of Nations The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations, Equatorial Guinea 2015 for sponsorship reasons, was the 30th staging of the Africa Cup of Nations, the international men's football championship of Africa. It was orga ...

. In the second leg of the fixture, Gounongbe was handed his first start for Benin, scoring his first international goal in his home debut in

Porto-Novo Porto-Novo (Portuguese: "New Port", , ; yo, Àjàṣẹ́, ), also known as Hogbonu and Ajashe, is the capital of Benin. The commune covers an area of and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people. Situated on an inlet of the Gulf of Gu ...

before being substituted late in the match for

Razak Omotoyossi Razak Omotoyossi (born 8 October 1985) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker for JA Cotonou. Born in Nigeria, he appeared for the Benin national team at international level. He played in Nigeria, Egypt, Sweden, Saudi Ara ...

International goals

After football

Following his retirement, Gounongbe attended university and graduated in asset management.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gounongbe, Frederic 1988 births Living people Footballers from Brussels Beninese men's footballers Benin men's international footballers Belgian men's footballers Belgian people of Beninese descent Black Belgian sportspeople Men's association football forwards Léopold FC players K.V. Woluwe-Zaventem players S.V. Zulte Waregem players R.W.D.M. Brussels F.C. players K.V.C. Westerlo players Cardiff City F.C. players Belgian Pro League players Belgian expatriate men's footballers Beninese expatriate men's footballers Belgian expatriate sportspeople in Wales Beninese expatriate sportspeople in Wales Expatriate men's footballers in Wales English Football League players