Jacob Mulenga (born 12 February 1984) is a Zambian 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 ...
who played as a
striker.
Mulenga started his footballing career at age 18 with hometown club Afrisport, before moving to
Châteauroux
Châteauroux (; ; oc, Chasteurós) is the capital city of the French department of Indre, central France and the second-largest town in the province of Berry, after Bourges. Its residents are called ''Castelroussins'' () in French.
Climate
...
in 2004. Five years later, he moved to
FC Utrecht where he made his definitive breakthrough but also suffered two serious knee injuries. After successful stints in Turkey and China, Mulenga returned to the Netherlands in 2020 where he signed for
Go Ahead Eagles.
Between 2004 and 2014, he made 41 appearances scoring nine goals for the
Zambia national team.
Club career
Mulenga started his career with the Zambian third-tier club Afrisport from his hometown of
Kitwe at a relatively late age – he only started playing organised football as an 18-year old.
With Afrisport whom he reached promotion in the 2003 season. In December 2003, he trialled together with fellow countryman
Collins Mbesuma
Collins Mbesuma (born 3 February 1984) is a Zambian professional footballer who plays for South African club Pretoria Callies. He is nicknamed ''The Hurricane'' or ''Ntofontofo''.
Club career
Mbesuma was born in Luanshya. His father, Franci ...
at French club
Stade Rennais.
However, both were unable to gain a contract, after which Mulenga returned to Afrisport. He had a strong season there, including four goals during the first three matches. In the summer of 2004, he returned to France for a trial period at
Bastia
Bastia (, , , ; co, Bastìa ) is a commune in the department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. It is located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It also has the second-highest population of any commune on the is ...
alongside
Billy Mwanza.
After the Corsican club did not offer him a contract,
LB Châteauroux showed interest in him and he was subsequently signed on a four-year contract.
Mulenga thus became the second Zambian in the French professional divisions, after
Andrew Tembo who played for
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
in 1994.
In his
Ligue 2 debut on 24 August 2004, Mulenga scored both goals in a 2–0 win over
Chamois Niortais. In the ensuing period, however, he suffered a large number of injuries, limiting his appearances in the league that year to 15.
In the two seasons that followed, he played more often, but his goalscoring stagnated. In August 2007, he was sent on a one-season loan to
Ligue 1 club
RC Strasbourg. After this period the Zambian returned to Châteauroux.
In late May 2009, the club announced that Mulenga had been signed by Dutch
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...
club
FC Utrecht, who, after a disappointing season, had been looking for a striker and eventually signed him on a three-year contract. On 31 October 2010, in a match against
ADO Den Haag, he tore his right cruciate ligament and was sidelined for the entire 2010–11 season. On 14 August 2011, Mulenga made his comeback and marked this by turning a 0–2 deficit against
De Graafschap into a 2–2 final result after scoring two goals. In a match against
Ajax
Ajax may refer to:
Greek mythology and tragedy
* Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea
* Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris
* ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...
on 9 November, however, he tore his left cruciate ligament and was sidelined for eight months.
In August 2014, Mulenga signed with Turkish club
Adana Demirspor
Adana Demirspor Kulübü is a sports club based in Adana, Turkey. Founded by railway workers in 1940, the club is competitive in football, watersports, racquet sports and martial arts. Football team's thriving success at the Adana League and the ...
, before moving to Chinese football six months later. He moved from
Shijiazhuang Ever Bright to
Liaoning Hongyun in January 2018, where he, in October 2018, became team captain. In February 2020, he signed a contract extension until the end of 2020. In April 2020, it was announced that Mulenga was suing his club, after not receiving his salary throughout the
2019 season. In May 2020, Liaoning Hongyun went bankrupt and Mulenga was left without a club.
In October 2020, he joined Dutch second-tier
Eerste Divisie
The Eerste Divisie (, en, First Division) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie and with the third-level Tweede Divisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as t ...
club
Go Ahead Eagles as a
free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
. He immediately scored in his debut on 17 October, after coming on as a substitute in the 69th minute against
FC Eindhoven, as Go Ahead won 3–0.
On 30 April 2022, Mulenga announced his retirement from football after the
2021–22 season. He scored in his last match as a professional footballer, a 3–1 league loss to
SC Heerenveen
Sportclub Heerenveen (; West Frisian: Sportklub It Hearrenfean) is a Dutch football club from Heerenveen. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top level of football in the Netherlands.
History
Sportclub Heerenveen was founded on 20 July ...
, after having come on as a substitute.
International career
Mulenga progressed through several national Zambian youth teams and was called up to the
senior team in a match against
Sudan in May 2004, at the age of twenty, because of his good performances in the second division of Zambia. In the
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...
qualifiers, he scored 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 ...
in the first match of the group stage. However, the third place in the standings was not enough for Zambia to qualify for the World Cup. The country did however manage to qualify for the
2006 Africa Cup of Nations at the expense of the
DR Congo and
Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...
. Due to an injury, Mulenga did receive any caps during this tournament, but two years later he was part of the team's starting eleven during the
2008 Africa Cup of Nations, and scored the 2–0 goal in a 3–0 win over Sudan. Zambia did not advance from the group stage in this tournament. Mulenga also had to cancel due to an injury for the
2012 Africa Cup of Nations.
Personal life
Mulenga is a
Christian.
Career statistics
Club
International
:''Scores and results list Zambia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mulenga goal.''
References
External links
*
*
Jacob Mulengaat ''
Voetbal International
''Voetbal International'' (VI) is a Dutch football magazine. It is the oldest Dutch football magazine that is still running.
History and Profile
''Voetbal International'' was established in 1965. VI was one of the founding members of ESM but le ...
'' ()
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mulenga, Jacob Geerten
Living people
1984 births
People from Kitwe
Association football forwards
Zambian footballers
LB Châteauroux players
RC Strasbourg Alsace players
FC Utrecht players
Adana Demirspor footballers
Cangzhou Mighty Lions F.C. players
Liaoning F.C. players
Go Ahead Eagles players
Eredivisie players
Eerste Divisie players
TFF First League players
Chinese Super League players
China League One players
Ligue 1 players
Ligue 2 players
Zambia international footballers
2008 Africa Cup of Nations players
2010 Africa Cup of Nations players
2013 Africa Cup of Nations players
Zambian expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in France
Zambian expatriate sportspeople in France
Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands
Zambian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands
Expatriate footballers in China
Zambian expatriate sportspeople in China
Zambian Christians