Johnny Menyongar (born 26 June 1980 is a retired

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

n 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 last played for

Bengaluru FC Bengaluru Football Club () is an Indian professional football club based in Bangalore, Karnataka. The club competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club was established on 20 July 2013, and began its first ...

in India's

I-League The I-League (known as Hero I-League for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp) is the second-tier men's professional football competition of the Indian football league system. It is currently contested by 12 clubs across the country with the w ...

. On 27 July 2015, he announced his retirement from competitive football.

Career

College

Menyongar came to the United States from his native Liberia in 1998 and played

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...

at NAIA

Lindsey Wilson College Lindsey Wilson College is a private United Methodist-related college in Columbia, Kentucky. Degree programs are offered at the associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels.. History Lindsey Wilson College was founded in 1903 as a traini ...

, leading the team to the NAIA Division III national championship.

United States

Menyongar signed his first professional contract in 2000 with

Minnesota Thunder Minnesota Thunder was an American professional soccer team based in Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1990, the team played in the USL First Division (USL-1), the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009. The team played its hom ...

after impressing at a tryout camp. Menyongar spent the first six seasons of his professional career with Minnesota, totaling 50 regular-season goals in addition to many playoff and

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in men's Soccer in the United States, soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing nati ...

tallies. He helped the Thunder to the 2003

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

championship game and scored five goals as Minnesota reached the semifinals of the 2005 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. In November 2005, Menyongar signed with the

Rochester Raging Rhinos Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos to ...

, where he was chosen as team MVP in 2008 and 2009. Prior to the 2010 season, he became the first signing for the new club

NSC Minnesota Stars NSC may refer to: Sport and competition * NSC United, an American soccer team * National Scholastics Championship, an American quiz bowl competition * National Scrabble Championship, now known as the Scrabble Players Championship * National Shoot ...

India

In February 2011, Menyongar was recruited by

Baichung Bhutia Bhaichung Bhutia (born 15 December 1976), also spelled as Baichung Bhutia, is an Indian former professional footballer who played as a striker. Bhutia is considered as the torchbearer of Indian football in the international arena. He is often ...

to play for

United Sikkim FC United Sikkim Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Gangtok, Sikkim. Founded in 2011, the club usually competed in the Sikkim Premier Division League. United Sikkim is the only club from Sikkim to have played in the ...

in their inaugural professional season and in the

2011 I-League 2nd Division The 2011 I-League 2nd Division is the fourth season of the second division of the I-League, the Indian professional football league. A total of 21 teams were divided into three groups and top two teams from each group played in final round, the ...

, in which he scored 13 goals in 13 games. In June 2011, he announced that he would move to

Shillong Lajong F.C. Shillong Lajong FC (founded as Lajong SC) is an Indian professional football club based in Shillong, Meghalaya, that competes in the Shillong Premier League. The club was established in 1983 with the prime objective of improving the declining ...

in the

. Then on 3 January 2013 it was officially announced that Menyongar had signed for reigning I-League champions

Dempo S.C. Dempo Sports Club, or simply known as Dempo, is an Indian professional football club based in Panjim, Goa, that competes in the Goa Professional League. The club is owned and sponsored by the Dempo Mining Corporation Limited. Popularly known as ...

for the rest of the season. He made his debut for the club against

United Sikkim F.C. United Sikkim Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Gangtok, Sikkim. Founded in 2011, the club usually competed in the Sikkim Premier Division League. United Sikkim is the only club from Sikkim to have played in the I- ...

on 19 January 2013 at home in which Dempo won 7–0.

Bengaluru FC

On 13 July 2013 it was confirmed that Menyongar had signed for new direct-entry

side

for the 2013–14 season. He made his debut for the team in the team's very first ever official match against

Mohun Bagan Mohun Bagan Athletic Club is an Indian professional sports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, its football section is one of the oldest in India and Asia. The club is most notable for its victory over East Yorkshire Regiment ...

in the

on 22 September 2013 at the

Bangalore Football Stadium The Bangalore Football Stadium is a football stadium in Bangalore, Karnataka. It was a venue in three editions of the I-League, top-tier football league in the country, and home of Bengaluru FC for one season, when they won I-League trophy in fi ...

. He played the full match as Bengaluru FC drew the game 1–1. He then scored his first goal for the club on 26 November 2013 against

Salgaocar Salgaocar Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Vasco, Goa, that competes in the Goa Professional League. They have also played in the I-League, then top flight of Indian football league system. Founded in 1956, the clu ...

at the

Duler Stadium Duler Stadium is a football stadium located in Mapusa, Goa, India. It is the former home of local I-League clubs who participated in the highest level of football in the country. Dempo SC, Salgaocar FC, and Sporting Clube de Goa use the venue fo ...

in which his 21st-minute strike set Bengaluru FC up for a 2–1 victory – their first away victory in team history. Soon after he scored his second goal of the season on 11 December 2013 in the I-League against

Mohammedan ''Mohammedan'' (also spelled ''Muhammadan'', ''Mahommedan'', ''Mahomedan'' or ''Mahometan'') is a term for a follower of Muhammad, the Islamic prophet. It is used as both a noun and an adjective, meaning belonging or relating to, either Muham ...

in which his 21st-minute strike gave Bengaluru FC the early 1–0 lead which would eventually turn into a 3–2 victory. Menyongar went on to win the I-League in Bengaluru FC's first season in the league, however, after the season ended he was released by the team. He started in 23 of the side's 24 matches that season.

International

Menyongar made his international debut with

in 1995. Menyongar has played in two qualifying matches for the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

, and played in two matches at the

2002 African Nations Cup The 2002 African Cup of Nations was the 23rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was hosted by Mali. Just like in 2000, the field of sixteen teams was split into four groups of four. Ca ...

. Menyongar played four matches during the team's qualifying campaign for 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 the ...

, but the team lost 0–2 against

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

. He also captained the team from 2004 to 2006. On official Liberian rosters, he is listed as John Menyongai.

Honours

;Minnesota Thunder *

USL A-League The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

runner-up: 2000, 2003 ;Shillong Lajong *

I-League 2nd Division I-League 2, previously known as I-League 2nd Division and officially known as or Hero I-League 2 (for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp), is an Indian men's professional football league. It is the 3rd tier of Indian football, behind Indian ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

;Bengaluru *

: 2013–14

References

External links

Liberiansoccer.com profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Menyongar, Johnny 1979 births Living people Liberian footballers Liberian expatriate footballers Liberia international footballers Minnesota Thunder players Rochester New York FC players Minnesota United FC (2010–2016) players United Sikkim F.C. players Shillong Lajong FC players Dempo SC players Bengaluru FC players I-League players I-League 2nd Division players USL First Division players USSF Division 2 Professional League players 2002 African Cup of Nations players Expatriate soccer players in the United States Sportspeople from Monrovia Expatriate footballers in India Liberian expatriate sportspeople in India Lindsey Wilson Blue Raiders men's soccer players Association football midfielders