Mengistu Worku
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Mengistu Worku (
Amharic Amharic ( or ; (Amharic: ), ', ) is an Ethiopian Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amharas, and also serves as a lingua franca for all oth ...
: መንግስቱ ወርቁ; 1940 – 16 December 2010) was an Ethiopian
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 ...
, recognised as one of the best Ethiopian footballers in history with
Luciano Vassalo Luciano Vassallo (15 August 1935 – 16 September 2022) was a footballer of Eritrean and Italian origin who played for the Ethiopia national team in the 1960s. He captained the winning team at the 1962 African Cup of Nations, Ethiopia's only t ...
and
Ydnekatchew Tessema Yidnekatchew Tessema ( Amharic: ይድነቃቸው ተሠማ; 11 September 1921 – 19 August 1987) was a footballer in Ethiopia. Soccer career He played for his school for five years, for the first Ethiopian soccer team, the St. George Cl ...
. He is best known for his role in the final of the 1962 African Nations Cup, and for being the head coach to take the Ethiopia national team to the
African Nations Cup The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internati ...
in
Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
in 1982.Mamo Gebrehiwot
"Ethiopia Football: Legendary Footballer Mengistu Worku has died"
EthioSports website (accessed 26 December 2010)
Gonderew, Ethiopia’s Football Legend Mengistu Worku Passes at 70 (1940–2010)
''Ethiosun'' (accessed 4 June 2011)


Career

During the 1962 African Nationals Cup, Mengistu scored one goal in the final of the 3rd African cup against Egypt, when Ethiopia won their only major trophy to date. Ethiopia finished as top scorer of that tournament with four goals on the final day. He debuted with
Saint-George SA Saint George Sports Club ( Amharic: ቅዱስ ጊዮርጊስ ስፖርት ክለብ, ''Kidus Giorgis Sport Club'')'','' otherwise known as Kidus Giorgis, is a professional football club based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. They play in the top divi ...
in 1957 and remained with the club for the entirety of his career. Mengistu was given numerous offers to play professionally for teams in Italy's
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
and France, as well as Egypt's
El Zamalek Zamalek Sporting Club ( ar, نادي الزمالك للألعاب الرياضية), commonly referred to as Zamalek, is an Egyptian sports club based in Giza. It is one of the most successful football clubs in Africa and the Middle East, and ...
, but like earlier legend and coach Ydnekatchew, he refused all offers and stayed in Ethiopia wearing Saint George's characteristic "V" across his chest. Mengistu wore the number 8 for the entirety of his club and national team career. His international career began in 1958 and ended in 1970, following disappointment in the 7th African Nations cup in Sudan, where Ethiopia finished bottom of their group. He still managed to score three goals, the only Ethiopian goals in that tournament. Mengistu played two more years with Saint George, retiring in 1972. He is the seventh-highest scorer in the history of the
African Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internati ...
with ten goals. Mengistu coached the national team after retirement, but the team failed to match the success it found during his playing days. He did, however, coach the country to their first-ever CECAFA cup title in
1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...
, when the tournament was hosted by Ethiopia. In 2001, Mengistu was struck by a tumor, and doctors had told him he had only months to live. With treatment unavailable in Ethiopia, the Ethiopian billionaire
Mohammed Al Amoudi Mohammed Hussein Ali Al-'Amoudi ( ar, محمد حسين علي العمودي; born 1946) is a Saudi billionaire businessman. He was born Ethiopia in 1946 to a Yemeni father from Hadhramaut and Ethiopian Amhara mother from Wollo. In 201 ...
paid for Mengistu to travel to South Africa for treatment. "It was because of Al Amoudi that I am standing before you today," he said on Ethiopian television. At the 2002 CECAFA Cup, Mengistu was honored before the tournament kickoff by the Council for East and Central Africa Football Association, along with five other
east Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...
n footballers and three referees, including Tesfaye Gebreyesus, the Ethiopian who refereed at three ACN tournaments.


Career statistics


International goals

:''Scores and results list Ethiopia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Worku goal.''


Honors


Individual

*
African Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internati ...
Top Scorer: 1962 (shared with
Badawi Abdel Fattah Ali Mohamed Badawi Abdel Fattah ( ar, محمد بدوي عبد الفتاح, born 24 May 1935 – 6 December 2007) is an Egyptian former footballer who played as a midfielder for the Egyptian national team. He took part in the 1962 Africa Cup o ...
)


Sources


RSSSF entry



External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Worku, Mengistu Saint George S.C. players 1940 births 2010 deaths Sportspeople from Addis Ababa Ethiopian footballers Association football forwards Ethiopia international footballers Ethiopia national football team managers 1959 African Cup of Nations players 1962 African Cup of Nations players 1963 African Cup of Nations players 1968 African Cup of Nations players 1970 African Cup of Nations players Ethiopian football managers Africa Cup of Nations-winning players 1982 African Cup of Nations managers