Raymond Bwanga Tshimenu (born 4 January 1949 in

Élisabethville Lubumbashi (former names: (French language, French), (Dutch language, Dutch)) is the second-largest city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, located in the country's southeasternmost part, along the border with Zambia. The capital and pr ...

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...

) is a 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 ...

from the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

. Bwanga won the 1973 African Footballer of the Year while with

TP Mazembe Tout Puissant Mazembe, commonly referred to as TP Mazembe, is a Congolese professional football club based in Lubumbashi. History Tout Puissant Mazembe, the first sports club from the Democratic Republic of the Congo with a value of at least $10 ...

Lubumbashi Lubumbashi (former names: ( French), (Dutch)) is the second-largest city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, located in the country's southeasternmost part, along the border with Zambia. The capital and principal city of the Haut-Katanga ...

. During his playing days in the early and mid 1970s he was nicknamed "Black Beckenbauer" by the African and French press due to his playing style. Bwanga was voted the

IFFHS The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...

Player of the Century for the

in 2000. In 2006, he was selected by CAF as one of the best 200 African football players of the last 50 years. He is the cousin of fellow footballer Kazadi Mwamba.

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* 1949 births Living people Footballers from Lubumbashi Democratic Republic of the Congo men's footballers Men's association football defenders Democratic Republic of the Congo men's international footballers Africa Cup of Nations-winning players 1974 FIFA World Cup players 1972 African Cup of Nations players 1974 African Cup of Nations players 1976 African Cup of Nations players TP Mazembe players African Footballer of the Year winners 21st-century Democratic Republic of the Congo people {{DRCongo-footy-bio-stub