Gabriel N'Galula Mbuyi (born 1 June 1982), sometimes referred to as Junior, is a Belgian 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 lea ...

who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

Career

Junior began his career at

Anderlecht Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, B ...

where he showed promise in his 28 games, but a long injury saw him lose his place to

Yves Vanderhaeghe Yves Vanderhaeghe (; born 30 January 1970) is a Belgian football manager and former player who played as a defensive midfielder. Known for his tackling, hard-working approach and stamina, he played for five clubs during his 22-year professional ...

and

Besnik Hasi Besnik Ilmi Hasi () (born 29 December 1971) is a Kosovo Albanian professional football coach and former player who is the head coach of Belgian First Division A club Anderlecht . During his playing career, he was known for his versatility as ...

. In the 2004–05 season, he was loaned to

Mons Mons commonly refers to: * Mons, Belgium, a city in Belgium * Mons pubis (mons Venus or mons veneris), in mammalian anatomy, the adipose tissue lying above the pubic bone * Mons (planetary nomenclature), a sizable extraterrestrial mountain * Batt ...

, where he played 15 times as Mons suffered relegation to the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

at the end of the season. He was loaned again to

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

in England for the 2005–06 season, where former Anderlect manager

Johan Boskamp Johannes "Johan/Jan" Boskamp (born 21 October 1948) is a Dutch former football player and manager. He played the majority of his career for hometown club Feyenoord and Belgian side RWDM, and managed primarily in the Belgian leagues. Currently, ...

had been appointed manager. He played 24 matches for Stoke and left at the end of the season along with Boskamp. Boskamp was made

Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège ( ; ; ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most successful clubs in Belgium, having won t ...

manager and he signed Junior on a permanent deal, as part of the

Mohammed Tchité Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monotheistic teachings of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, ...

transfer to Anderlecht in the 2006–07 season. He played one match for Standard, in a

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

qualification match. He spent the 2007–08 season with

Roeselare Roeselare (; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Roeselare proper and the towns of Beveren, Oekene and Rumbeke. The name of the city is derived from two ...

, before deciding to retire from professional football and pursue a different career. In 2013, he began working at

BX Brussels BX Brussels is a Belgian football club from Brussels. They currently play their first team games at the Communal Stadium in Jette. History Foundation The club was founded in Bleid on 18 March 1986 under the name ''FC Bleid'' by passionate ...

as a sporting director.

Personal life

His brother Floribert N'Galula was also a professional footballer.

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:N'galula, Gabriel Living people 1982 births Democratic Republic of the Congo emigrants to Belgium 21st-century Belgian sportsmen Belgian men's footballers Footballers from Kinshasa Men's association football midfielders Belgian Pro League players English Football League players K.S.V. Roeselare players Standard Liège players R.A.E.C. Mons (1910) players R.S.C. Anderlecht players Stoke City F.C. players Belgian expatriate men's footballers Belgian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England