Michél Mazingu-Sinda-Dinzey (born 15 October 1972), also known as Michél Dinzey, is a 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 ...

. Born in Germany, he represented the DR Congo national team. He is the director of sport of

KFC Uerdingen 05 KFC Uerdingen 05 was a German football club in the Uerdingen district of the city of Krefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia. The former Bundesliga side, which had its greatest successes in the 1980s, plays in the fourth-level Regionalliga. In 2025, th ...

. Throughout his career, he has played for several clubs in Germany, including

FC St. Pauli Fußball-Club St. Pauli von 1910 e.V., commonly known as simply FC St. Pauli (), is a German professional association football, football club based in the St. Pauli district of Hamburg. The team plays in the Bundesliga from the 2024–25 Bundesli ...

Hertha BSC Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC () or Hertha Berlin, is a German professional football club based in Berlin. Hertha BSC plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football league system, German footbal ...

TSV 1860 Munich , commonly known as TSV 1860 München (; ''sechzig'' locally ; lettered as ) or 1860 Munich, is a sports club based in Munich. The club's association football, football team plays in the 3. Liga, the third tier of German football league system ...

Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), is a German professional association football, football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years between 19 ...

and

Eintracht Braunschweig Braunschweiger Turn- und Sportverein Eintracht von 1895 e.V., commonly known as Eintracht Braunschweig () or BTSV (), is a German football and sports club based in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony. They compete in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier o ...

Club career

Early career

Dinzey began playing football in his childhood, participating in youth teams in the Berlin borough of

Tempelhof-Schöneberg Tempelhof-Schöneberg () is the seventh borough of Berlin, formed in 2001 by merging the former boroughs of Tempelhof and Schöneberg. Situated in the south of the city it shares borders with the boroughs of Mitte and Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg in ...

. In 1988, he joined a

Wannsee Wannsee () is a locality in the southwestern Berlin borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf, Germany. It is the westernmost locality of Berlin. In the quarter there are two lakes, the larger '' Großer Wannsee'' (Greater Wannsee) and the '' Kleiner Wannse ...

Junior-A team that played in

Steglitz-Zehlendorf Steglitz-Zehlendorf () is the sixth Boroughs of Berlin, borough of Berlin, formed in Berlin's 2001 administrative reform by merging the former boroughs of Steglitz and Zehlendorf, Berlin, Zehlendorf. Home to the Free University of Berlin, the Be ...

, an adjacent Berlin borough. At 17, he began upper-league play with the first-tier crew of the Wannsee. The following year, he switched to Lichterfelder FC, playing two years for them. In 1994, Dinzey began his professional career with the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

, playing for

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (), commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...

. His debut game in the Bundesliga's 1994–95 season, the first of 14 he played that year, was on 2 August – an away match against

. In the 1995–96 season, with the prospect of becoming a regular starter, he moved to the

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. After playing in 31 games and having scored five goals for Hamburg, Dinzey was drafted to play for

Zaire Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

. After the season, he returned to the Bundesliga, signing for

, where for two years he was a regular starter and significantly contributed to the team's success.

1860 Munich

In 1998, he accepted a DM1.3 million contract to play for the

team as

Horst Heldt Horst Heldt (born 9 December 1969) is a German football executive and former player who played as a midfielder. He is the former general manager of 1. FC Köln. Playing career Heldt was born in Königswinter. He played at 1. FC Köln from 1990 ...

's substitute. During two years he played for Munich only 15 times, scoring one goal. In 2000, the Munich team qualified for the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

, but owing to differences with then-coach

Werner Lorant Werner Heinz Erich Lorant (21 November 1948 – 20 April 2025) was a German football player who played as a defender or as a defensive midfielder. He later became a manager, notably managing TSV 1860 Munich for nine years between 1992 and 2001 ...

he had little opportunity to participate in the tournament.

Hannover 96

Subsequently, he moved to play for

in the second Bundesliga; he earned a regular place and played 13 completed games, scoring two goals.

Vålerenga (loan)

In 2001, he was on a four-month loan to

Norwegian First Division The Norwegian First Division, also called 1. divisjon () and OBOS-ligaen (due to sponsoring ties with :no:OBOS, OBOS), is the second-highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Each year, the top finishing teams in the 1. divisjon ...

team

Vålerenga Vålerenga () is a neighbourhood in the city of Oslo, Norway, belonging to the borough of Gamle Oslo. Vålerenga is located between the neighbourhoods of Gamlebyen, Jordal, Ensjø, Etterstad and Lodalen. Vålerenga is in particular known for i ...

, where he played ten of 13 games, scoring one goal.

Eintracht Braunschweig

In 2002, he returned to Germany, playing for

, but the team finished 15th and he could not prevent the team's relegation from the second Bundesliga to the then third-tier

Regionalliga Nord The Regionalliga Nord () is the fourth tier of the German football league system in the states of Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen and Hamburg. It is one of five leagues at this level, together with the Regionalliga Bayern, Regionalliga N ...

. Despite the fall in rank, he remained in Braunschweig for the 2003–04 season, statistically his most successful; he scored 13 goals in his last season and helped his team achieve the

Lower Saxony Cup The Lower Saxony Cup () is an annual football cup competition, held by the () since 1956. For sponsorship reasons, the official name of the competition is Krombacher-Pokal.FC St. Pauli Fußball-Club St. Pauli von 1910 e.V., commonly known as simply FC St. Pauli (), is a German professional association football, football club based in the St. Pauli district of Hamburg. The team plays in the Bundesliga from the 2024–25 Bundesli ...

in the

, playing 88 times and scoring 24 goals during his three years in Hamburg; the team twice won the

Hamburger Pokal The Hamburger Pokal () is an annual football cup competition, shortly known as Hamburg pokal, held by the () since 1982. For sponsorship reasons, the official name of the competition is ODDSET-Pokal. It is one of the 21 regional cup competitions ...

. In 2006 the team reached the semi-finals of the

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

but lost to eventual winners

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

Holstein Kiel

In 2007, St. Pauli was promoted to the Bundesliga's second division, where he was traded to play seven months for the

Oberliga Nord The Oberliga Nord was the fourth tier of the German football league system in the north of Germany. It covered the states of Lower Saxony, Bremen, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein. With the introduction of the 3. Liga, the league ceased to exist fr ...

Holstein Kiel Kieler Sportvereinigung Holstein von 1900 e.V., commonly known as Holstein Kiel () or KSV Holstein, is a German association football and sports club based in the city of Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein. From the 1900s through the 1960s, the club was o ...

team. He played there for ten games and scored a goal before finally ending his playing career. During his career, Mazingu-Dinzey played professionally in 90 Bundesliga games, 77 Regionalliga games and 220 games overall.

International career

Dinzey made his debut for the

Zaire national football team The DR Congo national football team ( French: ''Équipe nationale de football de la République démocratique du Congo''), recognised by FIFA as Congo DR, represents the Democratic Republic of the Congo in men's international football and it i ...

on 19 January 1996 at the African Cup in

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, losing 2–0 to

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

but winning 2–0 in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

against

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 Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

before losing 1–0 to

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

in the quarter-finals at

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipal ...

. He was subsequently part of the Congolese 2000 African Cup squad hosted jointly by

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

and

. That team played both

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

and Gabon to scoreless ties but lost to

1–0; only South Africa and Algeria had sufficient points to advance to the quarter-finals. His last year for the Congolese national team was at the 2004 African Cup in Tunisia, when the DR Congo squad lost to

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

2–1, to

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

3–0 and to

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

1–0. Having finished bottom of their group in the first round of competition, the team failed to secure qualification for the quarter-finals. In total, Dinzey played 33 international caps for

Congo-Kinshasa The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

Coaching career

After retiring as a player Dinzey started working for the

German Football Association The German Football Association ( ; DFB ) is the governing body of Association football, football, futsal, and beach soccer in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB has jurisdiction for the German football league system and ...

in October 2008 as a base coach in Hamburg (Steilshoop). From 1 March to 31 December 2009 he was an assistant coach in the DR Congo in the first division team FC Saint Eloi Lupopo in the city of Lubumbashi. He became champion in 2009 and qualified for the 2010 CAF Champions League. In addition, he also worked as a consultant for Global United FC. After his return from Lubumbashi, he worked occasionally as a consultant and as a talent scout for the Turkish club

Diyarbakırspor Diyarbakırspor is a Turkish football club located in the city of Diyarbakır. Formed in 1968, they are nicknamed ''Diyar'' ("Land"). Domestically, Diyarbakırspor have finished runners-up for the 1.Lig (Second Division) in 1976–77, and in ...

. In October 2011, Dinzey took over as coach at the district division club TSV Apensen (Stade). In October 2013 he became coach of the sixth division Kosova Hamburg 1977 eV. and left the club at the end of the 2013–2014 season. In December 2014 he started working for

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim Turn- und Sportgemeinschaft 1899 Hoffenheim e.V. (), commonly known as TSG Hoffenheim (), are a German professional association football, football club based in Sinsheim. Originally founded in 1899 as a gymnastics club, Hoffenheim came into bei ...

in the scouting the area. In early March 2019, Mazingu-Dinzey took over the position of national coach of

Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda is a Sovereign state, sovereign archipelagic country composed of Antigua, Barbuda, and List of islands of Antigua and Barbuda, numerous other small islands. Antigua and Barbuda has a total area of 440 km2 (170 sq mi), ...

. In addition, he was entrusted with the task of promoting the development of the country's football association. On 29 March 2020, Dinzey announced his resignation. On 25 November 2022, Mazingu-Dinzey was made new manager of the

DR Congo national under-20 football team Congo DR U-20 national football team, also known as Congo DR Under-20s or nicknamed ''Small Leopards'', is the youth team for football in Congo DR. It plays a large role in the development of Congolaise football, and is considered to be the feede ...

. In July 2024, he was made director of sport of the German

Regionalliga A (, plural ) is a regional league in numerous Sports governing body, sports governing bodies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, usually located in the upper or middle tiers of the sports leagues. The term is often associated with the Germa ...

club

American football

In 2011 Dinzey played as a

placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...

for

based

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

team St. Pauli Buccaneers, who compete in the third tier

TV career

In July 2013 Dinzey took over the TV pundits role in

Sport1 Sport1 is a German free-to-air television channel centred towards sports programming, as well as teleshopping. It was launched on 1 January 1993 as DSF (''Deutsches Sportfernsehen''), replacing the television channel Tele 5 which had become th ...

and acted until 1 January 2015, for live games as an online commentator on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

. He also appears as TV expert in coverage of

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

al matches of the transmitter Sport1.

Personal life

Dinzey committed to various social projects such as Nestwerk e. V. of the founder Reinhold Beckmann or in the fight against drugs and alcohol in children and adolescents in the Department of Psychiatry at the University Hospital Eppendorf in Hamburg. He is also a member of Global United FC, the football world will contest against global warming and is committed to regularly for the annual charity campaign Hamburger kicking with heart. Dinzey is married and has two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mazingu-Dinzey, Michel 1972 births Living people Footballers from Berlin Democratic Republic of the Congo men's footballers Democratic Republic of the Congo expatriate men's footballers Democratic Republic of the Congo men's international footballers VfB Stuttgart II players Hertha BSC players TSV 1860 Munich players Hannover 96 players FC St. Pauli players Eintracht Braunschweig players Holstein Kiel players Vålerenga Fotball players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Norwegian First Division players 1996 African Cup of Nations players 2000 African Cup of Nations players 2004 African Cup of Nations players Expatriate men's footballers in Norway German sportspeople of Democratic Republic of the Congo descent German players of American football Democratic Republic of the Congo players of American football Footballers who switched code American football placekickers Men's association football midfielders Antigua and Barbuda national football team managers Expatriate football managers in Antigua and Barbuda Democratic Republic of the Congo expatriate sportspeople in Antigua and Barbuda German football managers