Peniel Kokou Mlapa (born 20 February 1991) is a Togolese 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 plays as a striker for

Thai League 2 Thai League 2 (), commonly known as the T2, formally called Thai Division 1 League, is the second-tier professional league in the Thai football league system. Seasons typically run from August to May, with each team playing 34 games : two agai ...

club Khon Kaen United. He also holds German citizenship.

Club career

Early life and career

Born in

Lomé Lomé ( , ) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in Togo, largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437

, Togo, Mlapa emigrated to Germany as a young child. He began his youth career with FC Ismaning, but in 1999, he moved to

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 ...

. He made his debut for 1860's U19 team on 12 September 2008 against 1. FC Heidenheim. Over the 2008–09 season, he made two appearances as a substitute for 1860's reserve side, both of which came in victories, but he remained a regular for the U19s.

1860 Munich

On 17 May 2009, Mlapa made his debut in professional football as a stoppage time substitute against

Alemannia Aachen Aachener Turn- und Sportverein Alemannia 1900 e. V., short Alemannia Aachen (), is a German football club from the western city of Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia. A long-term fixture of the country's second division, Alemannia enjoyed a three- ...

He scored his first senior goal for 1860 on 4 October against

St. Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

. In the next game against

MSV Duisburg Meidericher Spielverein 02 e. V. Duisburg, commonly known as simply MSV Duisburg (), is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia. Nicknamed ''Die Zebras'' for their traditional striped jer ...

, Mlapa appeared in the starting lineup for the first time and scored again.

1899 Hoffenheim

In the summer of 2010, Mlapa joined 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 ...

side

Hoffenheim Hoffenheim () is a village in Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It belongs to the municipality of Sinsheim and, as of 2020, it has a population of 3,191. History The village, settled since prehistoric times, and first mentioned ...

, signing a contract through 2013. He scored his first goal for the club in the DFB-Pokal against

Hansa Rostock FC Hansa Rostock () is a German association football club based in the city of Rostock, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The club is also called as "the cog" because of its club crest. They have emerged as one of the most successful clubs from ...

. In all, Mlapa scored five times in 54 Bundesliga games 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 ...

Borussia Mönchengladbach

In May 2012, Mlapa joined

Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e.V. Mönchengladbach, better known as Borussia Mönchengladbach () and colloquially known as just Gladbach, is a professional Association football, football club based in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-W ...

for €3 million. The striker signed a four-year contract.

Daejeon Hana Citizen

In March 2024, Mlapa joined

K League 1 The K League 1 () is a professional association football league in South Korea and the highest level of the South Korean football league system. The league is contested by twelve clubs. It is one of the most successful leagues in the Asian Foo ...

club

Daejeon Hana Citizen Daejeon Hana Citizen FC () is a South Korean professional football team based in Daejeon, competing in K League 1, the top tier of South Korean football. At the time of its foundation in 1997, Daejeon was the first community-owned club in South K ...

Port FC

Mlapa joined

Thai League 1 The Thai League (, pronounced as ') or Thai League 1 (, pronounced as '), often referred to as T1, is the highest level of the Thai football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Thai L ...

club

Port F.C. Port Football Club (), formerly known as Port Authority of Thailand after its namesake owner, is a Thai professional football club based in Khlong Toei district of central Bangkok. They compete in the Thai League 1 and are one of the most succe ...

in the January 2025 transfer window. He made his debut on January 24th as a second half substitute for Lonsana Doumbouya in the 3-3 home draw against Ratchaburi FC, scoring an 84th minute penalty to register his first goal for the club.

International career

On 7 October 2009, Mlapa made his debut for the German under-19s as a 90th-minute substitute against Luxembourg. A few weeks later, he was called up to represent

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

in their final world cup qualifier, but he declined this invitation and progressed to the German under-21 squad. He finally accepted a call-up to the Togo national team for 2017 AFCON qualifiers against

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 ...

in March 2016. On 1 June 2017, he made his debut with the Togolese national team, in a 3–0 defeat against Nigeria.

Personal life

The Togolese-born Mlapa acquired German citizenship in his childhood, thus becoming eligible for his adopted home country's national side.

Career statistics

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mlapa, Peniel Living people 1991 births Men's association football forwards Togolese men's footballers Togolese emigrants to Germany Naturalized citizens of Germany Togolese expatriate men's footballers Togo men's international footballers German men's footballers Germany men's youth international footballers Germany men's under-21 international footballers German people of Togolese descent TSV 1860 Munich players TSV 1860 Munich II players TSG 1899 Hoffenheim players Borussia Mönchengladbach players 1. FC Nürnberg players VfL Bochum players Dynamo Dresden players VVV-Venlo players Kalba FC players Al-Nasr SC (Dubai) players Daejeon Hana Citizen players Busan IPark players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Regionalliga players Eredivisie players UAE Pro League players Peniel Mlapa Peniel Mlapa Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Togolese expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in the United Arab Emirates Togolese expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Expatriate men's footballers in South Korea Togolese expatriate sportspeople in South Korea Expatriate men's footballers in Thailand Togolese expatriate sportspeople in Thailand K League 1 players K League 2 players 21st-century German sportsmen