Vicente Engonga facts for kids
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Vicente Engonga Maté | ||
| Date of birth | 20 October 1965 | ||
| Place of birth | Barcelona, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.81 m | ||
| Playing position | Central midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Gimnástica | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1984–1986 | Gimnástica | 51 | (2) |
| 1986–1991 | Sporting Mahonés | 112 | (3) |
| 1991–1992 | Valladolid | 37 | (2) |
| 1992–1994 | Celta | 72 | (0) |
| 1994–1997 | Valencia | 69 | (2) |
| 1997–2002 | Mallorca | 149 | (4) |
| 2002–2003 | Oviedo | 11 | (1) |
| 2003 | → Coventry City (loan) | 8 | (0) |
| Total | 509 | (14) | |
| National team | |||
| 1997–2000 | Cantabria | 2 | (0) |
| 1998–2000 | Spain | 14 | (1) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2008–2009 | Equatorial Guinea | ||
| 2011 | Mallorca B | ||
|
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Vicente Engonga Maté (born 20 October 1965) is a retired Spanish footballer. He mostly played as a central midfielder. Sometimes, he also played as a sweeper.
He played for six different clubs during his career. His most successful time was with Mallorca. He joined them when he was 32 years old. Overall, he played in 327 La Liga matches. He scored eight goals over 11 seasons in the league.
Engonga also played for the Spanish national team for two years. He represented Spain at the Euro 2000 tournament.
Club Career Highlights
Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Engonga has roots in Equatorial Guinea. He grew up in the Cantabria region, where his father was also a footballer. He started his football journey with a local team, Gimnástica de Torrelavega. Later, he joined CF Sporting Mahonés.
In 1991, Engonga moved to Real Valladolid in La Liga, which is Spain's top football league. In his first year, his club was moved down to a lower league, the Segunda División. After that, he joined RC Celta de Vigo. With Celta, he reached the final of the 1993–94 Copa del Rey in 1994.
Engonga then joined the strong team Valencia CF in 1994. He played there for three seasons. After a difficult start, he played in 35 games in the 1996–97 La Liga season.
Later, Engonga signed with RCD Mallorca. He played his best football there. He helped Mallorca win the 1998 Supercopa de España by beating FC Barcelona. In the same year, Mallorca also reached the final of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. They lost 2–1 to S.S. Lazio.
During the 2000–01 La Liga season, Engonga scored two goals in 31 league games. His team finished third, which meant they qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the first time. In their first Champions League match, he scored the only goal against Arsenal. It was an 11th-minute penalty kick.
In 2002, Engonga's contract ended. He joined Real Oviedo in the second division. After six months, he moved to England in January 2003. He played for Coventry City on a six-month loan. At the end of the season, at 37 years old, he retired from playing. He then started working with Mallorca in different coaching roles.
International Career
On 23 September 1998, when he was almost 33, Engonga played his first game for the Spanish national team. He played the whole game in a friendly match against Russia, which Spain won 1–0. He was one of the oldest players to debut for Spain.
Engonga scored his only goal for Spain on 5 May 1999. It was in a friendly game against Croatia. Spain won that game 3–1. He was chosen for the UEFA Euro 2000 team. He played a short time as a substitute in a 2–1 win against Slovenia. This was his last of 14 games for Spain.
Engonga was the first Spanish-born black player to play for the national team. He also played for the unofficial Cantabria team between 1997 and 2000.
In August 2008, Engonga became the manager of the Equatorial Guinea national team.
Family Life
Vicente Engonga's younger brother, Óscar, was also a professional midfielder. Óscar mostly played in Spain's lower leagues. He played at Valladolid at the same time as Vicente.
Engonga's nephew, Igor, was chosen to play for Equatorial Guinea in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
Honours
Celta
- Copa del Rey runner-up: 1993–94
Valencia
- Copa del Rey runner-up: 1994–95
Mallorca
- Supercopa de España: 1998
- Copa del Rey runner-up: 1997–98
- UEFA Cup Winners' Cup runner-up: 1998–99
See also
In Spanish: Vicente Engonga para niños
