Geoffrey Mujangi Bia
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Geoffrey Mujangi Bia | ||
| Date of birth | 12 August 1989 | ||
| Place of birth | Kinshasa, Zaire | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) [1] | ||
| Playing position | Winger | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Standard Liège | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Union Saint-Gilloise | |||
| Anderlecht | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2006–2011 | Charleroi | 59 | (9) |
| 2010 | → Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | → Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2011– | Standard Liège | 37 | (7) |
| 2012–2013 | → Watford (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2009–2010 | Belgium U21 | 7 | (2) |
| 2009– | Belgium | 2 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 April 2013. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Geoffrey Mujangi Bia (born 12 August 1989) is a DR Congo-born Belgian international footballer who plays as a midfielder for Standard Liège.
He established himself in Belgian football with Charleroi before experiencing the English Premier League with a loan spell at Wolverhampton Wanderers. In 2011 he returned to Belgium to join Standard Liège.
Club career
Mujangi Bia emigrated with his family from DR Congo to Zellik, Belgium as a young child. He began his football career on the books of the Brussels-based club Union Saint-Gilloise, before being spotted by Anderlecht. Although one of their academy's most promising players, he was released by the club after being caught stealing from them.[2]
After some months without a club, he joined Charleroi where he made his professional debut on 17 December 2006 in 0–1 defeat at Zulte Waregem, the first of three appearances that season. He scored his first senior goals the following season (3), before 2008–09 saw his most appearances yet as he played 28 league games.[3]
The midfielder joined English Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers on loan on 21 January 2010 for the remainder of the 2009–10 season.[4] He made his Premier League debut as a substitute in a 2–2 draw at Hull City,[5] one of three appearances that season. At the season's end it was announced he would also spend the 2010–11 season with Wolves.[6]
Mujangi Bia failed to break into Wolves' first team plans during the next season, making just one league appearance, as a late substitute at Manchester City. He scored his only goal for Wolves in a 5–0 FA Cup victory over Championship team Doncaster Rovers. In April 2011 it was announced that he would transfer to Standard Liège on a three-year deal once the transfer window re-opened in the summer.[7]
The winger featured for Standard throughout the 2011–12 season as the club ended in fifth place. However, in August 2012, he was told he was no longer involved in the club's plans, and on 25 August signed for English Championship club Watford on a season-long loan deal, having already agreed a long-term permanent contract; this will commence in summer 2013 if this option is exercised by Watford.[8]
He made his Watford debut on 28 August 2012 in their League Cup exit to eventual finalists Bradford.[9] After making two league appearances for Watford in the early part of the season, Bia made his first league appearance since the back end of 2012 as a substitute in a 0–1 defeat to Barnsley on 16 March 2013.
International career
Mujangi Bia turned down his birthplace DR Congo to instead represent the Belgium national football team.[10] He made his international debut on 29 May 2009 in a Kirin Cup draw against Chile.[11] He has previously also played for Belgium at under-21 level.
References
- ↑ "Premier League Player Profile". Premier League. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
- ↑ "Mujangi Bia: viré en Mauve, heureux en Zèbre" (in French). actu24.be. 8 April 2008.
- ↑ "Geoffrey Mujangi Bia: Facts". The Guardian.
- ↑ "Wolves sign Belgian midfielder Mujangi on loan". BBC Sport. 21 January 2010.
- ↑ "Hull 2–2 Wolverhampton". BBC Sport. 30 January 2010.
- ↑ "Geoffrey to stay on". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 11 May 2010.
- ↑ "Geoffrey Mujangi Bia" (in French). Standard Liege. 28 April 2011.
- ↑ "Watford sign Standard Liege's Geoffrey Mujangi Bia on loan". BBC Sport. 24 August 2012.
- ↑ "Watford 1–2 Bradford". BBC Sport. 28 August 2012.
- ↑ "Mujangi Bia: "Mon coeur va pour la Belgique"". Footgoal.net. 13 August 2008.
- ↑ "Chile and Belgium draw in Kirin Cup". soccerway.com. 29 May 2009.
External links
- Geoffrey Mujangi Bia career stats at Soccerbase
- Geoffrey Mujangi Bia at National-Football-Teams.com
- Guardian Football
- Belgium Stats at Belgian FA
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