Michél Mazingu-Dinzey

Michél Mazingu-Dinzey

Dinzey in the colours of FC St. Pauli.
Personal information
Full name	Michél Sinda Mazingu-Dinzey
Date of birth	(1975-10-15) 15 October 1975
Place of birth	Berlin, Germany
Height	1.8 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Youth career
1979–1986	Spvgg. Schöneberg
1986–1990	1. FC Schöneberg
1990–1991	FV Wannsee
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1991–1992	FV Wannsee	34	(7)
1992–1994	Lichterfelder FC	68	(17)
1994–1995	VfB Stuttgart	14	(0)
1995–1996	FC St. Pauli	31	(5)
1996–1998	Hertha BSC	60	(6)
1998–2000	TSV 1860 München	15	(1)
2000–2002	Hannover 96	13	(2)
2001	→ Vålerenga (loan)	10	(1)
2002–2004	Eintracht Braunschweig	66	(14)
2004–2007	FC St. Pauli	88	(24)
2007–2008	Holstein Kiel	10	(1)
Total		409	(78)
National team
1996–2004	Congo-Kinshasa	33	(3)
Teams managed
2009	St. Eloi Lupopo (asst. coach)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Michél Mazingu-Sinda-Dinzey (born 15 October 1972 in Berlin) is a retired German-Congolese football player. He has played for several clubs in Germany, including FC St. Pauli, Hertha BSC, TSV 1860 München, Hannover 96 and Eintracht Braunschweig.^[1]

Career

Playing career

Dinzey began playing football in his childhood, participating in youth teams in the Berlin borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg. In 1988 he joined a Wannsee Junior-A team that played in Steglitz-Zehlendorf, an adjacent Berlin borough. At 17, he began upper-league play with the first-tier crew of the Wannsee FC. The following year he switched to Lichterfelder FC, playing two years for them.

In 1994, Dinzey began his professional career with the Fußball-Bundesliga, playing for VfB Stuttgart. 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 TSV 1860 München. In the 1995–96 season, with the prospect of becoming a regular starter, he moved to the FC St. Pauli in Hamburg.^[2] After playing in 31 games and having scored five goals for Hamburg, Dinzey was drafted to play for Zaire's national team. After the season he returned to the Bundesliga, signing for Hertha BSC, where for two years he was a regular starter and significantly contributed to the team's success. In 1998 he accepted a 1.3-million-Deutschmark contract to play for the TSV 1860 München team as Horst Heldt's substitute.^[3]

During two years he played for Munich only 15 times, scoring a single goal. In 2000, the Munich team qualified for the UEFA Champions League, but owing to differences with then-coach Werner Lorant he had little opportunity to participate in the tournament.

Subsequently he moved to play for Hannover 96 in the second Bundesliga; he earned a regular place and played 13 completed games, scoring two goals. In 2001 he was on a four-month loan to Norwegian First Division team Valerenga, where he played ten of 13 games, scoring one goal.

In 2002, he returned to Germany, playing for Eintracht Braunschweig, 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. 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.

In 2004 he returned to the FC St. Pauli in the Regionalliga Nord, playing 88 times and scoring 24 goals during his three years in Hamburg; the team twice won the Hamburger Pokal. In 2006 the team reached the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal but lost to eventual winners FC Bayern Munich. In 2007, St. Pauli was promoted to the Bundesliga's second division, where he was traded to play seven months for the Oberliga Nord's Holstein Kiel 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. He also played 33 international caps for Congo-Kinshasa. He is married with two children.

International career

Dinzey made his debut for the Zaire national football team on 19 January 1996 at the African Cup in Durban, South Africa, losing 2–0 to Gabon but winning 2–0 in Johannesburg against Liberia before losing 1–0 to Ghana in the quarter-finals at Port Elizabeth.

He was subsequently part of the Congolese 2000 African Cup squad hosted jointly by Nigeria and Ghana. That team played both Algeria and Gabon to scoreless ties but lost to South Africa 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 2–1, to Tunisia 3–0 and to Rwanda 1–0. Having finished bottom of their group in the first round of competition, the team failed to secure qualification for the quarter-finals.^[4]

After retirement from active play

Since summer 2010, Dinzey has worked as a talent scout for the Turkish club Diyarbakırspor, helping to identify potential players in Africa and South America.^[5]

Dinzey currently works as a 2. Bundesliga Twitter pundit for German TV channel Sport1.^[6]

American football

In 2011 he played as a placekicker for Hamburg based American football team St. Pauli Buccaneers, who compete in the third tier Regionalliga. ^[7]

References

v t e Zaire squad – 1996 African Cup of Nations 1 Babale 2 Merikani 3 Tambwe 4 Danga 5 Dinzey 6 Hitoto 7 Kasongo 8 Lukose 9 Monka 10 Kabongo 11 Lembi 12 Kalenga 13 Kiniambi 14 Mamale 15 Mukanya 16 N'Dinga 17 Essende 18 Lukaku 19 Kasongo 20 N'Gole 21 Ngonge 22 Ngaduane Coach: Ertuğral and Basilwa

v t e DR Congo squad – 2000 African Cup of Nations 1 Mayala 2 Bageta 3 Kasongo 4 Yuvuladio 5 Bakasu 6 Mukando 7 Banza 8 Nsilulu 9 Ngonge 10 Mbungu 11 Mamale 12 Tokala 13 Mangituka 14 Dinzey 15 Londji 16 Kifu 17 Mulekelayi 18 Yemweni 19 Mbabu 20 Bazamba 21 Kibwey 22 Mampuya Coach: Lusadusu

v t e DR Congo squad – 2004 African Cup of Nations 1 Kombe 2 Musasa 3 Muzinga 4 Mubiala 5 Kamudimba 6 Luntala 7 Kalulika 8 Ndiwa 9 LuaLua 10 Masudi 11 Musasa 12 Matingou 13 Bomboko 14 Mazingu-Dinzey 15 Ilunga 16 Lukata 17 Piana 18 Mbayo 19 Mbuta 20 Mundaba 21 Nzuzi 22 Kidiaba Coach: Wadsworth