Frédéric Gounongbe

Frédéric Vinami Henri Gounongbe (born 1 May 1988) is a former professional footballer who played as a centre forward.

Frédéric Gounongbe
Gounongbe playing for Cardiff City in 2016
Personal information
Full name Frédéric Vinami Henri Gounongbe[1]
Date of birth (1988-05-01) 1 May 1988
Place of birth Brussels, Belgium
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Centre forward
Youth career
Léopold
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2012 Woluwe-Zaventem 71 (35)
2012–2013 Zulte Waregem 0 (0)
2012–2013 → RWDM Brussels (loan) 28 (9)
2013–2014 RWDM Brussels 18 (11)
2014–2016 Westerlo 45 (22)
2016–2018 Cardiff City 14 (0)
Total 176 (77)
International career‡
2014–2016 Benin 7 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:07, 18 July 2018 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 06:46, 28 March 2017 (UTC)

A latecomer to professional football, he rose to prominence during a spell with Belgian Third Division side Woluwe-Zaventem, scoring 19 times in the 2011–12 season. His form attracted the attention of Belgian Pro League side Zulte Waregem and he joined the club on a two-year deal. However, he never appeared for the first team and after spending the 2012–13 season on loan at the club, he joined RWDM Brussels on a permanent deal. In 2014, he returned to the Pro League with Westerlo where he spent two seasons, before spending two seasons with Welsh club Cardiff City. After leaving Cardiff in 2018, he retired from football.

Born in Belgium, Gounongbe chose to represent Benin at international level, making his debut in 2014.

Early and personal life

Gounongbe was born in Brussels to a Beninese father and a Belgian mother.[2] He played tennis as a teenager and regarded the sport as his number one discipline.[3][4]

He later graduated from EPHEC University College with a bachelor's degree in international business.[2][3]

Club career

Belgium

At the age of 16, he took up football after visiting a training session with a friend,[3] training with local amateur sides in Auderghem before joining Belgian Fourth Division side Léopold. However, he did not become a full professional until the relatively late age of 23.[4] He joined Woluwe-Zaventem in 2008 and attracted attention after scoring 35 goals in 71 matches for the club during a four-year spell, including 19 during the 2011–12 season in the Belgian Third Division B.[2] His form attracted interest from several clubs and he eventually joined Belgian Pro League side Zulte Waregem on a two-year deal.[5] The club's head scout, Toon Mertens described Gounongbe as "a powerful forward with flair to score. He has already scored 16 goals this season [...] he is lively and quick for his size".[2]

He was named as a substitute on four occasions for the side but never made a first team appearance and eventually joined RWDM Brussels on loan in August 2012. He scored 9 goals in 28 appearances for the club but was released by Zulte Waregem on his return to the club at the end of the season, signing a permanent one-year deal with RWDM Brussels. He scored 11 times for the club during the 2013–14 season, despite being restricted to just 18 appearances due to a fibula injury.[2] With the club experiencing financial difficulties, Gounongbe left the club at the end of the season following the end of his contract, joining newly promoted Belgian Pro League side Westerlo.[6][7] He scored his first goal in the Pro League on 2 August 2014 during a 3–2 victory over Charleroi.[2]

Cardiff City
Gounongbe playing for Cardiff City in 2016
Gounongbe playing for Cardiff City in 2016

On 1 July 2016, he joined Football League Championship side Cardiff City on a free transfer following the expiry of his contract at Westerlo, signing a two-year deal.[4][8] He made his debut for the club in a 0–0 draw with Birmingham City on the opening day of the 2016–17 season.[9] Gounongbe failed to score in nine games and was eventually dropped by new manager, Neil Warnock. He made three more substitute appearances before suffering an injury that required surgery, ruling him out of the rest of the season.[10]

He made his return on 18 November, coming on a substitute against Brentford, playing two more games before suffering a groin injury, which ruled him out for several months.[11][12] Gounongbe was released at the end of the 2017–18 season, following Cardiff's promotion to the Premier League.[13] Following his departure, he decided to retire from football on doctor's advice due to a long-term injury.[14]

International career

Gounongbe received his first call-up to the Benin national football team from manager Didier Ollé-Nicolle in 2014, making his debut on 17 May 2014 as a substitute in place of Mohamed Aoudou during a 2–0 victory over São Tomé and Príncipe in the first leg of the first qualifying round for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.[2][15] In the second leg of the fixture, Gounongbe was handed his first start for Benin, scoring his first international goal in his home debut in Porto-Novo before being substituted late in the match for Razak Omotoyossi.[16][17]

International goals
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Opponent Score[18] Result Competition
1 1 June 2014[17]Stade Charles de Gaulle, Porto-Novo, Benin São Tomé and Príncipe1–02–02015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
2 23 March 2016[19]Juba Stadium, Juba, South Sudan South Sudan1–02–12017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
3 4 September 2016[20]Stade du 26 Mars, Bamako, Mali Mali1–32–5

After football

Following his retirement, Gounongbe attended university and graduated in asset management.[14]

Career statistics
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Woluwe-Zaventem 2009–10[21] Third Division B 23101000002410
2010–11[21] 156000000156
2011–12[21] 33192100003520
Woluwe-Zaventem total71353100007436
Zulte Waregem 2012–13[21] Pro League 0000000000
RWDM Brussels (loan) Second Division 289100000299
RWDM Brussels 2013–14[21] 18110000001811
RWDM Brussels total46201000004720
Westerlo 2014–15[21] Pro League 179000000179
2015–16[21] 28132000003013
Westerlo total45222000004722
Cardiff City 2016–17[22] Championship 110001000120
2017–18[23] 3000000030
Cardiff City total140001000150
Total 1767761100018378

References
  1. "Frédéric Gounongbe". Confederation of African Football. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  2. "Frederic Gounongbe" (in French). Soulier de'Bene. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  3. "Gounongbe: I'm a bit of an outsider in the football world". The Indian Subcontinent. 27 March 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  4. "Just who is Frederic Gounongbe? This is everything you need to know about the new Cardiff City striker". WalesOnline. 1 July 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  5. "Aanvaller Frédéric Gounongbe versterkt SV Zulte Waregem" (in French). Nieuwsblad. 24 March 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  6. "Player profile". National-Football-Teams.com. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  7. "Frédéric Gounongbe (RWDM) s'est engagé avec Westerlo" (in French). La Capitale. 4 May 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  8. "Cardiff City: Forward Frederic Gounongbe joins from Belgian club". BBC Sport. 1 July 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  9. "Birmingham City 0–0 Cardiff City". BBC Sport. 6 August 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  10. "Cardiff City are not giving up hope on forgotten man Frederic Gounongbe". South Wales Echo. 21 May 2017.
  11. "Cardiff City 2–0 Brentford". BBC Sport. 18 November 2017.
  12. "Kenneth Zohore: Cardiff striker on the mend but not ready to play". BBC Sport. 7 December 2017.
  13. Dominic Booth (18 July 2018). "The quiet disappearance and exit of Cardiff City's forgotten man Frederic Gounongbe". WalesOnline. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  14. James, Ben (10 September 2019). "How life turned out for huge Cardiff City flop Frederic Gounongbe". WalesOnline. Media Wales. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  15. "Sao Tome and Principe vs. Benin". National Football Teams. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  16. "Bjfoot Awards 2014: Gounongbé , joueur de l'année!" (in French). Benin Football. 11 January 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  17. "Benin 2–0 Sao Tome e Principe". Confederation of African Football. 1 June 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  18. Benin score listed first, score column indicates score after each goal
  19. "South Sudan 1–2 Benin". Confederation of African Football. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  20. "Mali vs. Benin". Confederation of African Football. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  21. Frédéric Gounongbe at Soccerway. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  22. "Games played by Frédéric Gounongbe in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  23. "Games played by Frédéric Gounongbe in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
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