François M'Pelé

François M'Pelé ( born July 13, 1947 in Brazzaville ) is a former Congolese football player who has completed the bulk of his career in the French professional leagues. He is regarded as " the most successful football export of the country ."

Club career

Born in the former French colony of Middle Congo François M'Pelé played as an adolescent at CARA and subsequently used for the Inter Club, both clubs from his native town. In 1969, he came from the newly independent Congo in the meantime to France and played for AC Ajaccio Erstdivisionär. The Corsicans, the shock striker quickly developed under coach Alberto Muro team regular; his second season there closed Ajaccio surprising in sixth place in the standings from - it should remain the best placement during his eleven years in the Division 1. Personally, however, developed M'Pelé, which then also became a national player for his home country (see below), has become a top scorer in a class; 1971/72 he was ranked for the first time far ahead in the scoring charts of the first division (Rank 8 thanks to 17 hits ), in the following year presented the same number of gates even for sixth place, while the AC Ajaccio at the end of the season as last in was relegated to second division. Although he regularly met deeper a class (ten " stalls " in 17 games ), the club sold him in the winter of 1973/74 to the Premier League rivals Paris Saint- Germain.

Barely six months later, François M'Pelé returned with PSG in the top flight back, and get him in 1974/75 21 hits, making him the second best scorer in Division 1. It benefited him that his trainer Just Fontaine promoted a proactive orientation and with Mustapha Dahleb yet another prolific attacker played alongside him. As, however, in 1977 with Carlos Bianchi one of the most successful strikers in the 1970s came to Paris Saint- Germain, M'Pelé stand strong in the shade by the Argentine, the access point 64 Goals in two years. Title also occurred in the roughly five years at the capital club for him not to win, even though the team has been strengthened with players like Jean -Michel Larqué, Dominique Baratelli Dominique Bathenay and Luis Fernández; in the league average PSG, with one exception always only on a two -digit standings from, and in the Cup they reached the semi-finals as the best result in 1975.

In 1979 M'Pelé to Racing Lens, with which he pushed forward again in 1981 to the Cup semi-finals, but also with the Northern French was the championship out of reach. 1981/82 have joined a season in the second division. For Stade Rennes, he scored 16 goals there again, but the rise was not enough this neat quota. François M'Pelé then finished his career in the French professional football, in which he had played a total of 350 top-flight appearances and scored 129 goals in the process; this came 68 point games with 31 hits in the Division 2 Then the player who is married to a Corsican since his time at Ajaccio went - and later the French citizenship adopted - in his country of origin, where he one in Pointe -Noire slaughterhouse opened.

Stations

• To 1968: CARA Brazzaville
• To 1969: Inter Club Brazzaville
• 1969 - end 1973: AC Ajaccio
• Beginning 1974-1979: Paris Saint- Germain FC
• 1979-1981: Racing Lens
• 1981/82: Stade Rennes

National players

François has M'Pelé 1971-1978 at least nine official A- international matches for the national team of the Republic of Congo denied and it scored two goals. In 1972 he won with the Elf the Coupe d' Afrique des Nations, where he in the group game against Sudan and in the 3-2 final win over Mali each scored one goal in the 4-2 and beyond the " performers of Diables Rouges" was. He was also a member of the Continental range, which represented Africa in June 1972 in Brazil at the tournament on the occasion of Independence Day of the country ( Taça Independencia, also called " mini- Copa "). When there 0-2 defeat against France, he was, however, not been used.

Palmarčs

• African champions 1972
• 2006 inclusion in the CAF 's list of 200 best African football player since the mid-20th century