Anatole Bertrand Abang (born 6 July 1996) is a Cameroonian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

for

UAE Pro League The UAE Pro League (), also known as the ADNOC Pro League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the highest level of the Emirati football league system. The first team to w ...

club

Al Bataeh Al Bataeh () is a town located in outskirts of the Emirate of Sharjah, the United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Penin ...

Early life

Abang was born in

Yaoundé Yaoundé (; , ) is the Capital city, capital city of Cameroon. It has a population of more than 2.8 million which makes it the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region (Cameroon), Centre Region o ...

, and started his career with local side AS Fortuna de Yaounde. His rights were subsequently purchased by Rainbow Bamenda.

Club career

New York Red Bulls

In early 2015 Abang went on trial with

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conferenc ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

. Abang impressed during the 2015 pre-season and on 5 March 2015 the Red Bulls announced that they had completed Abang's transfer from Rainbow FC. Abang made his professional debut for New York on 8 March 2015 coming on as a second-half substitute in a 1–1 draw at

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The ad ...

. On 6 June 2015 Abang scored his first goal for the senior team in 4–2 loss versus

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Established on December 15, 2005, the club was founded after their fo ...

. On 28 June 2015 Abang assisted

Chris Duvall Chris Duvall (born September 10, 1991) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a right-back. He is currently an assistant coach for the St. Louis City 2 in MLS Next Pro. Born in Duluth, Georgia, Duvall began his career ...

on his 52nd-minute goal which helped Red Bulls to a 2–1 lead, in an eventual 3-1 derby victory over

New York City FC New York City Football Club (often referred to as NYCFC) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in New York City. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern C ...

. A few days later, on 1 July 2015 Abang helped the Red Bulls to a victory in the

US Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

over local rival

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Indepen ...

, scoring the go ahead goal in a 4–1 victory. On 1 August 2015 Abang scored New York's final goal in a 3–1 away victory over

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the Union began ...

Loan to New York Red Bulls II

During the 2015 season Abang was loaned to

New York Red Bulls II New York Red Bulls II is an American professional Association football, soccer team based in Montclair, New Jersey. They are the reserve team of the New York Red Bulls and play in MLS Next Pro, the third tier in the American soccer pyramid. Hi ...

. On 4 April 2015 in his first match with the team Abang opened the scoring for New York Red Bulls II, scoring the first goal in club history in a 4–1 victory over

Toronto FC II Toronto FC II is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, that competes in MLS Next Pro, a third tier league of the United States soccer league system. It is the reserve team and minor league affiliate of Toronto FC as we ...

. On 18 April 2015 Abang scored the equalising goal for New York Red Bulls II in a 1–1 draw against the

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are the oldest continuously operating professional socc ...

. On 17 May 2015 Abang scored the lone goal for New York Red Bulls II in another 1–1 draw against Charleston Battery. On 24 May 2015 Abang scored New York's opening goal in a 3–2 victory over

FC Montreal FC Montreal was a Canadian professional association football, soccer team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada that played in the USL Championship, the third tier of the United States soccer league system. The team served as a reserve team of Major ...

. On 10 April 2016 Abang scored his first goal of the season, helping

to a 4–0 victory over

Bethlehem Steel FC Philadelphia Union II is an American professional soccer team based in Chester, Pennsylvania competing in MLS Next Pro. Founded in 2015 as Bethlehem Steel FC, the team is the official affiliate of the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer. ...

. On 7 May 2016 Abang scored his second goal of the season in 3–1 victory over

Pittsburgh Riverhounds Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC is an American professional soccer team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1998 and beginning play in 1999, the club plays in the Eastern Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American ...

Loan to Hobro IK

On 22 August 2016, it was announced by

Hobro IK Hobro Idræts Klub (), commonly referred to as Hobro IK or HIK, is a professional football club based in Hobro, Denmark. The club currently competes in the Danish 1st Division, the second tier of the Danish football league system, and plays its h ...

that they had acquired Abang on loan for the

2016–17 Danish 1st Division The 2016–17 Danish 1st Division (known as the NordicBet Liga for sponsorship purposes) marked the 21st season of the league operating as the second tier of Danish football and the 77th season overall under the 1st Division name. The league is ...

season. While with the club, Abang scored three goals in 10 league matches. The loan deal was cancelled six months before time and Abang went back to New York Red Bulls on 31 January 2017.

Loan to SJK

On 28 March 2017, it was announced by SJK that they had acquired Abang on loan until July 2017. On 10 May 2017, SJK announced that they had terminated Abang's loan deal.

Loan to Astra Giurgiu

On 9 August 2017, Abang was loaned to the Romanian first division club,

FC Astra Giurgiu Asociația Fotbal Club Astra Giurgiu (), commonly known as Astra Giurgiu or simply Astra, was a Romanian football club last based in the city of Giurgiu, Giurgiu County. Founded in 1921 in Ploiești as ''Clubul Sportiv Astra-Română'', it spe ...

until July 2018. While with the Romanian side Abang appeared in 29 matches and scored 5 goals.

Nantong Zhiyun

On 19 February 2019, Abang transferred to

China League One The Chinese Football League 1 (), also known as China League One or Chinese Jia League (), is the second level of professional football in China, under the Chinese Super League. The league is under the auspices of the Chinese Football Association ...

newcomer

Nantong Zhiyun Nantong Zhiyun Football Club () is a Chinese professional football club based in Rugao, Jiangsu, that competes in . Nantong Zhiyun plays its home matches at the Rugao Olympic Sports Center, located within Rugao. The club was founded on 13 March ...

Sheriff Tiraspol

On 6 February 2020, Abang joined

FC Sheriff Tiraspol Fotbal Club Sheriff Tiraspol (), commonly known as Sheriff Tiraspol or simply Sheriff, is a professional football club based in Tiraspol, a city located in the unrecognised breakaway state of Transnistria, that plays in the Liga, the top tier ...

Keşla

On 26 December 2020, Abang signed a one-year contract with

Keşla FK Shamakhi FK (, ) is an Azerbaijani professional association football, football club based in Shamakhi, that currently competes in the Azerbaijan Premier League. The club has won the Premier League title twice. History Early years (1997–2004) ...

. Abang left Keşla at the end of his contract.

International career

Abang has represented Cameroon at the Under-17 level, making his debut with the squad in 2012. He is also a part of Cameroon's Under-20 player pool. On 10 March 2016, Abang was called up to Cameroon's senior squad for Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Career statistics

Club

International goals

:''Scores and results list Cameroon's goal tally first.''

Honors

;New York Red Bulls *

MLS Supporters' Shield The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since 199 ...

(2):

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

References

External links

Anatole Abang
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