Mengistu Worku (

Amharic Amharic is an Ethio-Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amhara people, and also serves as a lingua franca for all other metropolitan populati ...

: መንግስቱ ወርቁ; 1940 – 16 December 2010) was an Ethiopian

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 ...

, recognised as one of the best Ethiopian footballers in history with Luciano Vassalo and Yidnekatchew Tessema. He is best known for his role in the final of the 1962 African Nations Cup, and for being the head coach to take the Ethiopia national team to the

African Nations Cup The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

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in 1982.Mamo Gebrehiwot
"Ethiopia Football: Legendary Footballer Mengistu Worku has died"
EthioSports website (accessed 26 December 2010)Gonderew, Ethiopia’s Football Legend Mengistu Worku Passes at 70 (1940–2010)
''Ethiosun'' (accessed 4 June 2011)

Career

During the 1962 African Nations Cup, Mengistu scored one goal in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

of the 3rd African cup against

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, when Ethiopia won their first major trophy. He was named player of the tournament, the first Ethiopian to claim that award. Ethiopia scored the most in that tournament with four goals on the final. He debuted with Saint-George SA in 1957 and remained with the club for the entirety of his career. Mengistu was given numerous offers to play professionally for teams in Italy's

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

and France, as well as Egypt's El Zamalek, but like earlier legend and coach Ydnekatchew, he refused all offers and stayed in Ethiopia wearing Saint George's characteristic "V" across his chest. Mengistu wore the number 8 for the entirety of his club and national team career. His international career began in 1958 and ended in 1970, following disappointment in the 7th African Nations cup in Sudan, where Ethiopia finished bottom of their group. He still managed to score three goals, the only Ethiopian goals in that tournament. Mengistu played two more years with Saint George, retiring in 1972. He is the seventh-highest scorer in the history of the

African Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

with ten goals. Mengistu coached the national team after retirement, but the team failed to match the success it found during his playing days. He did, however, coach the country to their first-ever CECAFA cup title in

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, when the tournament was hosted by Ethiopia. In 2001, Mengistu was struck by a tumor, and doctors had told him he had only months to live. With treatment unavailable in Ethiopia, the Ethiopian billionaire Mohammed Al Amoudi paid for Mengistu to travel to South Africa for treatment. "It was because of Al Amoudi that I am standing before you today," he said on Ethiopian television. At the 2002 CECAFA Cup, Mengistu was honored before the tournament kickoff by the Council for East and Central Africa Football Association, along with five other

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n footballers and three referees, including Tesfaye Gebreyesus, the Ethiopian who refereed at three ACN tournaments.

Career statistics

International goals

:''Scores and results list Ethiopia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Worku goal.''

Honors

International

;Ethiopia *

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

Individual

* Africa Cup of Nations Best Player: 1962

Notes

Sources

External links

RSSSF entry

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Worku, Mengistu 1940 births 2010 deaths Footballers from Addis Ababa Ethiopian men's footballers Saint George S.C. players Men's association football forwards Ethiopia men's international footballers Ethiopia national football team managers 1959 African Cup of Nations players 1962 African Cup of Nations players 1963 African Cup of Nations players 1965 African Cup of Nations players 1968 African Cup of Nations players 1970 African Cup of Nations players Ethiopian football managers Africa Cup of Nations–winning players 1982 African Cup of Nations managers