Félix-Michel Ngonge (born 17 August 1967) is a former 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 played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

or striker. Besides in Belgium, he has played in Turkey, England, and Scotland. Ngonge played international football for

Zaire Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...

, and later the renamed Democratic Republic of Congo team.

Club career

Early career

Ngonge started his footballing career in Belgium with Racing Jet de Bruxelles, Gent, RFC Seraing,

La Louvière La Louvière (; ) is a city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Hainaut Province, province of Hainaut, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Boussoit, Haine-Saint-Paul, Haine-Saint-Pie ...

and

Harelbeke Harelbeke (; ) is a municipality and city located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Harelbeke proper and the towns of Bavikhove and Hulste. On January 1, 2019, Harelbeke had a total population of 28 ...

, before moving to Turkish side

Samsunspor Samsunspor Kulübü, officially known as Samsunspor Football Club Joint Stock Company, or as Reeder Samsunspor due to sponsorship agreements, is a Turkey, Turkish Football club (association football), professional football club that competes in t ...

, and then

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

in June 1998.

Watford

During his time at

he became an integral part of the team scoring 11 goals in 56 games. He also played an important role in the 1998–99 season in which Watford gained promotion to the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

for the first time, via the play-offs. Ngonge scored six goals in his first season at Watford, scoring the all-important goal in the first leg of the Division One play-off against

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

Loan to Huddersfield Town

In the 1999–2000 season, despite starting the season well, scoring in the opening match of the season, Ngonge found himself out of favour at

Vicarage Road Vicarage Road is a stadium in Watford, England, and is the home stadium of EFL Championship, Championship club Watford F.C., Watford. An all-seater stadium, its current capacity is 22,200. History It has been the home of Watford since 1922, w ...

and was loaned out to

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

in March 2000.

Queens Park Rangers

Following the relegation of Watford back to Division 1, Ngonge failed to make much of an impression and was subsequently sold to

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

for £50,000, where he played 15 games and scored three goals.

Kilmarnock

Ngonge then finished his career at Scottish side

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

, where he scored three goals in his 12 games at the

Rugby Park Rugby Park, also known as The BBSP Stadium Rugby Park for sponsorship reasons, is a association football, football stadium which is the home of Scottish Premiership club Kilmarnock F.C. and is situated in the Scotland, Scottish town of Kilmarnoc ...

-based club.

Personal life

His son, Cyril Ngonge, is also a professional footballer.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ngonge, Michel 1967 births Living people Belgian sportspeople of Democratic Republic of the Congo descent Sportspeople from Huy Democratic Republic of the Congo men's footballers Belgian men's footballers Men's association football forwards Democratic Republic of the Congo men's international footballers 1996 African Cup of Nations players 2000 African Cup of Nations players Wavre Sports FC players K.A.A. Gent players R.F.C. Seraing (1904) players R.A.A. Louviéroise players K.R.C. Zuid-West-Vlaanderen players Samsunspor footballers Watford F.C. players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players Kilmarnock F.C. players Belgian Pro League players Challenger Pro League players Premier League players English Football League players Scottish Premier League players Süper Lig players Democratic Republic of the Congo expatriate men's footballers Democratic Republic of the Congo expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England Democratic Republic of the Congo expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Democratic Republic of the Congo expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Footballers from Liège Province Gatticiennes 20th-century Belgian sportsmen