Mpangi Merikani (born 4 April 1967) is a Congolese 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

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

. He notably played abroad in South Africa. He represented the Zaire national team at international level.

Club career

Born in

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...

, Merikani began his career with Cercle Sportif Imana and Daring Club Motema Pembe, where he would win consecutive Congolese national championships from 1983 to 1985. He moved to play in

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 ...

at the age of 25, signing with

Jomo Cosmos Jomo Cosmos is a South African soccer club based in Johannesburg that plays in the ABC Motsepe League. The club is owned and coached by South African football legend Jomo Sono. At the end of the 2021–22 National First Division season, the ...

. He would spend the rest of his playing career in the South African

Premier Soccer League The Premier Soccer League (PSL) is the administrative body for professional soccer leagues and cups in South Africa. It is based in Johannesburg, and was founded in 1996 following an agreement between the National Soccer League and the remnant ...

, representing Rabali Blackpool, Real Rovers and Santos.

International career

Merikani played 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 ...

at the

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

and

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

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 ...

finals.

Coaching career

After he ended his playing career, Merikani became a goalkeeping coach for Jomo Cosmos in 1999.

Personal life

Menkani is the father of Jonathan Bolingi, who is also a professional footballer.

References

External links

* * 1967 births Living people Democratic Republic of the Congo men's footballers Footballers from Kinshasa Men's association football goalkeepers Democratic Republic of the Congo men's international footballers 1988 African Cup of Nations players 1992 African Cup of Nations players 1996 African Cup of Nations players Daring Club Motema Pembe players Jomo Cosmos F.C. players Santos F.C. (South Africa) players Democratic Republic of the Congo expatriate men's footballers Democratic Republic of the Congo expatriate sportspeople in South Africa Expatriate men's soccer players in South Africa {{DRCongo-footy-bio-stub