Geoffrey Mujangi Bia

Geoffrey Mujangi Bia
Personal information
Date of birth (1989-08-12) 12 August 1989 (age 35)
Place of birth Kinshasa, Zaire
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Position(s) Attacking midfielder, Winger
Team information
Current team
 Virton
Number 9
Youth career
Union Saint-Gilloise
Anderlecht
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2011 Charleroi 59 (9)
2010–2011 → Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) 4 (0)
2011–2015 Standard Liège 88 (25)
2012–2013 → Watford (loan) 3 (0)
2015–2017 Sion 35 (13)
2017–2018 Kayserispor 5 (0)
2018 → Akhisar Belediyespor (loan) 4 (0)
2018–2019 Lokeren 4 (0)
2019–2020 Maccabi Petah Tikva 5 (1)
2022– Virton 1 (0)
International career
2009 Belgium U20 1 (0)
2009–2010 Belgium U21 7 (2)
2009 Belgium 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 6 February 2022

Geoffrey Mujangi Bia (born 12 August 1989) is a Belgian international footballer who plays as a winger for Virton.

He established himself in Belgian football with Charleroi before experiencing the English Premier League with a loan spell at Wolverhampton Wanderers. In 2011, he returned to Belgium to join Standard Liège.

Club career

Mujangi Bia emigrated with his family from DR Congo to Zellik, Belgium as a young child. He began his football career on the books of the Brussels-based club Union Saint-Gilloise, before being spotted by Anderlecht. Although one of their academy's most promising players, he was released by the club.[2]

After some months without a club, he joined Charleroi where he made his professional debut on 17 December 2006 in 0–1 defeat at Zulte Waregem, the first of three appearances that season. He scored his first senior goals the following season (3), before 2008–09 saw his most appearances yet as he played 28 league games.[3]

The midfielder joined English Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers on loan on 21 January 2010 for the remainder of the 2009–10 season.[4] He made his debut in the FA Cup against Crystal Palace on 23 January 2010.[5] His Premier League debut followed as a substitute in a 2–2 draw at Hull City,[6] one of three league appearances that season. At the season's end it was announced he would also spend the 2010–11 season with Wolves.[7]

Mujangi Bia failed to break into Wolves' first team plans during the next season, making just one league appearance, as a late substitute at Manchester City.[8] He scored his only goal for Wolves in a 5–0 FA Cup victory over Championship team Doncaster Rovers.[9] In April 2011 it was announced that he would transfer to Standard Liège on a three-year deal once the transfer window re-opened in the summer.[10]

The winger featured for Standard throughout the 2011–12 season as the club ended in fifth place. However, in August 2012, he was told he was no longer involved in the club's plans, and on 25 August signed for English Championship club Watford on a season-long loan deal, having already agreed to a long-term permanent contract; this will commence in summer 2013 if this option is exercised by Watford.[11]

He made his Watford debut on 28 August 2012 in their League Cup exit to eventual finalists Bradford.[12] After making two league appearances for Watford in the early part of the season, Bia made his first league appearance since the back end of 2012 as a substitute in a 0–1 defeat to Barnsley on 16 March 2013.

During the 2014–15 season Bia scored 14 and created a further 7 goals for Standard Liège. However, after a row with coach Slavoljub Muslin Bia found himself in the B team. During the summer of 2015 a proposed move to Bursaspor fell through after they announced the signing of Hungarian Dzsudzsák. Finally Bia signed a three-year deal with Swiss side Sion.

On 10 May 2018, Bia helped Akhisar Belediyespor win their first professional trophy, the 2017–18 Turkish Cup.[13]

On 5 February 2018 Bia was fired by his club KSC Lokeren on "grounds of urgency".[14]

After not playing in 2021, on 28 January 2022 Mujangi Bia joined Virton.[15]

Honours

Akhisarspor

Career statistics

As of match played on 13 April 2018[16]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Sporting Charleroi 2006–07 Belgian First Division A 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
2007–08 17 3 0 0 0 0 17 3
2008–09 29 4 0 0 0 0 29 4
2009–10 Belgian Pro League 10 2 2 0 0 0 12 2
Total 59 9 2 0 0 0 61 9
Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) 2009–10 Premier League 3 0 2 0 0 0 5 0
2010–11 1 0 2 1 0 0 3 1
Total 4 0 4 1 0 0 8 1
Standard Liège 2011–12 Belgian Pro League 23 2 2 0 6[a] 0 31 2
2012–13 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
2013–14 30 9 1 0 10[a] 5 41 14
2014–15 34 14 1 0 9[b] 0 44 14
Total 88 25 4 0 25 5 117 30
Watford (loan) 2012–13 EFL Championship 3 0 2 0 0 0 6 0
Sion 2015–16 Swiss Super League 19 7 2 1 6[a] 0 27 8
2016–17 16 6 2 2 0 0 18 8
Total 35 13 4 3 6 0 45 16
Kayserispor 2017–18 Süper Lig 5 0 3 1 0 0 8 1
Akhisarspor (loan) 2017–18 Süper Lig 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Career totals 198 47 19 5 31 5 248 57
  1. ^ a b c Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  2. ^ Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, Four appearances in UEFA Champions League

International career

Mujangi Bia turned down his birthplace DR Congo to instead represent the Belgium national football team.[17] He made his international debut on 29 May 2009 in a Kirin Cup draw against Chile.[18] He has previously also played for Belgium at under-21 level.

References

  1. ^ "Premier League Player Profile". Premier League. Archived from the original on 2 October 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
  2. ^ "Mujangi Bia: viré en Mauve, heureux en Zèbre" (in French). actu24.be. 8 April 2008.
  3. ^ "Geoffrey Mujangi Bia: Facts". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 1 October 2012.
  4. ^ "Wolves sign Belgian midfielder Mujangi on loan". BBC Sport. 21 January 2010.
  5. ^ "Wolverhampton 2 – 2 Crystal Palace". BBC. 23 January 2010. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  6. ^ "Hull 2–2 Wolverhampton". BBC Sport. 30 January 2010.
  7. ^ "Geoffrey to stay on". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 11 May 2010. Archived from the original on 25 March 2011.
  8. ^ "Man City 4 – 3 Wolverhampton". BBC. 23 January 2010. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  9. ^ "Wolverhampton 5 – 0 Doncaster". BBC. 18 January 2011. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  10. ^ "Geoffrey Mujangi Bia" (in French). Standard Liege. 28 April 2011.
  11. ^ "Watford sign Standard Liege's Geoffrey Mujangi Bia on loan". BBC Sport. 24 August 2012.
  12. ^ "Watford 1–2 Bradford". BBC Sport. 28 August 2012.
  13. ^ "Kupa tarihinin 15. şampiyonu oldu!".
  14. ^ "Mujangi Bia om "dringende redenen" ontslagen in Lokeren". sporza.be (in Dutch). 5 February 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  15. ^ "Geoffrey Mujangi Bia portera les couleurs de l'Excelsior" (Press release) (in French). Virton. 28 January 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  16. ^ Geoffrey Mujangi Bia at Soccerway. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  17. ^ "Mujangi Bia: "Mon coeur va pour la Belgique"". Footgoal.net. 13 August 2008. Archived from the original on 13 October 2008.
  18. ^ "Chile and Belgium draw in Kirin Cup". soccerway.com. 29 May 2009.