Vinny Bongonga Kombe (born 24 March 1996) is a Congolese football striker who plays for Étoile du Sahel.

Vinny Bongonga
Personal information
Full name Vinny Bongonga Kombe
Date of birth (1996-03-24) 24 March 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth Kinshasa, Zaïre
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
Étoile du Sahel
Number 9
Youth career
JAC Trésor
JAC Héritage
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
JS Kinshasa
AC Rangers
FC Arc-en-Ciel
2015–2016 AC Léopard
2016–2019 DC Motema Pembe
2019 Liaoning Kaixin 0 (0)
2019–2020 DC Motema Pembe
2020–2021 Al-Hilal Omdurman
2021– Étoile du Sahel 37 (7)
International career
2017 DR Congo 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21 August 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21 August 2023

Playing career

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Following 32 league goals for second-tier club FC Arc-en-Ciel, he moved abroad to AC Léopard in the Republic of the Congo. After winning the league championship there, he moved back to DC Motema Pembe. During his time there, he made his international debut for DR Congo.[1][2]

A stint with Chinese Liaoning Kaixin in 2019 was halted due to "administrative problems". He immediately returned to DC Motema Pembe.[3] Following 11 goals in the 2019–20 Linafoot, his contract expired, and he was reluctant to sign a new one.[4] Amid rumours of a transfer to Morocco or Belgium,[5] Bongonga moved abroad again, this time to Sudanese club Al-Hilal Omdurman, where he again became league champion. This earned him a move to Tunisia in 2021.[1][2] Étoile du Sahel signed him on a three-year contract.[6]

By 2023, he was no longer a starter, but played from time to time as the team improved from a weak performance in 2021–22 to win the 2022–23 Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1. Among others, Bongonga scored a winning goal against CSS Sfaxien. [7][8]

References

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  1. ^ a b Vinny Bongonga at National-Football-Teams.com
  2. ^ a b Vinny Bongonga at WorldFootball.net
  3. ^ Makaya, Destin (12 January 2020). "Vinny Bongonga: «L'équipe nationale A? c'est un rêve…»" (in French). Leopardsfoot. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  4. ^ Nzeke, Myriam (17 August 2020). "Pour Vinny Bongonga, enfiler le maillot de DCMP cette saison est un choix difficile" (in French). Events DRC. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  5. ^ Momo, Marco Emery (26 October 2020). "Vinny Bongonga vers une destination inattendue" (in French). Foot DRC. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  6. ^ Mansianga, Fonseca (10 July 2021). "Vinny Bongonga s'engage avec l'Étoile Sportive du Sahel" (in French). Actualité.cd. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  7. ^ Tobo, Michael (24 May 2023). "Vinny Bongonga et l'Etoile Sportive du Sahel terminent la 2ème phase en tête du classement" (in French). Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  8. ^ Makabi, Gratis. "Vinny Bongonga offre la victoire à l'Étoile du Sahel face au CS Sfaxien" (in French). Opinion Info. Retrieved 19 August 2023.