Guélor Kanga

Guélor Kanga

With Rostov in 2014
Personal information
Full name Guélor Kanga Kaku
Date of birth (1990-09-01) 1 September 1990
Place of birth Oyem, Gabon
Height 1.66 m (5 ft 5 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Red Star Belgrade
Number 8
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2010 Mangasport 50 (10)
2010–2012 Missile 49 (11)
2012–2013 Mounana 23 (5)
2013–2016 Rostov 70 (7)
2016– Red Star Belgrade 9 (0)
National team‡
2012– Gabon 29 (2)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 October 2016.

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 6 September 2016

Guélor Kanga Kaku (born September 1, 1990 in Oyem) is a Gabonese professional football player. He plays in the Serbian Superliga for Red Star Belgrade[1] and is also a regular member of the Gabon national team.

Club career

Beginning in Gabon Championnat

Kanga started playing with AS Mangasport in 2007.[2] Immediately in his first season as senior at the club, he won the Gabon Championnat National D1.[2] Mangasport was a great team for Kanga to start, cause they were at the top of Gabon's league. In the following seasons Kanga's Mangasport finished third in 2008–09 and second in 2009–10.[2] After three solid seasons at Mangasport, in 2010 he received an offer from ambitious Missile FC who were forming a team in order to win the championship. Kanga moved to the capital and became fundamental player in Missile 2010–11 championship winning campaign.[2] However, the following season they failed to archive the same goal and finished 5th.[2] By then, another team from the capital, Libreville, was decided to form a team capable of performing strong. It was CF Mounana, and one of their moves to archive this goal was to sign Kanga. However, that season US Bitam dominated the league with Kanga's Mounama finishing second, but the season was successful for Kanga, as Mounama won that season the 2013 Coupe du Gabon Interclubs, a title Manga was still missing among the domestic ones.[2] By then Kanga was being followed by many European and other clubs, and his move abroad was imminent.

Rostov

On 9 February 2013, Kanga signed a 3.5-year multimillion deal with Russian Premier League side FC Rostov.[3] Kanga made his debut in the Russian Premier League on 9 March 2013 for FC Rostov against FC Alania Vladikavkaz.[4]

Kanga received a three match ban in December 2014 after being sent-off for Rostov vs FC Spartak Moscow for responding to racist abuse from the Spartak fans with an obscene gesture.[5]

During the four seasons Kanga spent at Rostov, he made 70 appearances in the Russian Premier League and scored on seven occasions.[6] The first three seasons Rostov performed mostly mid-table however in his last season there the club finished second.[2] By then Kanga became the main target of Miodrag Božović who had coached him at Rostov between 2012 and 2014 and was now at Serbian side Red Star Belgrade who had won the championship and were reinforcing the team for their 2016–17 UEFA Champions League campaign.

Red Star Belgrade

On July 1, 2016, Kanga signed a two-year deal with Red Star Belgrade.[7] Kanga was Miodrag Božović's transfer wish for Red Star's upcoming Champions League campaign, as Kanga and Božović had known each other over two years at FC Rostov. Kanga was the first Gabonese footballer in 33 years to play on Serbian soil, as the previous one was actually the first ever footballer from Africa to play in Yugoslav First League, Gabonese international Anselme Delicat, who in 1983 debuted for Serbian club FK Vojvodina. He opened way for numerous players from other African countries that came after him to the region.

Kanga made his debut in an official match for Red Star on July 12, 2016, as a starter in the fist leg of the second qualifying round of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League against Valletta F.C. away. Red Star won 1–2, and he assisted team mate Aleksandar Katai for the equalizer.[6] Kanga scored his first goal for Red Star in the first leg of the third qualifying round against Ludogorets in Razgrad after a "parabola" shot from distance. Three days later he made his SuperLiga debut in a win against Metalac.

International career

Ever since his debut in 2012, Kanga has been a regular at Gabon national football team.[2] He was selected for the Gabon team at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations and played all three games in the group.[2]

Honours

Mangasport
Missile
Mounama
Rostov

Career statistics

Club

As of Match played 18 May 2016[6]
Club statistics
Season Club League League Cup Continental Other[N 1] Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
2012–13 Rostov Russian Premier League 10120—11132
2013–14 24330——273
2014–15 191102030251
2015–16 17200——172
Total Russia 707602041828
Career total 707602041828

International

Gabon
YearAppsGoals
201250
201350
201430
2015111
201651
Total292

Statistics accurate as of 6 September 2016[8]

Notes

  1. ↑ Includes Russian Relegation Play-offs and Russian Super Cup

References

  1. ↑ FOTO: Nova Zvezdina "osmica" - Gelor Konga! at mondo.rs, July 1, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2016 (Serbian)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Guélor Kanga at Natiional-Football-Teams.com
  3. ↑ Канга стал игроком "Ростова" (ВИДЕО) (in Russian). FC Rostov. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  4. ↑ "Game Report". Russian Premier League. 9 March 2013.
  5. ↑ "Russia bans Rostov player for three games for reacting to racism". www.foxsports.com/. Fox Sports. 5 December 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 "G. Kanga Stats". Soccerway. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  7. ↑ ser:Promocija Kange u petak! (in Serbian). Retrieved 1 July 2016.
  8. ↑ "Guelor Kanga". National Football Teams. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
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