Peniel Kokou Mlapa (born 20 February 1991) is a Togolese professional footballer who plays as a striker for K League 2 club Busan IPark .[2] He also holds German citizenship.
.jpg) Mlapa in 2024 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Peniel Kokou Mlapa | ||
| Date of birth | 20 February 1991 | ||
| Place of birth | Lomé, Togo | ||
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Busan IPark | ||
| Number | 9 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –1999 | FC Unterföhring | ||
| 1999–2009 | 1860 Munich | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2008–2010 | 1860 Munich II | 13 | (5) |
| 2009–2010 | 1860 Munich | 23 | (6) |
| 2010–2012 | 1899 Hoffenheim | 54 | (5) |
| 2011–2012 | → 1899 Hoffenheim II | 3 | (0) |
| 2012–2015 | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 25 | (3) |
| 2012–2013 | → Borussia Mönchengladbach II | 6 | (1) |
| 2014–2015 | → 1. FC Nürnberg (loan) | 24 | (3) |
| 2015–2017 | VfL Bochum | 62 | (13) |
| 2017–2019 | Dynamo Dresden | 21 | (4) |
| 2018–2019 | → VVV-Venlo (loan) | 30 | (15) |
| 2019–2023 | Ittihad Kalba | 69 | (31) |
| 2023 | Al Nasr | 12 | (1) |
| 2024 | Daejeon Hana Citizen | 16 | (4) |
| 2024– | Busan IPark | 14 | (4) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2009–2010 | Germany U19 | 10 | (1) |
| 2010–2013 | Germany U21 | 21 | (8) |
| 2017– | Togo | 15 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 24 December 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 November 2020 | |||
Career
editEarly life and career
editBorn in Lomé, Togo, Mlapa emigrated to Germany as a young child. He began his youth career with FC Ismaning, but in 1999, he moved to TSV 1860 Munich. He made his debut for 1860's U19 team on 12 September 2008 against 1. FC Heidenheim. Over the 2008–09 season, he made two appearances as a substitute for 1860's reserve side, both of which came in victories, but he remained a regular for the U19s.
1860 Munich
editOn 17 May 2009, Mlapa made his debut in professional football as a stoppage time substitute against Alemannia Aachen He scored his first senior goal for 1860 on 4 October against St. Paul. In the next game against MSV Duisburg, Mlapa appeared in the starting lineup for the first time and scored again.
1899 Hoffenheim
editIn the summer of 2010, Mlapa joined the Bundesliga side Hoffenheim, signing a contract through 2013. He scored his first goal for the club in the DFB-Pokal against Hansa Rostock. In all, Mlapa scored five times in 54 Bundesliga games for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
Borussia Mönchengladbach
editIn May 2012, Mlapa joined Borussia Mönchengladbach for €3 million. The striker signed a four-year contract.[3]
Daejeon Hana Citizen
editIn March 2024, Mlapa joined K League 1 club Daejeon Hana Citizen.[4]
International career
editOn 7 October 2009, Mlapa made his debut for the German under-19s as a 90th-minute substitute against Luxembourg. A few weeks later, he was called up to represent Togo in their final world cup qualifier, but he declined this invitation and progressed to the German under-21 squad.
He finally accepted a call-up to the Togo national team for 2017 AFCON qualifiers against Tunisia in March 2016.[5] On 1 June 2017, he made his debut with the Togolese national team, in a 3–0 defeat against Nigeria.[6]
Personal life
editThe Togolese-born Mlapa acquired German citizenship in his childhood,[7] thus becoming eligible for his adopted home country's national side.
Career statistics
edit- As of match played 24 December 2024
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| TSV 1860 Munich II | 2008–09 | Regionalliga Süd | 3 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | 10 | 5 | — | — | 10 | 5 | ||||
| Total | 13 | 5 | — | 0 | 0 | 13 | 5 | |||
| 1860 Munich | 2008–09 | 2. Bundesliga | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |
| 2009–10 | 21 | 6 | 2 | 0 | — | 23 | 6 | |||
| Total | 23 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 6 | ||
| 1899 Hoffenheim | 2010–11 | Bundesliga | 30 | 4 | 4 | 1 | — | 34 | 5 | |
| 2011–12 | 24 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | 28 | 1 | |||
| Total | 54 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 62 | 6 | ||
| 1899 Hoffenheim II | 2011–12 | Regionalliga Süd | 3 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | 2012–13 | Bundesliga | 20 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5[a] | 1 | 26 | 3 |
| 2013–14 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 1 | |||
| Total | 25 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 31 | 4 | ||
| Borussia Mönchengladbach II | 2012–13 | Regionalliga West | 4 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 2 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 6 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | |||
| 1. FC Nürnberg | 2014–15 | 2. Bundesliga | 24 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | 25 | 3 | |
| VfL Bochum | 2015–16 | 2. Bundesliga | 28 | 5 | 3 | 0 | — | 31 | 5 | |
| 2016–17 | 32 | 8 | 1 | 0 | — | 33 | 8 | |||
| 2017–18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Total | 62 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 13 | ||
| Dynamo Dresden | 2017–18 | 2. Bundesliga | 21 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | 22 | 4 | |
| VVV-Venlo | 2018–19 | Eredivisie | 30 | 15 | 1 | 0 | — | 31 | 15 | |
| Ittihad Kalba | 2019–20 | UPL | 18 | 11 | 6 | 5 | — | 24 | 16 | |
| 2020–21 | 22 | 12 | 6 | 5 | — | 28 | 17 | |||
| 2021–22 | 20 | 8 | 5 | 1 | — | 25 | 9 | |||
| 2022–23 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 2 | — | 12 | 2 | |||
| Total | 69 | 31 | 20 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 89 | 44 | ||
| Al-Nasr | 2022–23 | UPL | 12 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 15 | 1 | |
| Daejeon | 2024 | K League 1 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 1 | — | 18 | 3 | |
| Busan | 2024 | K League 2 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | 15 | 4 | |
| Career total | 372 | 95 | 44 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 421 | 109 | ||
- ^ Appearances in the Europa League
References
edit- ^ "Peniel Mlapa". UAE Pro League. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ "Peniel Mlapa" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
- ^ "Gladbach sign Mlapa from Hoffenheim". bundesliga.de. 23 May 2012. Archived from the original on 25 June 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
- ^ "대전하나시티즌, 장신 공격수 음라파 영입으로 공격력 강화에 방점을 찍다!" [Daejeon Hana Citizen focuses on strengthening offensive power by recruiting tall striker Murapha!]. www.dhcfc.kr (in Korean). 13 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ "Togo include Adebayor in squad to face Tunisia - 2017 Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers". African Football. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
- ^ "Internationals (Sky Sports)". SkySports. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
- ^ "Eine Chance für Mlapa" (in German). MSN Sport. 2 June 2009. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2010.
External links
edit- Peniel Mlapa at WorldFootball.net
- Peniel Mlapa at fussballdaten.de (in German)
- Peniel Mlapa at Soccerway