Full name Albert Meyong Ze 1998–1999 Ravenna Weight 71 kg Name Albert Meyong | Years Team Role Footballer 1997–1998 Canon Yaounde Height 1.84 m | |
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Date of birth (1980-10-19) 19 October 1980 (age 35) Similar People Paulo Fonseca, Jesualdo Ferreira, Eduardo Carvalho, Jorge Jesus, Sergio Conceicao | ||
Albert Meyong Zé (born 19 October 1980), known as Meyong, is a former Cameroonian footballer who played as a striker.
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He spent most of his professional career in Portugal, amassing Primeira Liga totals of 231 games and 79 goals over the course of 13 seasons and representing mainly in the competition Vitória de Setúbal (five-and-a-half years) and Braga (three-and-a-half).
Meyong appeared with Cameroon at the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations.
Club career
Born in Yaoundé, Meyong started playing in Europe still a youngster, for Italian club Ravenna Calcio. After one-and-a-half seasons he moved to Portuguese Primeira Liga side Vitória Futebol Clube: at Setúbal he won the Taça de Portugal in 2005, having scored the winning goal in the final against S.L. Benfica.
In the summer of 2005, Meyong signed a two-year contract with C.F. Os Belenenses – where he was the league's top goalscorer despite the club's bottom-four finish– moving to Levante UD a year later. Due to late payment of salary he was loaned to Albacete Balompié, after one appearance for Levante in 2007–08.
In January 2008, Meyong returned to Portugal and Belenenses, netting the penalty winner against Associação Naval 1º de Maio in a 2–1 home win but, being this the third club he represented in the season, which went against FIFA regulations, his registration was deemed illegal and Belenenses condemned to lose six points in the table (awarded 0–3 loss and three-point penalty in this match). This led to fans of the latter assaulting director of football Carlos Janela before the decision was taken, with him also being immediately sacked.
In August 2008, Meyong joined fellow league side S.C. Braga. On the 23rd he scored his first goal for his new team, in a 2–0 win at F.C. Paços de Ferreira. He added a hat-trick on 18 September in a UEFA Cup first-round contest against Artmedia Bratislava, a 4–0 home success; midway through 2008–09 he prolonged his link for another year, until June 2011.
In 2009–10, Meyong was an essential attacking figure for Braga, scoring 11 league goals as the Minho club finished in the second position, a best-ever. During the campaign, for example, he found the net against Sporting Clube de Portugal (2–1 away triumph), and also scored two late penalties against neighbours Vitória de Guimarães (3–2 home win).
In late December 2011, Meyong was released by Braga after very little playing time in his last two seasons, along with Rodrigo Galo, Marcos and Fran Mérida. After being linked to C.D. Nacional and C.D. Feirense he eventually returned to Setúbal and Vitória, after nearly seven years.
Meyong led the national scoring charts midway through the 2012–13 season, alongside FC Porto's Jackson Martínez and Benfica's Óscar Cardozo. Highlights included three goals against Rio Ave FC (but in a 3–5 home loss) and Moreirense FC (5–0, home). In early January 2013, however, he moved to Luanda-based Kabuscorp S.C. in Angola.
International career
Meyong played for the Cameroon national team during five years, his debut coming in 2004. He also represented his country at the 2000 Summer Olympics, where he won a gold medal.
Meyong was picked for the squad that appeared at the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations: manager Artur Jorge started him alongside FC Barcelona's Samuel Eto'o during the tournament and he scored two goals, one in the group stage against Togo and another in the quarter-finals against Ivory Coast as the Lions Indomptables exited after losing on penalties 11–12.