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Albert Meyong’s biography, net worth, fact, career, awards and life story

IntroCameroonian footballer
A.K.A.Albert Meyong Ze
IsAthlete 
Football player 
Association football player 
FromCameroon 
TypeSports 
Gendermale
Birth19 October 1980, Yaoundé, Cameroon
Age:39 years
Star signLibra
Stats
Height:184 cm
Weight:80 kg
Sports Teams
Canon Yaoundé
Vitória F.C.
S.C. Ravenna Sport 2019
Albacete Balompié
Kabuscorp S.C.
S.C. Braga
Levante UD
C.F. Os Belenenses
C.F. Os Belenenses
Vitória F.C.
Vitória F.C.

Albert Meyong Zé (born 19 October 1980), known as Meyong, is a Cameroonian former footballer who played as a striker, and the assistant manager of Portuguese club Vitória de Setúbal.

He spent most of his professional career in Portugal, amassing Primeira Liga totals of 231 matches and 79 goals over 13 seasons and representing mainly in the competition Vitória de Setúbal (seven 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; 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 scorer 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. He scored his first goal for his new team on the 23rd, 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 tie against Artmedia Bratislava, a 4–0 home victory; midway through 2008–09 he agreed to a new one-year deal, running until June 2011.

In 2009–10, Meyong was an essential attacking unit 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 CP (2–1 away triumph), adding 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.

After retiring at the age of 36, Meyong joined Vitória de Setúbal’s coaching staff as an assistant. On 28 October 2019, after Sandro Mendes’ dismissal, he was named caretaker.

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.

Career statistics

Club

ClubSeasonLeagueCupLeague CupEuropeTotal
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Ravenna1998–99720072
Vitória Setúbal1999–00920092
2000–012213002213
2001–0229300293
2002–0324700247
2003–043320413721
2004–053311443715
Total1505685000015861
Belenenses2005–062617102717
Total26171000002717
Levante2006–0711100111
2007–08100010
Total121000000121
Albacete2007–0813000130
Total130000000130
Belenenses2007–08110011
Total1100000011
Braga2008–0918821001053014
2009–1029114010213612
2010–11153202190284
2011–123000001040
Total652281312269830
Vitória Setúbal2011–12930020113
2012–13131322221717
Total22162242002820
Kabuscorp2013?2010?20
2014291731203418
20152813??21??
Total?50??0041??
Vitória Setúbal2015–1670000070
2016–171211000200
Total191102000221
Career Total30516218671226352114

International goals

#DateVenueOpponentResultCompetition
125 January 2006Military Academy Stadium, Cairo, Egypt Togo2–02006 Africa Cup of Nations
24 February 2006Military Academy Stadium, Cairo, Egypt Ivory Coast1–12006 Africa Cup of Nations
311 October 2008Omnisports Ahmadou Ahidjo, Yaoundé, Cameroon Mauritius5–02010 World Cup qualification
411 October 2008Omnisports Ahmadou Ahidjo, Yaoundé, Cameroon Mauritius5–02010 World Cup qualification

Honours

Club

Setúbal

  • Taça de Portugal: 2004–05

Braga

  • UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2008
  • UEFA Europa League: Runner-up 2010–11

Kabuscorp

  • Girabola: 2013
  • Supertaça de Angola: 2014

International

  • Summer Olympic Games: 2000

Individual

  • Primeira Liga: Top Scorer 2005–06 (17 goals)
  • Taça de Portugal: Top Scorer 2004–05 (4 goals)
  • Girabola: Top Scorer 2013 (20 goals), 2014 (17 goals), 2015 (13 goals)