Christian Benteke (born 3 December 1990 in Kinshasa) is a Congolese-Belgian football player, he currently plays for K.R.C. Genk.

Career[link]

He transferred in September 2007 at the age of 16 from Standard Liège to K.R.C. Genk,^[1] in the season 2007/2008 played 251 minutes, after two year by K.R.C. Genk, turned back to Standard Liège.^[2] On 7 August 2008 KV Kortrijk have signed the forward on loan from Standard Liege for one season.^[3] On 1 September 2010, KV Mechelen signed Christian Benteke on loan from Standard Liege for one season as part of the transfer of Aloys Nong, who moved from KV Mechelen to Standard Liège.

International[link]

He was member for the Belgium U-17 team at 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Korea Republic where he played 3 games and scored 1 goal.^[4]

On 19 May 2010 he made his début for the national team in a friendly match against Bulgaria in Brussels after his former coach at Kortrijk, Georges Leekens, became national coach.

Honours[link]

• Belgian First Division (1):
  • 2008-09

References[link]

1. ^ Player Profile
2. ^ http://article.wn.com/view/WNATb23a8af74ba369c45b1b97f597636c02/
3. ^ Officiel : Benteke à Courtrai, Van Hout au Standard
4. ^ Christian Benteke – FIFA competition record

External links[link]

• Worldsoccerstats
• Stats
• Footgoal Profile
• Christian Benteke – FIFA competition record
• Christian Benteke – UEFA competition record
• Belgium Stats at Belgian FA

This biographical article related to a midfielder from Belgium is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Paul Lambert

Paul Lambert at Carrow Road, August 2011
Personal information
Full name	Paul Lambert
Date of birth	(1969-08-07) 7 August 1969 (age 42)
Place of birth	Linwood, Renfrewshire, Scotland
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Norwich City (Manager)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1986–1993	St. Mirren	227	(14)
1993–1996	Motherwell	103	(6)
1996–1997	Borussia Dortmund	44	(1)
1997–2005	Celtic	193	(14)
2005–2006	Livingston	7	(0)
Total		574	(35)
National team
1990	Scottish League XI	1	(0)
1995–2003	Scotland	40	(1)
Teams managed
2005–2006	Livingston
2006–2008	Wycombe Wanderers
2008–2009	Colchester United
2009–	Norwich City
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Paul Christopher Lambert (born 7 August 1969) is a Scottish professional association football manager and former player who is the manager of Norwich City.

Lambert won numerous honours as a player, winning the Scottish Cup with St. Mirren as a 17-year-old, the UEFA Champions League with Borussia Dortmund, all the Scottish domestic honours with Celtic and 40 caps for Scotland.

He achieved success managing in England's lower divisions and guided Norwich into English football's Premier League.

Playing career[link]

St Mirren[link]

Lambert started his playing career at Linwood Rangers Boys' Club in 1980 in his hometown of Linwood, before entering the professional game with St. Mirren in 1985. With St Mirren the 17 year old Lambert won his first senior winner's medal courtesy of the 1987 Scottish Cup Final. Saints beat favourites and that season's UEFA Cup Finalists, Jim McLean's Dundee Utd, in what turned out to be the last time the Scottish Cup was won by a team composed entirely of Scottish players. Lambert played with St Mirren for eight years.

Motherwell[link]

Signed by Tommy McLean for Motherwell in 1993, the club finished third placed at the end of 1993/94 in the Scottish Premier League.

With Alex McLeish replacing McLean for the 1994-95 season, Lambert and Motherwell went one place better finishing league runners up, the club's highest finish since 1933/34. The club also had qualified for a place in the 1994–95 UEFA Cup. After eliminating Icelandic opponents, 'Well were drawn against Borussia Dortmund managed by Ottmar Hitzfeld. Drawn away in the first leg, Motherwell lost to a solitary goal by Andreas Möller in the 58th minute. In the second leg Motherwell were still in the contest until Karl-Heinz Riedle scored twice in 10 second half minutes.

Borussia Dortmund[link]

In 1996, Lambert was signed by a manager and club he had played against for Motherwell in the UEFA Cup, Ottmar Hitzfeld of German Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund. Hitzfeld deployed Lambert as the team's defensive midfielder. In Borussia winning the 1997 UEFA Champions League Final against Juventus, he played in midfield to quell the influence of Juve's French playmaker Zinedine Zidane.^{[1][2][3][4][5]} Lambert's cross also set up Karl-Heinz Riedle's opening goal. Dortmund won 3–1. Lambert's contribution has since been suggested as a man of the match performance.^[6] He became the first British player to win the European Cup with a non-UK team, and the first British player to win the Champions League since its inception. Lambert had scored en route to the final with a 1996–97 UEFA Champions League group stage goal, the opener in a 2–2 draw at Widzew Łódź. Lambert's performance in the semi final elimination of Manchester United was praised in the autobiography of Roy Keane.

Lambert only scored one league goal with Borussia Dortmund, in a game against Werder Bremen.

Celtic[link]

In November 1997, after just over a year playing in the Bundesliga he was signed by Wim Jansen for Celtic for a fee in the region of £2,000,000. The Scottish championship in his first season halted the run of Rangers', consecutive titles at nine, which equalled the nine in a row achieved by Celtic in the Jock Stein era.

During his time with Celtic, he won four Scottish Premier League titles, two Scottish Cups, two Scottish League Cups and was Scottish Football Writer's Player of the Year in 2002. Lambert captained the side that reached the 2003 UEFA Cup Final in Seville. Lambert's team were drawing 2–2 after 90 minutes but lost 3–2 after extra time to Jose Mourinho's F.C. Porto.

International career[link]

Lambert represented Scotland at age group level. Perhaps the best known of the contests was against the country who played a significant part in his career, Germany. The young Scots drew 1–1 in Bochum in 1992 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship quarter finals. In the return leg at Pittodrie, Germany were two up after 40 minutes before Duncan Ferguson set up Ray McKinnon to pull one back before half time. Germany scored a third on the hour mark to seemingly put the tie out of reach. However in 68 minutes Gerry Creaney headed past Stefan Klos before Lambert himself equalised 10 minutes later. Alex Rae scored two minutes from time to clinch the game 4–3.^[7]

As a full Scotland international, Lambert won 40 caps, scoring one goal and in the latter part of his international career, captaining the side 15 times. His international debut was when at Motherwell and awarded by Craig Brown in the 1995 Kirin Cup against host country, Japan. Lambert played in a second game there three days later against Columbia.

It was when at Dortmund and in the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign when Lambert started to appear as a regular. After missing the open game of the campaign away against Austria, Lambert appeared in October 1996 in the 2–0 win in Latvia when he appeared as a 46th minute substitute. He was again a 46th minute substitute in the next qualifier, a 1–0 home win against Sweden. For his next cap he was promoted to the starting line up for a 2–0 home victory in the qualifier against Austria in which Lambert contended for man of the match. Lambert's only defeat of the campaign was the 2–1 reversal in Gothenburg against Sweden before grinding out a 1–0 June in Minsk against Belarus, a 4–1 win in Aberdeen against the Belarussians and a second 2–0 win against Latvia, this time at home.

He played in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, turning in an impressive performance as the Scots lost 2–1 to Brazil at the Stade de France in the tournament's opening match and also in the 1–1 draw against Norway in Bordeaux.^{[citation needed]}

Lambert was part of the Scotland side to win a challenge game away against Germany in April 1999 with the goal scored by Don Hutchison.

Lambert and Scotland qualified for a play-off place in the UEFA 2000 European Championship qualification campaign. However Lambert played in neither game due to being kneed in the face in the Celtic game the weekend before against Rangers. Craig Brown cited Lambert's absence as crucial to England's progression at Scotland's expense since he intended to deploy Lambert directly against Paul Scholes, scorer of both England goals. As Brown said, “The SPL went ahead with an Old Firm game a week before. I was furious because they did not legislate for a play-off, especially not for one against England. Predictably, we get a major injury and my holding midfielder, who performed with such distinction in the Champions League final for Borussia Dortmund, cannot play. Barry Ferguson played brilliantly but he was not a holding midfielder. Scholes scored two goals and that was the guy Paul Lambert was going to pick up …”^[8]

His final cap with some irony was in an away game against Germany played in Dortmund (a 2–1 defeat). Lambert had been awarded man of the match in the home encounter three months earlier at Hampden Park (a 1–1 draw).

On 15 November 2009 he was inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame.^[9]

Managerial career[link]

Livingston[link]

After studying for football coaching qualifications in 2005, Lambert landed his first managerial job with Livingston on 1 June 2005, assisted by Norrie McWhirter.^[10] Although he had not intended to play for his new club Lambert registered as a player in late August 2005 to cover for any injury shortages.^[11] His tenure ended the following February when he resigned after only winning two league games since starting the job.^[12]

Wycombe Wanderers[link]

Lambert was appointed manager of English team Wycombe Wanderers on 30 June 2006.^[13] He led Wycombe to the League Cup semi-finals after defeating Premier League sides Fulham and Charlton Athletic. The semi-final tie, against Premier League champions Chelsea, saw Wycombe hold Chelsea to a 1–1 draw at Adams Park before losing the away leg. This was the first time in over 30 years a fourth tier team had reached that stage of the League Cup.^{[citation needed]} Lambert resigned as Wycombe manager on 20 May 2008 following the club's elimination from the League Two play-offs by Stockport County.^[14]

Colchester United[link]

On 9 October 2008, he was appointed as manager of League One team Colchester United to succeed Geraint Williams,^[15] before winning his first game 2–1 at Stockport County. Despite occasionally threatening to flirt with the League One play-offs, the U's eventually finished mid-table in Lambert's first season.

On 18 August 2009, he began the 2009–10 season with an opening day 7–1 win over Norwich City before leaving the Essex club less than a year after taking over.

Norwich City[link]

Lambert became the new Norwich City manager, replacing Bryan Gunn, who was sacked by the club shortly after the 7–1 defeat to Colchester.^[16] He led Norwich to the League 1 title and promotion to the Championship in April 2010.^[17]

On 1 June 2010, he signed an improved contract with Norwich City after it was confirmed Colchester United were entitled to £425,000 in compensation, in addition to Norwich City being fined £75,000, with a further sum of £125,000 suspended for two years which will only be activated if Norwich breach Regulation 20^[18] again during that timeframe.^[19]

Norwich's fine form from their 2009–10 promotion campaign continued into the 2010–11 season, and saw them gain a second successive promotion – becoming the first team to achieve a second successive promotion at this level since Manchester City 11 years earlier. During Lambert's first two seasons in charge, Norwich City did not suffer two successive defeats in the league, in the same season. They did, however, lose their final game in League One in 2009–10 at home to Carlisle and the opening game of their 2010–11 Championship season at home to Watford.^[20] Their 1–1 draw at Middlesbrough on 3 January 2011 saw them enter the automatic promotion places on goal difference.^[21]

In January 2011, Norwich refused to allow Burnley permission to try to secure Lambert as their new manager, following the dismissal of Brian Laws.^[22] The Norwich statement read, in part, "The club will fight tooth and nail to retain the services of Paul Lambert and his team during this critical period of the season and whilst they remain employed under a long-term contract".^[22] On 2 May Lambert and Norwich secured promotion to the Premier League after a win over Portsmouth, taking the second automatic spot with one game to spare. Lambert signed a new contract keeping him at the club during the summer. He was inducted into the Norwich City Hall of Fame on 20 March 2012, along with players Wes Hoolahan, Grant Holt and Adam Drury.^{[citation needed]}

Lambert offered Norwich his resignation on 31 May 2012 but the club declined it.^[23][24]

Managerial statistics[link]

As of 13 May 2012

Player honours[link]

St. Mirren

• Scottish Cup
  • Winner: 1986–87

Motherwell

• Scottish Premier Division
  • Runner-up: 1994–95

Borussia Dortmund

• UEFA Champions League
  • Winner: 1996–97

Celtic

• Scottish Premier League
  • Winner: 1997–98, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2003–04
  • Runner-up: 1998–99, 1999–00, 2002–03, 2004–05
• Scottish Cup
  • Winner: 2000–01, 2003–04, 2004–05
  • Runner-up: 2001–02
• Scottish League Cup
  • Winner: 1997–98, 2000–01
  • Runner-up: 2002–03
• UEFA Cup
  • Runner-up: 2002–03

Managerial honours[link]

Norwich City

• Football League One
  • Winners: 2009–10
• Football League Championship
  • Runner-up: 2010–11

Individual honours[link]

• Scottish Football Writer's Player of the Year: 2002
• Inducted to the Scottish Football Hall of Fame: 2009
• Football League One Manager of the Month: (3) January 2009, December 2009, January 2010
• Football League One Manager of the Year: 2009–10
• Football League Championship Manager of the Year: 2010–11

References[link]

External links[link]

• Paul Lambert career stats at Soccerbase
• Paul Lambert management career stats at Soccerbase
• Paul Lambert at Scottish FA

Paul Lambert – Navigation boxes and awards v t e SFWA Footballer of the Year 1965: McNeill 1966: Greig 1967: Simpson 1968: Wallace 1969: Murdoch 1970: Stanton 1971: Buchan 1972: Smith 1973: Connelly 1974: Scotland 1975: Jardine 1976: Greig 1977: McGrain 1978: Johnstone 1979: Ritchie 1980: Strachan 1981: Rough 1982: Sturrock 1983: Nicholas 1984: Miller 1985: McAlpine 1986: Jardine 1987: McClair 1988: McStay 1989: Gough 1990: McLeish 1991: Malpas 1992: McCoist 1993: Goram 1994: Hateley 1995: Laudrup 1996: Gascoigne 1997: Laudrup 1998: Burley 1999: Larsson 2000: Ferguson 2001: Larsson 2002: Lambert 2003: Ferguson 2004: McNamara 2005: Hartson 2006: Gordon 2007: Nakamura 2008: Cuéllar 2009: Caldwell 2010: Weir 2011: Izaguirre 2012: Mulgrew v t e Scotland squad – 1998 FIFA World Cup 1 Leighton 2 McNamara 3 Boyd 4 Calderwood 5 Hendry (c) 6 T. McKinlay 7 Gallacher 8 Burley 9 Durie 10 Jackson 11 Collins 12 Sullivan 13 Donnelly 14 Lambert 15 Gemmill 16 Weir 17 B. McKinlay 18 Elliott 19 Whyte 20 Booth 21 Gould 22 Dailly Coach: Brown v t e Livingston F.C. – managers Bain (1974–76) Ness (1976–78) MacFarlane (1978–80) Christie (1980–92) Park (1992–93) Brownlie (1993–94) Lawson (1994–95) Leishman (1995–97) Stewart (1997–2000) Leishman (2000–03) Máximo (2003) Hay (2003–04) Preston (2004) Gough (2004–05) Lambert (2005–06) Cleland (2006) Robertson (2006–07) Proctor (2007–08) Landi (2008) Hegarty (2008–09) Murphy (2009) Bollan (2009–12) Hughes (2012–) v t e Wycombe Wanderers F.C. – managers McCormick (1951–52) Cann (1952–61) McDonald (1961) G. Adams (1961–62) Welsh (1962–64) Darvill (1964–68) Lee (1968–76) Powell (1976–77) Reardon (1977–78) Williams (1978–80) Keen (1980–84) Bence (1984–86) Gane (1986–87) Suddaby (1987–88) Kelman (1988–90) O'Neill (1990–95) Smith (1995–96) Gregory (1996–98) Smillie (1998–99) Sanchez (1999–2003) T. Adams (2003–04) Gorman (2004–06) Lambert (2006–08) Taylor (2008–09) Waddock (2009–) v t e Colchester United F.C. – managers T. Fenton (1946–48) Allen (1948–53) Butler (1953–55) B. Fenton (1955–63) Franklin (1963–68) Graham (1968–72) Mochan (1972) Smith (1972–75) Roberts (1975–82) Hunter (1982–83) Lea (1983–86) Walker (1986–87) Brown (1987–88) Foley (1988–89) Wallace (1989–89) Foley (1989–90) Mills (1990) Atkins (1990–91) McDonough (1991–94) Burley (1994) Roberts (1994–1995) Wignall (1995–99) Cook (1999) Whitton (1999) Wadsworth (1999) Whitton (1999–2003) Williams (2003) Parkinson (2003–06) Williams (2006–08) Symons (2008) Lambert (2008–09) Dunne (2009) Boothroyd (2009–10) Ward (2010–) v t e Norwich City F.C. – managers Bowman (1905–07) McEwen (1907–08) Turner (1909–10) Stansfield (1910–15) Buckley (1919–20) O'Hagan (1920–21) Gosnell (1921–26) Stansfield (1926) Potter (1926–29) Kerr (1929–33) Parker (1933–37) Young (1937–38) Jewell (1939) Young (1939–45) Lochhead (1945–46) Spiers (1946–47) Lochhead (1947–50) Low (1950–55) Parker (1955–57) Macaulay (1957–61) Reid (1961–62) Swindin (1962) Ashman (1962–1966) Morgan (1966–69) Saunders (1969–73) Bond (1973–80) Brown (1980–87) Stringer (1987–92) Williams (1992) Walker (1992–94) Deehan (1994–95) O'Neill (1995) Franklin (1995) Megson (1995–96) Walker (1996–98) Rioch (1998–2000) Hamilton (2000) Worthington (2000–06) Hunter (2006) Grant (2006–07) Duffy (2007) Roeder (2007–09) Gunn (2009) Butterworth (2009) Lambert (2009–)

Vincent Kompany

Kompany in action during the 2010–11 season for Manchester City
Personal information
Full name	Vincent Jean Mpoy Kompany[1]
Date of birth	(1986-04-10) 10 April 1986 (age 26)
Place of birth	Uccle, Belgium
Height	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)[2]
Playing position	Centre back / Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current club	Manchester City
Number	4
Youth career
1992–2003	Anderlecht
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2003–2006	Anderlecht	73	(5)
2006–2008	Hamburger SV	29	(1)
2008–	Manchester City	127	(6)
National team‡
2002	Belgium U16	3	(0)
2002	Belgium U17	2	(0)
2004–	Belgium	47	(2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:24, 18 May 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10:46, 31 May 2012 (UTC)

Vincent Jean Mpoy Kompany (born 10 April 1986 in Uccle, Brussels) is a Belgian footballer who plays for Manchester City and the Belgium national team. He is capable of playing at both centre back and defensive midfield. In the 2011–12 season he was awarded the captaincy of Manchester City, leading his club to win the Premier League that season, their first league title in 44 years.^[3]

Kompany began his professional career at Anderlecht, spending three years at the Belgian club before moving to German club Hamburger SV in 2006. In the summer of 2008, at the age of 22, he completed a transfer to his current club, Premier League side Manchester City. He has since established himself as an integral part of the Manchester City squad and is one of the bargain buys of the revolutionised City era,^[4][5] blossoming into one of the Premier League's best centre backs. Kompany was included in the Premier League Team of the Year for two years in a row in 2011 and 2012, and won the Premier League Player of the Season in 2012.

Club career[link]

Anderlecht[link]

Kompany started his career at Anderlecht at the age of 17, winning several awards including the Belgian Golden Shoe and the Belgian Ebony Shoe. Another player, Aruna Dindane, decided to wear the number 27 on his shirt upon his arrival at Lens Summer 2005, in dedication to Kompany.^{[citation needed]}

Hamburg[link]

On 9 June 2006 it was announced however that he was acquired by Hamburg for a fee of €10 million, replacing Daniel van Buyten.^[6] In his debut season for Hamburg he managed only six Bundesliga starts for the club before suffering an achilles injury in November that ruled him out for the rest of the season,^[7] despite his lack of involvement in the season, he was selected in a 30-man provisional squad for the 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.^[8]

Manchester City[link]

On 22 August 2008, Premier League club Manchester City confirmed the transfer of Kompany from Hamburg on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee thought to be in the region of £6 million.^[9] He was handed the number 33 shirt for the 2008–09 season by manager Mark Hughes. Two days later, Kompany made his Manchester City debut against West Ham United.^[10] On 28 September, Kompany scored his first goal in City's 2–1 away defeat to Wigan Athletic. On 28 December 2008, he started the game with Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park as a holding midfielder and also completed the full 90 minutes in a 2–2 draw.^[11] On 19 October 2009, Kompany signed a new five-year deal with City that will keep him at the club until 2014.^[12] He scored his second league goal for the club in a 2–0 home win against Portsmouth.^[13] and his third in a 6–1 away win against Burnley at Turf Moor.

Kompany was handed the number 4 jersey for the 2010–11 season after previous number 4 Nedum Onuoha moved on loan to Sunderland. On 14 August 2010, he started the opening Premier League fixture and received a yellow card from referee Andre Marriner against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane and completed the full 90 minutes alongside Kolo Touré in a 0–0 draw. Kompany put in a Man of the Match performance in the 1–0 home win against Chelsea at the City of Manchester Stadium on 25 September 2010. On 10 November 2010, Kompany started the Manchester derby league game with Manchester United at the City of Manchester Stadium and played the full 90 minutes in a goalless draw. On 16 April 2011, Kompany captained Manchester City's victory over main rivals Manchester United in the 2010–11 season FA Cup Semi Final at Wembley Stadium, City won the game 1–0. Later that day he was named in the PFA Team of the Year alongside City teammate Carlos Tevez. At the end of the 2010–11 season, Roberto Mancini praised Kompany's "incredible" season and claimed that with his attitude and mentality, Kompany can become one of the best defenders in Europe. On 12 February 2011, he started the Premier League match against Manchester United at Old Trafford and played the full 90 minutes partnering Joleon Lescott in a disappointing 2–1 defeat. On 25 April 2011, he again continued to captain the side in the absence of star striker Carlos Tevez against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park, playing the full 90 minutes alongside Joleon Lescott in an important 1–0 victory courtesy of a late 75th minute strike from Edin Dzeko.^[14] He finished the season winning the Manchester City Official Supporter's Player of the Year and the Manchester City Player's Player of the Year for his outstanding performances throughout the season clocking up 50 appearances in all competitions and also making 37 Premier League starts in the process. On 30 April, he scored a header from a David Silva corner against Manchester United in the Manchester derby. The game finished 1-0 to City and put them in first place ahead of United on goal difference with only two games of the season remaining.^[15] On the 13 May, the final day of the season, Kompany captained the team that won the Premier League of the 2011-2012 season, requiring two stoppage-time goals against Queens Park Rangers to make it a 3-2 win, preventing rivals Manchester United who would have otherwise won the trophy, with their win away at Sunderland.^[16]

International career[link]

Kompany playing for Belgium in November 2011.

Vincent Kompany made his international debut aged just 17 for Belgium in February 2004 against France, as one of the youngest players ever. The Belgian Federation called up Kompany to the 2008 Olympics. Initially, Hamburg decided not to let him go as the Olympics was not an official FIFA tournament. After a dispute, Hamburg decided to release him under the condition that he returns after Belgium's first two group games. At the Beijing Olympics, Belgium's first game was against Brazil where he was sent off in a 1–0 loss, and as a consequence his tournament was over as the red card would rule him out of Belgium's second group game. Due to the turn of events, Kompany decided against returning to Germany in hope of playing the last group game to help his country qualify for the knockout stages. Hamburg maintained their stance that he had to return, and the Belgian FA decided to release him. He later came on as a substitute in the opening game for Hamburg against Bayern Munich. The rocky relationship with Hamburg and Kompany is said to be a major factor in Kompany transferring to Manchester City. In November 2009, Kompany fell out with the Belgium manager Dick Advocaat. On the Monday before the friendly match with Qatar on 18 November 2009 Kompany received permission to attend the funeral of his grandmother as long as he returned to the team hotel before 6pm that evening. As it happened, he did not return until nearly midnight. Furious, Advocaat removed him from the squad altogether, although on 24 February 2010 he was recalled to the Belgium squad by Advocaat for the friendly against Croatia.^[17] On 19 May 2010, Kompany scored a 90th minute goal to give Belgium a 2–1 win over Bulgaria in a friendly. On 10 November 2011, a day before the friendly against Romania, Georges Leekens named Vincent Kompany as the Belgium captain, succeeding Thomas Vermaelen.

Charity work[link]

Kompany is an official FIFA ambassador for registered charity SOS Children's Villages. Of Congolese heritage, Kompany represents his father's native Congo, and has invested and engaged in projects which aim to provide an education and safe living accommodation for children living in poverty.^[18][19]

Personal life[link]

Kompany's father, Pierre, is his agent and a Congolese immigrant to Belgium. His mother, Jocelyne, is Belgian. His brother François Kompany played for Germinal Beerschot and Macclesfield Town. Kompany also has an older sister. Vincent married his Mancunian girlfriend Carla Higgs, a lifelong Manchester City supporter on 11 June 2011,^[20] and together they have a daughter, Sienna Kompany, who was born on 10 June 2010.^[21] Kompany has a number of pastimes and interests which keep him occupied outside of football.^[22] He has an interest in politics and is also a part-time student at Manchester Business School where he is studying Business Administration.^[23]

Career statistics[link]

Club[link]

As of 3 March 2012.

International[link]

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	19 May 2010	King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium	Bulgaria	2–1	2–1	Friendly
2.	7 October 2011	King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium	Kazakhstan	3–0	4–1	Euro 2012 qualifying

Honours and awards[link]

Kompany with the Premier League after the victorious 2011-12 season.

Anderlecht

• Belgian First Division: 2003–04, 2005–06

Hamburger SV

• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2007

Manchester City

• FA Cup: 2010–11
• Premier League: 2011–12

Belgium

• Summer Olympics: 2008 (4th)

Individual

• Belgian Golden Shoe: 2004
• Belgian Young Professional Footballer of the Year: 2004, 2005
• Belgian Ebony Shoe: 2004, 2005
• Belgian Player Of The Year (Playing Abroad ): 2010
• Premier League Player of the Season: 2011-12
• PFA Premier League Team of the Year: 2010–11, 2011–12
• Manchester City Official Supporter's Player of the Year: 2010–11
• Manchester City Player's Player of the Year: 2010–11

References[link]

External links[link]

• Vincent Kompany profile at Manchester City F.C.
• Vincent Kompany career stats at Soccerbase
• Vincent Kompany at National-Football-Teams.com
• Belgium Stats at Belgian FA

v t e Belgium squad – 2008 Summer Olympics Fourth Place 1 Bailly 2 De Roover 3 Kompany 4 Vermaelen 5 Pocognoli 6 Fellaini 7 De Mul 8 Haroun 9 Mirallas 10 Vertonghen 11 Martens 12 Ma-Kalambay 13 Ciman 14 Mulemo 15 Simaeys 16 Vanden Borre 17 De Smet 18 Dembélé 19 Odjidja-Ofoe Coach: De Sart

Kevin de Bruyne (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈkɛvɪn də ˈbrœynə]) (born 28 June 1991) is a Belgian footballer who plays for Chelsea as an attacking midfielder or a winger.

Club career[link]

Youth career[link]

Born in Drongen, de Bruyne began his career with Gent in 2003. Two years later, he joined Racing Genk. De Bruyne continued his development in their youth set-up and was rewarded for his progress by being promoted to the first team squad in 2008.

Racing Genk[link]

He made his first team debut for Genk in a 3–0 defeat at Charleroi on 9 May 2009.^[2] Having established himself in the team the following season,^[3] On 7 February 2010, De Bruyne scored his first goal for the club, which secured all three points for Genk in a 1–0 win against Standard Liège.^[4] He scored five goals and made 16 assists in 32 league matches during the 2010–11 season as Genk were crowned Belgian champions for the third time.^[5] On 29 October 2011, De Bruyne scored his first hat-trick for Genk against Club Brugge which ended in a 5-4 win for Genk.^[6] On the 28 January 2012, de Bruyne scored a brace against OH Leuven in a 5-0 win.^[7]

Chelsea[link]

On 31 January 2012, transfer deadline day, Chelsea and KRC Genk announced the permanent signing of De Bruyne, with the fee rumoured to be in the region of £7 million.^[8] He signed five-and-a-half-year contract at Stamford Bridge, but would stay at Genk for the remainder of the 2011/12 season. De Bruyne told the club website: "To come to a team like Chelsea is a dream but now I have to work hard to achieve the level that's necessary."^[9][10]

Loan to Racing Genk[link]

On 18 February 2012, De Bruyne scored his first goal since being loan back to Genk and also assisting the other goal in a 1-2 win for Genk against Mons.^[11] De Bruyne ended the season by wrapping up the scoring in a 3-1 victory over Gent, he finished the league campaign with 8 goals from 22 appearances.^[12]

International career[link]

De Bruyne was a Belgium Under-19 international and made his debut for the full Belgium national football team on 11 August 2010 in an international friendly against Finland in Turku, the game ended in a 1-0 loss for Belgium.^[13]

Personal life[link]

De Bruyne's mother was born in Ealing, West London, making him eligible to play for England, although he instead opted to play for the country in which he was born.^[14]

Club statistics[link]

Club[link]

As of 26 January 2012.^[15][16]

International career[link]

Honours[link]

Club[link]

• Racing Genk
  • Belgian Pro League: 2010–11
  • Belgian Cup: 2008-09
  • Belgian Supercup: 2011

References[link]

External links[link]

• Sporza Profile
• Nieuwsblad Profile
• Kevin de Bruyne at National Football Teams
• ESPN Profile