Clinton Mata

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Clinton Mata
Mata (left) with Club Brugge
Personal information
Full name Clinton Mukoni Mata Pedro Lourenço[1]
Date of birth (1992-11-07) 7 November 1992 (age 31)
Place of birth Verviers, Belgium
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s) Right-back
Team information
Current team
 Lyon
Number 22
Youth career
2000–2003 Royal Battice
2003–2004 Entente Rechaintoise
2004 Royal Battice
2004–2008 Etoile Elsautoise
2008–2010 Visé
2010–2011 Eupen
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2014 Eupen 62 (2)
2014–2018 Charleroi 82 (1)
2017–2018 → Genk (loan) 25 (0)
2018–2023 Club Brugge 151 (5)
2023– Lyon 23 (0)
International career
2014–2016 Angola 8 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14 April 2024

Clinton Mukoni Mata Pedro Lourenço (born 7 November 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Ligue 1 club Lyon.[2] Born in Belgium, he played for the Angola national team, making eight appearances.

Club career[edit]

Early years[edit]

Born in Verviers, Belgium, Mata started playing football with local clubs Royal Battice, Entente Rechaintoise, Etoile Elsautoise and Visé before moving to Eupen in 2010.[3][4] On 17 February 2012, he made his professional debut in a 2–1 win over Waasland-Beveren in the Belgian Second Division.[5] Afterwards, Mata was not always in the starting eleven, first winning a regular place in the starting lineup in the second half of the 2013–14 season, where Eupen qualified as runner-up for the final round for promotion to the first Belgian league. This ended in a disappointing 2–1 defeat to OH Leuven.[6]

Charleroi[edit]

In the summer of 2014, Mata moved to Belgian First Division A club Charleroi,[7] where he was mainly a substitute as before in Eupen, before coming closer to a regular starting spot in the second half of the 2015–16 season. As group winners in play-off 2, Charleroi qualified for the play-off for participation in the final for qualifying for the UEFA Europa League. In the playoff match, Mata and his club beat Kortrijk,[8] but lost in the final Europa League play-off match against Genk. The following season marked the breakthrough of Mata for Charleroi, and in August 2017 he moved to Genk on loan.[9] Mata was part of the team qualifying for the UEFA Europa League after Zulte Waregem were beaten 2–0 in the decisive play-off game.[10]

Club Brugge[edit]

Mata then joined the defending Belgian champions, Club Brugge, but only made his debut on the ninth matchday in the derby against Cercle Brugge due to an injury.[11] Mata evolved into a starter for the club during his first season, where they finished runner-up in the league. He was also utilised in Club Brugge's UEFA Champions League campaign. In the following season, Mata had experienced his breakthrough when he played almost every game and won the Belgian championship with Club Brugge after the COVID-19 pandemic had resulted in the season being abandoned.[12]

Lyon[edit]

On 6 July 2023, Mata signed for Ligue 1 club Lyon on a three-year contract. The transfer fee was a reported €5 million.[13]

International career[edit]

In July 2014 Mata was asked to switch his international allegiance to Angola.[14] He made his debut for the Angola national team later that year.[2]

Career statistics[edit]

Club[edit]

As of match played 14 April 2024[1]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Eupen 2010–11 Belgian Second Division 11 0 – – – 11 0
2011–12 Belgian Second Division 0 0 – – 2 0 2 0
2012–13 Belgian Second Division 26 0 – – – 36 1
2013–14 Belgian Second Division 26 2 1 0 – 6 0 33 2
Total 62 2 1 0 – 8 0 71 2
Charleroi 2014–15 Belgian Pro League 19 0 2 0 – – 21 0
2014–15 Belgian Pro League 26 0 1 0 0 0 – 27 0
2016–17 Belgian Pro League 36 1 2 0 – – 38 1
2017–18 Belgian Pro League 1 0 0 0 – – 1 0
Total 82 1 5 0 0 0 – 87 1
Genk (loan) 2017–18 Belgian Pro League 25 0 4 0 — 0 0 29 0
Club Brugge 2018–19 Belgian Pro League 24 2 0 0 4[b] 0 0 0 28 2
2019–20 Belgian Pro League 25 0 5 0 10[c] 0 0 0 40 0
2020–21 Belgian Pro League 39 1 2 0 8[d] 0 0 0 49 1
2021–22 Belgian Pro League 38 1 5 0 6[b] 0 1[e] 0 50 1
2022–23 Belgian Pro League 25 1 1 0 3[b] 0 1[e] 0 30 1
Total 151 5 13 0 31 0 2 0 197 5
Lyon 2023–24 Ligue 1 23 0 4 0 – – 27 0
Career total 343 8 27 0 31 0 10 0 403 8
  1. ^ Includes Belgian Cup, Coupe de France
  2. ^ a b c Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  3. ^ Eight appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League
  5. ^ a b Appearance in Belgian Super Cup

International[edit]

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Angola 2014 3 0
2015 3 0
2016 2 0
Total 8 0

Honours[edit]

Club Brugge

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Clinton Mata at Soccerway. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Clinton Mata". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  3. ^ Taecke, Tomas; Dekeyser, Frank (4 April 2019). "Mata: ooit dicht bij Anderlecht, nu gelukkig bij jeugdliefde Club". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch).
  4. ^ "Clinton Mata weet waar hij na Club Brugge naartoe wil - Voetbalbelgie.be". Voetbal België (in Flemish). 20 April 2019.
  5. ^ "AS Eupen vs. Waasland-Beveren - 17 February 2012 - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  6. ^ Delvaux, Maarten (22 May 2014). "Moeskroen-Péruwelz promoveert dankzij OHL naar eerste klasse". Het Nieuwsblad (in Flemish).
  7. ^ Naïli, Ilian (19 June 2014). "Clinton Mata: "Charleroi est un club familial"". Walfoot.be (in French).
  8. ^ "KV Kortrijk maakt zich op voor 'finale' tegen Charleroi". Het Nieuwsblad (in Flemish). 29 April 2014.
  9. ^ "Officiel : Clinton Mata prêté une saison à Genk sans option d'achat". RTBF Sport (in French). 11 August 2017.
  10. ^ "IJzersterk Genk speelt Zulte Waregem van de mat in finale Play-offs en mag volgend jaar Europa in". Het Nieuwsblad (in Flemish). 27 May 2018.
  11. ^ Maebe, Guillaume (29 September 2018). "Club Brugge heeft niet één, maar twee geheime wapens tegen Atlético in Champions League". www.nieuwsblad.be (in Flemish).
  12. ^ "Club Brugge wint kampioenenmatch voor 16e titel toepasselijk met 16-0". sporza.be (in Dutch). 17 May 2020.
  13. ^ "Transferts : Clinton Mata rejoint l'OL (officiel)". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  14. ^ Mark Gleeson (26 July 2014). "Angola extend their pool of talent ahead of Afcon qualifiers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  15. ^ "Club Brugge awarded Belgian Pro League title as season ended early". Sky Sports. 15 May 2020. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  16. ^ "Lang nets as Club Brugge seal Belgian title". Football Oranje. 20 May 2021.
  17. ^ "Club Brugge vs. Gent 3-2". Soccerway. 17 July 2021.
  18. ^ Oludare, Shine (17 July 2022). "Odoi, Sowah, Mata and Mbamba win Belgian Super Cup with Club Brugge". Goal. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
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