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
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 13 (0)
International career
2014–2016 Angola 8 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 December 2023

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

Early years

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

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

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

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

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

Club

As of match played 20 December 2023[1]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[lower-alpha 1] Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Eupen 2010–11 Belgian Second Division 110–––110
2011–12 Belgian Second Division 00––2020
2012–13 Belgian Second Division 260–––361
2013–14 Belgian Second Division 26210–60332
Total 62210–80712
Charleroi 2014–15 Belgian Pro League 19020––210
2014–15 Belgian Pro League 2601000–270
2016–17 Belgian Pro League 36120––381
2017–18 Belgian Pro League 1000––10
Total 8215000–871
Genk (loan) 2017–18 Belgian Pro League 25040—00290
Club Brugge 2018–19 Belgian Pro League 242004[lower-alpha 2]000282
2019–20 Belgian Pro League 2505010[lower-alpha 3]000400
2020–21 Belgian Pro League 391208[lower-alpha 4]000491
2021–22 Belgian Pro League 381506[lower-alpha 2]01[lower-alpha 5]0501
2022–23 Belgian Pro League 251103[lower-alpha 2]01[lower-alpha 5]0301
Total 1515130310201975
Lyon 2023–24 Ligue 1 13000––130
Career total 33382303101003898
  1. ↑ Includes Belgian Cup, Coupe de France
  2. 1 2 3 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. 1 2 Appearance in Belgian Super Cup

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
YearAppsGoals
201430
201530
201620
Total80

Honours

Club Brugge

References

  1. 1 2 3 Clinton Mata at Soccerway. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  2. 1 2 "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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