Mushaga Bakenga

Mushaga Bakenga

Bakenga in 2017
Personal information
Full name	Mushagalusa Bakenga Joar Bahati Namugunga [1]
Date of birth	(1992-08-08) 8 August 1992 (age 31)
Place of birth	Trondheim, Norway
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Apollon Limassol
Number	90
Youth career
2004	National
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2005–2006	National	34	(26)
2007–2008	Rosenborg II	14	(6)
2009–2012	Rosenborg	34	(12)
2012–2016	Club Brugge	8	(1)
2012–2013	→ Cercle Brugge (loan)	27	(7)
2013–2014	→ Esbjerg (loan)	24	(6)
2014–2015	→ Eintracht Braunschweig (loan)	17	(2)
2015–2016	→ Molde (loan)	8	(2)
2016–2017	Rosenborg	19	(8)
2017–2019	Tromsø	41	(5)
2019	→ Ranheim (loan)	12	(2)
2020–2021	Odd	37	(26)
2021–2022	Tokushima Vortis	31	(5)
2023	Stabæk	29	(8)
2024–	Apollon Limassol	11	(3)
International career
2007	Norway U15	4	(4)
2008	Norway U16	12	(8)
2009	Norway U17	10	(1)
2010	Norway U18	7	(6)
2009–2011	Norway U19	12	(4)
2011–2013	Norway U21	16	(11)
2014	Norway U-23	1	(0)
2014	Norway	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 30 March 2024

Mushagalusa Bakenga Joar Bahati Namugunga (born 8 August 1992) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Apollon Limassol.

Career

At a very young age Bakenga was spotted, his rise to the first team is testament to his undoubted ability to score goals. From the age of 13 he had averaged over 50 goals a season, with these performances linking him to Bayern Munich and Manchester City. Bakenga began his career with SK Nationalkameratene ^[2] and joined Rosenborg BK in February 2007. He was on trial with Chelsea's academy in the spring. ^{[3] [4]} From 2009 he trained with Rosenborg's senior team twice a week. ^[5] He also played on the Norwegian u-19 national team, despite not being 17 years old yet. ^[6] His first selection in the senior squad came in August 2009 against Bodø/Glimt, but he did not play. ^[7] His actual début in the Tippeligaen came on 23 September 2009 against Tromsø. He nearly scored in the goalless draw—a goal from Bakenga would have secured the league title for Rosenborg. ^[8]

In 2010, Bakenga was plagued by injuries and played only a few matches for Rosenborg. But, after scoring six times in pre-season, Bakenga secured a position in the starting line-up at the start of 2011 Tippeligaen. He scored Rosenborg's only goal in the loss against Brann, before a wonderful strike against Stabæk. Mush scored 12 league goals in 2011. In January 2012, Hannover 96 offered 10 million NOK (± €1.3m) for Bakenga, but Rosenborg rejected the offer. ^[9] Later in January, Rosenborg received another offer for Bakenga, this time for €2.6m from Club Brugge. Rosenborg accepted, and Bakenga signed a five-and-a-half-year contract on 28 January. ^[10] He scored in his debut for Club Brugge, in the 5–1 win against Beerschot on 5 February 2012. ^[11] It was not only the goal that he will remember from his debut: "I never ran so fast in my life. I did not even have time to explain to the coach what was wrong. Luckily I just made it in time," said Bakenga, having to run to the toilet during his debut match. ^[12]

Bakenga played in the 2013 Belgian Cup Final, which Cercle lost 2–0 against Genk. ^[13]

On 8 July 2014, he joined German club Eintracht Braunschweig on a one-year loan deal. ^[14]

On 18 March 2015, Bakenga cut short his Eintracht Braunschweig loan deal, signing a one-year loan deal with Norwegian champions Molde FK. ^[15] On 30 March, seven minutes into his first match for Molde FK, he was carried off the pitch with a torn achilles tendon, sidelining him for at least six months. ^[16]

In July 2016, Bakenga returned to Rosenborg. ^[17]

International career

Bakenga has represented Norway from under-15 level up to under-21 level. ^[18] He scored a hat-trick for the under-19 team in the match against Moldova U19 in April 2011. ^[19] Later the same year he made his debut for the under-21 team later the same year. He was not included in the Norwegian squad for the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, but scored four goals for the "new" under-21 team in the match against Poland U21 on 10 June 2013. ^[20]

Having never appeared in a competitive match for Norway, Bakenga remains potentially eligible for DR Congo.

Career statistics

As of 31 March 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	Division	League		Cup		Europe		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Rosenborg	2009	Eliteserien	3	0	0	0	-		3	0
	2010		5	0	1	0	1	0	7	0
	2011		26	12	3	4	6	0	35	16
	Total		34	12	4	4	7	0	45	16
Club Brugge	2011–12	Belgian Pro League	8	1	0	0	-		8	1
Cercle Brugge (loan)	2012–13	Belgian Pro League	27	7	6	4	-		33	11
Esbjerg (loan)	2013–14	Superliga	24	6	1	2	5	1	30	9
Eintracht Braunschweig (loan)	2014–15	2. Bundesliga	17	2	1	0	-		18	2
Molde (loan)	2015	Eliteserien	6	1	0	0	1	0	7	1
	2016		2	1	1	3	-		3	4
	Total		8	2	1	3	1	0	10	5
Rosenborg	2016	Eliteserien	9	7	3	0	1	0	13	7
	2017		10	1	3	0	0	0	13	1
	Total		19	8	6	0	1	0	26	8
Tromsø	2017	Eliteserien	8	3	0	0	0	0	8	3
	2018		25	2	2	1	0	0	27	3
	2019		8	0	1	0	0	0	9	0
	Total		41	5	3	1	0	0	44	6
Ranheim (loan)	2019	Eliteserien	12	2	1	0	0	0	13	2
Odd	2020		25	15	–		0	0	25	15
	2021		11	11	0	0	0	0	11	11
	Total		36	26	0	0	0	0	36	26
Tokushima Vortis	2021	J1 League	9	1	0	0	0	0	9	1
	2022	J2 League	22	4	5	2	0	0	27	6
	Total		31	5	5	2	0	0	36	7
Stabæk	2023	Eliteserien	29	8	4	3	0	0	33	12
	Total		29	9	4	3	0	0	33	12
Apollon Limassol	2023–24	Cypriot First Division	11	3	1	0	0	0	12	3
	Total		11	3	1	0	0	0	12	3
Career total			296	88	33	19	14	1	346	108

Honours

Rosenborg

• Tippeligaen and Eliteserien: 2009, 2010, 2016, 2017 ^{[21] [22]}
• Norwegian Cup: 2016
• Superfinalen / Mesterfinalen: 2010, 2017
• Norwegian U-19 Championship: 2009, 2011 ^{[23] [24] [25]}

Cercle Brugge

• Belgian Cup runners-up: 2012–13

Personal life

His parents hail from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. ^[26] He's the nephew of doctor Denis Mukwege. ^[27]

References

1. "Skatten 2009". VG Nett (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 27 August 2011. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
2. Chelsea Trial Norwegian Starlet Mushaga Joar Bakenga
3. "Derfor har RBK guttelag neste år". Adresseavisen (in Norwegian). 6 September 2007.
4. "Da Chelsea var på Nissekollen". Adresseavisen (in Norwegian). 6 September 2007.
5. Oddekalv, Line L. (12 June 2009). "Gjesteopptreden med gevinst". Adresseavisen (in Norwegian).
6. Oddekalv, Line L. (19 June 2009). "- Det er ikke sprint, men maraton!". Adresseavisen (in Norwegian).
7. Strøm, Ole Kristian (15 August 2009). "- Jeg har et stort hjerte for RBK". VG Sport (in Norwegian).
8. Sagbakken, Ole K.; Bråten, Roy Tommy (19 June 2009). "Jeg kommer til å tenke på det i 10–15 år fremover". Adresseavisen (in Norwegian).
9. "RBK avslo Bakenga-bud på 10 millioner kroner". tv2.no (in Norwegian). TV 2. 9 January 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
10. Hansen, Knut Arne (29 January 2012). "Bakenga klar for Club Brugge". vg.no (in Norwegian). Verdens Gang . Retrieved 22 February 2012.
11. "Bakenga scoret i debuten". Norwegian News Agency (in Norwegian). Dagbladet. 5 February 2012. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
12. "Season review: Belgium". Berend Scholten. UEFA.com. 22 May 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
13. "Ingen cupjubel for Bakenga" (in Norwegian). Dagbladet. Norwegian News Agency. 9 May 2013. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
14. "Mushaga Bakenga fünfter Neuzugang der Löwen" (in German). eintracht.com. 8 July 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
15. "Mushaga Bakenga op uitleenbasis naar Molde" (in Dutch). Club Brugge KV. 18 March 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
16. "Mushaga Bakenga røk akillesen - NRK Sport - Sportsnyheter, resultater og sendeplan". Nrk.no. 31 March 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
17. Frode Søraas (18 July 2016). "Nyheter | Rosenborg". Rbk.no. Archived from the original on 22 July 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
18. "Mushaga Joar Bakenga's profil - fotball.no - Norges Fotballforbund". Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
19. Drangsholt, Gaute Bugge (28 April 2011). "Hat trick fra Bakenga sikret G19-seier" (in Norwegian). TV 2. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
20. Hove, Lasse Bjarte (10 June 2013). "Se Bakenga score fire mot Polen" (in Norwegian). TV 2. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
21. "Mestvinnende spillere" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. 19 October 2006. Retrieved 2 November 2010.
22. Chris Thomas Skogli (24 September 2016). "Nyheter | Rosenborg". Rbk.no. Archived from the original on 6 October 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
23. "Rosenborg-jubel i juniorfinalen" (in Norwegian). Football Association of Norway. 31 October 2009. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 2 November 2009.
24. "Stabæk jr. - Rosenborg G19 - NM G19 Telenor Cup - Finale, 31.10.2009". Altomfotball.no. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
25. "RBK-juniorer vant cupfinale - NRK Trøndelag - Lokale nyheter, TV og radio". Nrk.no. 29 October 2011. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
26. Myren, Thomas (5 September 2009). "Bakenga håper på RBK-debut" (in Norwegian). Rosenborg BK. Retrieved 24 September 2009.
27. Øgar, Sindre (15 January 2014). "Det er sånt et barn ikke skal se og oppleve" (in Norwegian). Verdens Gang . Retrieved 15 January 2014.

External links

• Mushaga Bakenga at National-Football-Teams.com
• Mushaga Bakenga at WorldFootball.net
• Mushaga Bakenga at FootballDatabase.eu
• Mushaga Bakenga at Soccerway
• Mushaga Bakenga at the Norwegian Football Federation (in Norwegian)
• Mushaga Bakenga at J.League ( archive ) (in Japanese)
• Mushaga Bakenga at AS.com (in Spanish)