Mike Temwanjera
Encyclopedia
Mike Temwanjera is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its...
) is a Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
an footballer who currently plays for Romanian Liga I
Liga I
Liga I, or in full, due to sponsorship reasons, Liga I Bergenbier, is the top division of the Romanian football league system. Before the 2006/2007 season, it was called Divizia A, but the name had to be changed following the discovery that someone else had registered the trademark "Divizia A"...
side FC Vaslui
FC Vaslui
FC Vaslui is a professional football club from Vaslui, Romania. The club plays in Liga I and was founded in 2002. The best league finishes were achieved in the 2009–10 and 2010–11 seasons, when they managed to end up third. Since foundation, they finished each season in a higher rank than in the...
. He usually plays as a Centre forward, but he can also serve as a Second Striker. He is one of the longest serving players at his club, playing for Vaslui, since January 2007 and up to now he is Vaslui's second top scorer in Liga I with 27 goals. He is also an international player, managing 3 caps for Zimbabwe national team
Zimbabwe national football team
The Zimbabwe national football team, nicknamed The Warriors, is the national team of Zimbabwe and is controlled by the Zimbabwe Football Association. They were known as the Southern Rhodesia national football team from 1939–1964, then the Rhodesia national football team until 1980, when Rhodesia...
.
CAPS United
Temwanjera played until 2003 with CAPS United, traditionally one of the strongest teams in the Zimbabwe Premier Soccer LeagueZimbabwe Premier Soccer League
Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League, also known as Castle Lager Premier Soccer League due to sponsorship reasons, is the top professional division of the Zimbabwe Football Association, it was created in 1980, as a successor to the 1962 formed Rhodesia National Football League.The League consists of 16...
.
FK Javor
In 2003 Temwanjera came to Serbia for trials with FK Javor Ivanjica, a club that had become a major importer of African footballers, and where six months earlier two of his CAPS United colleagues had come to play, Leonard TsipaLeonard Tsipa
Leonard "Aghahowa" Tsipa is an international Zimbabwean football striker that playes in the Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League side Gunners F.C..- Club career :...
and Blessing Makunike
Blessing Makunike
Blessing "Yogo-Yogo" Makunike was a Zimbabwean international football player.-Club career:Blessing Makunike started his career in 1997 playing for Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League club CAPS United F.C., where he played until the end of the 2002 season...
. After impressing club officials, Temwanjera signed a contact and played with Javor for the next three seasons. The season that he came the club had just been relegated from the top league, so Temwanjera played in the Serbian Second League
Serbian First League
Serbian First League is the name for the second tier in Serbia's football league. The league is operated by the Football Association of Serbia. 18 teams are set to compete in this league for the 2009-10 season...
the first two seasons. It was at the end of the 2004-05 season that Javor archived promotion back to the top flight and won a place to play in the last edition of the First League of Serbia and Montenegro. In the 2005-06 season Temwanjera was one of the main club players, playing 26 matches and scored 3 goals in the league, however the club finished 12th and was being relegated again.
Borac Čačak
In the 2006 summer, the league in Serbia was renamed into SuperLigaSerbian Superliga
Serbian SuperLiga is a Serbian professional league for football clubs. At the top of the Serbian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 16 clubs, operating a system of promotion and relegation with the Serbian First League...
and FK Javor was relegated into the Serbian First League
Serbian First League
Serbian First League is the name for the second tier in Serbia's football league. The league is operated by the Football Association of Serbia. 18 teams are set to compete in this league for the 2009-10 season...
, formerly known as Second League. Temwanjera's performances in the previous season has called the attention of some top league clubs, and in July he signed with FK Borac Čačak
FK Borac Cacak
Fudbalski klub Borac Čačak is a professional football club based in Čačak, Serbia.It was founded in 1926. Borac plays at the Čačak Stadium which has a capacity of 5,000....
. By the end of the first half of the 2006–07 Serbian SuperLiga, Temwanjera played 16 matches and scored 3 goals, but due to the club's up and down season, there was a bad atmosphere between the team and the disappointed fans. It all culminated with a group of fans shouting racial abuse towards Temwanjera who decided to leave the club immediately afterwards. The quickest one to react was Romanian Liga I
Liga I
Liga I, or in full, due to sponsorship reasons, Liga I Bergenbier, is the top division of the Romanian football league system. Before the 2006/2007 season, it was called Divizia A, but the name had to be changed following the discovery that someone else had registered the trademark "Divizia A"...
club SC Vaslui that brought him in that 2006-07 winter transfer window.
Vaslui
In February 2007, Temwanjera completed his move to Vaslui on a four-and-a-half year contract for an undisclosed fee. On 27 January, while he was still on trial, Temwanjera made his unofficial debut for Vaslui, against FCM Bârlad, scoring three times in the process. On 24 February, Temwanjera made his competitive debut for Vaslui, in a 1-1 away draw against Farul Constanţa. Two weeks later, he scored the equalizer, in the 1-1 draw against FC Argeş, counting his first Liga I goal. On 6 April, he scored twice in the home league match against Gloria Bistriţa, once for his own team, and once in his own net. Vaslui eventually won the game with 3-2. In the 2006-07 campaign, he played every single match for Vaslui, scoring three times and helping his team to finish 8th in Liga I, competition best at the time for the Moldavian team.On 27 July 2007, Temwanjera scored his team's second goal, in Vaslui's opening match against UTA Arad. Nine days later, he provided his first assist from the new season, helping Adrian Gheorghiu to score for 2-0, against Dinamo Bucureşti. On 31 October, Vaslui won against arch rivals Politehnica Iaşi, thanks to Temwanjera's only goal from the 50th minute. Following a 0-1 loss against Steaua Bucureşti, and due to his low goal-per-match rate, Temwanjera was put on the transfer list, alongside many other team mates. However, on 7 May 2008, he wasn't for sale anymore, following his two goals scored against Rapid Bucureşti. He finished 7th with his team in Liga I, thus qualifing in the European Competitions, for the first time.
Although in July 2008, it was rumoured that Metalurh Donetsk was interested in Temwanjera, he eventually remained in Vaslui. On 26 July, he scored his first European goal in UEFA Intertoto's Third Round, against Neftchi Baku, helping his team to advance in the UEFA Cup, for the first time. One week later, he scored the equalizer in the Moldavian Derby against Politehnica Iaşi, match eventually won by Vaslui with 3-1. In August, he provided six points for his team, scoring Vaslui's winning goals against Gloria Bistriţa and Oţelul Galaţi. On 5 October, he scored his first cup goal, in his first Romanian Cup appearance against Politehnica Iaşi. On 28 November, he scored his sixth league goal against Universitatea Craiova, surpassing his own personal tally from the previous season. On 18 April 2009, he scored Vaslui's third in a 4-3 home win against Politehnica Timişoara. On 6 May, he scored his last goal of the season, against Pandurii Târgu Jiu, taking his tally of goals to 11. Despite Vaslui's up and down season, he managed to finish 5th with his team, securing its spot for UEFA Europa League, for the second year in a row.
Temwanjera started the 2009-10 season with a double in Vaslui's opening game against Omonia Nicosia. On 23 August, he scored his first league goal against Gloria Bistriţa, giving his team a 2-1 lead. Vaslui eventually won with 3-1. On 23 September, he scored his second double from the season, in the cup match against Chimia Brazi. On 3 October, Temwanjera scored his team's second goal in Marius Lăcătuş's first competitive match as manager, in Vaslui's 3–1 home win over Astra Ploieşti. On 7 November, he scored the winning goal against Ceahlăul Piatra Neamţ. On 23 November, Temwanjera scored Vaslui's first goal, from the 2-0 home league win against CFR Cluj, helping his team winning the eighth match in a row. On 27 February 2010, he suffered a meniscal laceration, in the 2-1 home league win against Pandurii Târgu Jiu, which forced him out from the field for almost nine months.
On 4 November 2010, Mike was awarded "Sportman of the Year In Vaslui", for his entire activity for the club. After being sidelined for nine months, he returned for Vaslui's 3–1 league win over Pandurii Târgu Jiu on 26 November, coming as a late substitute for Yero Bello. On 12 April 2011, he was in the startup team against Gloria Bistriţa, for the first time since February 2010, and he managed to score Vaslui's only goal. Late in April, following his Romanian citizenship request, he stated "My future is tied with this town. I am happy here, and I want to end my career in the yellow-green shirt, when the time will come." On 9 May, in a league game against Astra Ploieşti, he was sent off for a bad foul on Alexandru Măţel. He was punished with a two-match ban with two rounds to spare, meaning that Temwanjera's season was over.
On 24 July 2011, played his 100th Liga I match, in Vaslui's opening game against Rapid Bucureşti. He is only the second Vaslui player, to achieve this feat, joining Bogdan Buhuş. On 18 August, Temwanjera scored his first goal of the season as he netted Vaslui's first in a 2–0 home win over Sparta Prague, helping his team qualifying for the first time in the UEFA Europa League's Group Stages. Three days later, he scored his first league goal of the season, in a 2-1 home defeat against newly promoted Ceahlăul Piatra Neamţ. One week later, he scored the 2-1 winning goal for Vaslui, against FC Braşov. On 11 September, he scored the equalizer against Dinamo Bucureşti, counting his third league goal in a row. Vaslui went on winning with 3-1. Four days later, he won a penalty that gave Vaslui a 2-1 lead in the first match from the group stages of UEFA Europa League against Lazio, after Wesley converted from the spot. The game eventually ended a 2-2 draw.
Statistics
Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
SC Vaslui | 2006–07 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 3 |
2007–08 | 26 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 5 | |
2008–09 | 33 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 11 | |
2009–10 FC Vaslui season 2009–10 The 2009–10 season will be the eighth season in FC Vaslui's existence, and its fifth in a row in Liga I. Having finished in the top six last season, FC Vaslui is qualified for the Third qualifying round in Europa League.-Pre-season:... |
18 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 9 | |
2010–11 SC Vaslui season 2010–11 The 2010–11 season was the ninth season in FC Vaslui's existence, and its sixth in a row in Liga I. Having finished third last season, FC Vaslui is qualified for the play-off round in Europa League.-First-team squad:* T=Total* L=Liga I* C=Cupa României... |
7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | |
2011–12 2011–12 FC Vaslui season The 2011–12 season will be the tenth season in FC Vaslui's existence, and its seventh in a row in Liga I. Though finished third last season, FC Vaslui is qualified for the Third qualifying round in UEFA Champions League, after FC Timişoara's relegation.... |
12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 5 | |
Total | 111 | 27 | 6 | 3 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 134 | 35 |
Statistics accurate as of match played
SC Vaslui
- Cupa României
- Runner-up: 20102009–10 Cupa RomânieiThe 2009–10 Cupa României was the seventy-second season of the annual Romanian football knockout tournament. It began on 15 July 2009 with the matches of Phase 1 and ended with the Final on 6 June 2010...
- Runner-up: 2010
- UEFA Intertoto CupUEFA Intertoto CupThe UEFA Intertoto Cup, also abbreviated as UI Cup and originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition for European clubs that had not qualified for one of the two major UEFA competitions, the Champions League and the UEFA Cup. The competition was discontinued...
- Winner: 2008UEFA Intertoto Cup 2008The 2008 UEFA Intertoto Cup was the last UEFA Intertoto Cup football tournament, the 14th to be organised by UEFA and the third since the competition's format was given a major overhaul. Three rounds were held, and eleven teams qualified for the second qualifying round of the UEFA Cup. The draw...
- Winner: 2008
National team
Mike Temwanjera has made his debut for the Zimbabwean national teamZimbabwe national football team
The Zimbabwe national football team, nicknamed The Warriors, is the national team of Zimbabwe and is controlled by the Zimbabwe Football Association. They were known as the Southern Rhodesia national football team from 1939–1964, then the Rhodesia national football team until 1980, when Rhodesia...
in 2005 while playing with FK Javor. By early 2011 he has made three appearances.
External links
- Mike Temwanjera at Transfermarkt
- Mike Temwanjera at Romaniansoccer