Joseph Minala
Personal information
Full name Joseph Marie Minala
Date of birth (1996-08-24) 24 August 1996
Place of birth Yaoundé, Cameroon
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Sliema Wanderers
Number 6
Youth career
2012–2013 Vigor Perconti
2013–2014 Lazio
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2021 Lazio 3 (0)
2014–2015 → Bari (loan) 18 (3)
2015–2016 → Latina (loan) 3 (1)
2016 → Bari (loan) 1 (0)
2017–2018 → Salernitana (loan) 52 (4)
2019 → Salernitana (loan) 12 (2)
2020 → Qingdao Huanghai (loan) 9 (0)
2021–2022 Lucchese 19 (3)
2022–2023 Olbia 12 (0)
2023 Liepāja 2 (0)
2023– Sliema Wanderers 10 (0)
International career‡
2015 Cameroon U23 2 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 29 December 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 9 May 2017

Joseph Marie Minala (born 24 August 1996)[1] is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Maltese Premier League club Sliema Wanderers.[2]

Club career

Early career

Minala began playing for amateur club Vigor Perconti and attracted the attention of Napoli, who gave him a two-month trial. He was spotted by Lazio scouts in 2013, while representing the region of Lazio in the Trofeo delle Regioni.[1] He joined Lazio in the summer of 2013.[3]

In early 2014, Minala then made news when his age was publicly disputed by multiple parties. Both Lazio and the player denied the claims.[4] In May 2014, the Italian FA completed their investigation into the claims, confirming the accuracy of his given age and announcing that no disciplinary action would be taken against him or Lazio.[5]

Lazio

Minala broke into Lazio's senior team on 16 March 2014, when he was an unused substitute in the match against Cagliari.[6] He then made his full Serie A debut on 6 April, replacing Senad Lulić for the last 13 minutes of a 2–0 home win against Sampdoria.[7]

On 25 August 2014 Minala was loaned to Serie B side Bari for the 2014–15 season.[8] On 13 December, as a 73rd-minute substitute for Marco Augusto Romizi, he scored his first career goal, the last-minute decider in an away victory over Cittadella.[9] He scored two more goals,[10][11] and was also sent off twice.[12][13]

Minala was again loaned to a Serie B team, Latina, on 6 July 2015.[14][15] He made his debut on 9 August, starting in a 4–1 home defeat to Lega Pro team Pavia in the first round of the Coppa Italia.[16] He scored his first goal for the team on 27 October, equalising in a 2–1 loss to Ternana at the Stadio Domenico Francioni.[17] In January 2016, he rejoined Bari.[18]

On 21 January 2017, Minala joined Serie B side Salernitana on loan with an option to buy.[19] Two years later, he returned to the same club on loan for the rest of the season.[20]

Minala signed with Chinese Super League club Qingdao Huanghai on loan on 28 February 2020, until the end of the year.[21][22]

Lucchese

On 26 October 2021, Minala signed for Serie C team Lucchese until the end of the season.[23]

Olbia

On 23 August 2022, Minala joined Olbia on a one-year contract.[24] On 6 January 2023, Minala's contract with Olbia was terminated by mutual consent.[25]

Liepāja

On 3 March 2023, Minala signed for Latvian Higher League club FK Liepāja.[26]

Sliema Wanderers

In the summer of 2023, Minala joined Maltese Premier League side Sliema Wanderers.[27]

International career

Minala played for Cameroon at under-23 level in their unsuccessful qualification campaign for the 2015 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations. He scored against Sierra Leone in a 1–1 draw on 30 May 2015, but Cameroon were eliminated in the second round on away goals.[28]

Career statistics

As of match played 18 April 2023[29]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[lower-alpha 1] Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Lazio 2013–14 Serie A 3000000030
2019–20 Serie A 0010000 010
Total 3010000040
Bari (loan) 2014–15 Serie B 18300——183
Latina (loan) 2015–16 Serie B 3110——41
Bari (loan) 2015–16 Serie B 1000——10
Salernitana (loan) 2016–17 Serie B 16100——161
2017–18 Serie B 36311——374
2018–19 Serie B 12200—2[lower-alpha 2]0142
Total 646110020677
Qingdao Huanghai (loan) 2020 Chinese Super League 15010——160
Lucchese 2021–22 Serie C 19300—1[lower-alpha 3] 0203
Olbia 2022–23 Serie C 12 0 0 0 — — 12 0
Liepāja 2023 Latvian Higher League 2 0 0 0 0 0 — 2 0
Sliema Wanderers 2023–24 Maltese Premier League 0 0 0 0 — — 0 0
Career total 1371341003014414

References

  1. 1 2 "Lazio threaten legal action over Minala age claims". ESPN. 13 February 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  2. ↑ Joseph Minala at Soccerway
  3. ↑ "Lazio threaten legal action after claims Cameroon 17 year-old Joseph Minala is actually 41". The Daily Telegraph. 13 February 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  4. ↑ Joseph Minala: Lazio respond to false age claims of teenager; BBC Sport, 13 February 2014
  5. ↑ "Joseph Minala: Italian FA confirms Lazio youth player is 17". BBC Sport. 29 May 2014. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  6. ↑ "Cagliari vs. Lazio". Soccerway. 16 March 2014. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  7. ↑ "Lazio vs. Sampdoria". Soccerway. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  8. ↑ "Fcbari1908.club".
  9. ↑ Giuliani, Marco (13 December 2014). "Cittadella-Bari 0-1: Minala regala il successo ai galletti nel finale" [Cittadella 0-1 Bari: Minala gives victory to the galletti at the end]. Bari Today (in Italian). Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  10. ↑ "BARI-LATINA 1-0, NERAZZURRI POCO PERICOLOSI E MINALA BEFFA DI GENNARO" [BARI 1-0 LATINA, NERAZZURRI RARELY DANGEROUS AND MINALA MAKES A MOCKERY OUT OF DI GENNARO]. Latina Quotidiano (in Italian). 20 December 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  11. ↑ "Bari - Crotone 1-1". F.C. Bari 1908. 11 April 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  12. ↑ "Serie B: colpaccio Spezia, il Bari affonda" [Serie B: Spezia thrash, Bari sink] (in Italian). Sport Mediaset. 28 December 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  13. ↑ "Bari-Bologna 1-1, le pagelle dei biancorossi: muro Guarna, disastro Minala" [Bari 1-1 Bologna, biancorossi ratings: Guarna was a wall, Minala was a disaster]. Bari Today. 24 April 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  14. ↑ "Comunicato" [Announcement] (in Italian). S.S. Lazio. 6 July 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  15. ↑ "Lazio, Braafheid rinnova fino al 2016. E Minala va in prestito al Latina" [Lazio, Braafheid renews until 2016. And Minala goes on loan to Latina]. La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 6 July 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  16. ↑ Ciochi, Giorgia (10 August 2015). "LATINA-PAVIA 1-4, PESANTE SCONFITTA DEI NERAZZURRI: ELIMINATI DALLA COPPA ITALIA" [LATINA 1-4 PAVIA, NERAZZURRI HEAVY DEFEAT: ELIMINATED FROM THE COPPA ITALIA]. Latina Quotidiano (in Italian). Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  17. ↑ "Latina-Ternana 1-2, doppietta di Furlan ed è riscatto rossoverde: prima vittoria esterna" [Furlan's brace redeems the Rossoverde: first away victory] (in Italian). Umbria 24. 27 October 2015. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  18. ↑ "UFFICIALE – Joseph Minala è un nuovo giocatore del Bari (Foto)" [OFFICIAL - Joseph Minala is a new Bari player (Photo)] (in Italian). Lazio Channel. 11 January 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  19. ↑ "Joseph Minala è un giocatore della Salernitana" [Joseph Minala is a player of Salernitana] (in Italian). U.S. Salernitana 1919. 21 January 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  20. ↑ "UFFICIALE: Salernitana, dalla Lazio torna Joseph Minala" [OFFICIAL: Salernitana, Joseph Minala returns from Lazio] (in Italian). Tutto Mercato. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  21. ↑ "官宣 亚历山德里尼、武科维奇、米纳拉加盟，克莱奥续约公告". Dongqiudi (in Chinese). 28 February 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  22. ↑ "Comunicato 28.02.2020" (Press release) (in Italian). Lazio. 28 February 2020.
  23. ↑ "Joseph Minala è un nuovo giocatore della Lucchese" [Joseph Minala is a new Lucchese player] (in Italian). Calcio Toscano. 26 October 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  24. ↑ "Minala è un giocatore dell'Olbia" (in Italian). Olbia. 23 August 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  25. ↑ "L'Olbia e Minala si separano" (in Italian). Olbia. 6 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  26. ↑ "Lazio youth player accused of being 42 has moved away from Italy". SPORTbible. 28 April 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  27. ↑ "Ex-Lazio youth player once accused of being 41 secures move to country's biggest club". SPORTbible. 8 August 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  28. ↑ "OLYMPIC DREAM OVER CAMEROON". CAFonline.com. 31 May 2015.
  29. ↑ Joseph Minala at Soccerway
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