Manu Sunu
Encyclopedia
Emmanuel "Manu" Sunu Songo'o (born 17 March 1966 in Bé
, Lomé
, Togo
), is a former Togo
lese professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder for ASKO Kara
and Gomido
and internationally for Togo
.
in the Togolese capital Lomé
in March 1966 to parents of mixed Nigeria
n and Cameroon
ian decent. Due to an injury sustained at the age of 34, Manu enjoyed a relatively short, but albeit successful playing career spanning just under twelve years.
Making his début for ASKO Kara
aged 22 in 1988, he went on to make 154 appearances for them, scoring 10 goals. He transferred to Gomido
in 1992 and played out the rest of his career there, scoring 51 times in 200 matches and earning recognition from two noteworthy European
sides: French team OGC Nice
and Portuguese Liga
club Rio Ave. Unfortunately with Togolese football being in its infancy at the time Nice made their offer (Rio Ave eventually dropped their interest), the Togolese government blocked any possible transfer for Sunu that would see him move away from his homeland
. The countries sports minister was against Sunu, considered Togo's best footballer at the time, moving to Europe - or indeed anywhere else - feeling that the development of football in Togo would suffer as a result. In essence, he was adverse to the idea of the nation losing their prize asset and sporting role model to a club based in a European country, where the game was substantially more developed.
With his move to France blocked, Sunu continued playing for Gomido
until he broke his right leg in three places during a league match against AC Merlan on June 18, 2000, aged 34. He immediately announced his retirement from football after surgeons told him that even once his leg had healed, it would be unlikely that the fragile bones could ever take the strain of him participating in a football match again.
, was born in Châteauroux
, France
, in late March 1991. Manu, his wife Patricia (born 1967) and their two other children, son Idriss (born 1986) and daughter Ibertine (born 1988), were holidaying in the city when Patricia went into labour
. The family returned home to Togo after Gilles was born but later sent him back to Châteauroux to live with an uncle when he turned five in 1996. He subsequently joined the city's local team, LB Châteauroux
, and was signed by Arsenal
in 2007 before moving to FC Lorient
in August of 2011. After retiring, Sunu moved to Lille
with his wife, but now resides in Merthyr Tydfil
, Wales
.
during the 90s. He won 28 caps in seven years, scoring twice in unofficial friendly matches versus the Southern Cameroons
(a 1–11 away win) and Burkina Faso
(a 2–6 home loss).
Bé
Bé is a neighborhood of Lomé, Togo, located on the lagoon, east of the city....
, Lomé
Lomé
Lomé, with an estimated population of 737,751, is the capital and largest city of Togo. Located on the Gulf of Guinea, Lomé is the country's administrative and industrial center and its chief port. The city exports coffee, cocoa, copra, and palm kernels...
, Togo
Togo
Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...
), is a former Togo
Togo
Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...
lese professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder for ASKO Kara
ASKO Kara
ASKO Kara is a Togolese football club based in Kara. They play in the top division in Togolese football.-History:The manager Améleté Abalo was shot dead on 8 January 2010 in a terrorist attack against the Togo national football team.-Achievements:...
and Gomido
Gomido
Gomido is a Togolese football club based in Kpalimé. They play in the second division in Togolese football. Their home stadium is Stade Municipal.-Current squad:-Performance in CAF competitions:*CAF Cup: 1 appearance...
and internationally for Togo
Togo national football team
The Togo national football team, nicknamed Les Eperviers The Togo national football team, nicknamed Les Eperviers The Togo national football team, nicknamed Les Eperviers (The Sparrow Hawks, is controlled by the Fédération Togolaise de Football.They played at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Their team bus...
.
Career
Sunu was born in the neighbourhood of BéBé
Bé is a neighborhood of Lomé, Togo, located on the lagoon, east of the city....
in the Togolese capital Lomé
Lomé
Lomé, with an estimated population of 737,751, is the capital and largest city of Togo. Located on the Gulf of Guinea, Lomé is the country's administrative and industrial center and its chief port. The city exports coffee, cocoa, copra, and palm kernels...
in March 1966 to parents of mixed Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
n and Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
ian decent. Due to an injury sustained at the age of 34, Manu enjoyed a relatively short, but albeit successful playing career spanning just under twelve years.
Making his début for ASKO Kara
ASKO Kara
ASKO Kara is a Togolese football club based in Kara. They play in the top division in Togolese football.-History:The manager Améleté Abalo was shot dead on 8 January 2010 in a terrorist attack against the Togo national football team.-Achievements:...
aged 22 in 1988, he went on to make 154 appearances for them, scoring 10 goals. He transferred to Gomido
Gomido
Gomido is a Togolese football club based in Kpalimé. They play in the second division in Togolese football. Their home stadium is Stade Municipal.-Current squad:-Performance in CAF competitions:*CAF Cup: 1 appearance...
in 1992 and played out the rest of his career there, scoring 51 times in 200 matches and earning recognition from two noteworthy European
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
sides: French team OGC Nice
OGC Nice
Olympique Gymnaste Club Nice Côte d'Azur is a French association football club based in Nice. The club was founded in 1904 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the top-tier of French football. Nice plays its home matches at the Stade Municipal du Ray located within the city. In 2013, the club is...
and Portuguese Liga
Portuguese Liga
The Primeira Liga , formerly called Primeira Divisão, currently named Liga ZON Sagres after their main sponsors, is the top professional association football division of the Portuguese football league system...
club Rio Ave. Unfortunately with Togolese football being in its infancy at the time Nice made their offer (Rio Ave eventually dropped their interest), the Togolese government blocked any possible transfer for Sunu that would see him move away from his homeland
Homeland
A homeland is the concept of the place to which an ethnic group holds a long history and a deep cultural association with —the country in which a particular national identity began. As a common noun, it simply connotes the country of one's origin...
. The countries sports minister was against Sunu, considered Togo's best footballer at the time, moving to Europe - or indeed anywhere else - feeling that the development of football in Togo would suffer as a result. In essence, he was adverse to the idea of the nation losing their prize asset and sporting role model to a club based in a European country, where the game was substantially more developed.
With his move to France blocked, Sunu continued playing for Gomido
Gomido
Gomido is a Togolese football club based in Kpalimé. They play in the second division in Togolese football. Their home stadium is Stade Municipal.-Current squad:-Performance in CAF competitions:*CAF Cup: 1 appearance...
until he broke his right leg in three places during a league match against AC Merlan on June 18, 2000, aged 34. He immediately announced his retirement from football after surgeons told him that even once his leg had healed, it would be unlikely that the fragile bones could ever take the strain of him participating in a football match again.
Family
His son, GillesGilles Sunu
Gilles Sunu is a French professional footballer who plays in France for Lorient as a striker. Sunu is a French youth international and currently plays on the under-21 team.-Career:...
, was born in Châteauroux
Châteauroux
Châteauroux is the capital of the Indre department in central France and the second-largest town in the province of Berry, after Bourges. Its residents are called Castelroussines or Castelroussins....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, in late March 1991. Manu, his wife Patricia (born 1967) and their two other children, son Idriss (born 1986) and daughter Ibertine (born 1988), were holidaying in the city when Patricia went into labour
Childbirth
Childbirth is the culmination of a human pregnancy or gestation period with the birth of one or more newborn infants from a woman's uterus...
. The family returned home to Togo after Gilles was born but later sent him back to Châteauroux to live with an uncle when he turned five in 1996. He subsequently joined the city's local team, LB Châteauroux
LB Châteauroux
La Berrichonne de Châteauroux is a French association football club based in Châteauroux. The football team is a part of a sports club that consists of several other sports and was founded in 1883. The team currently plays in Ligue 2, the second division of French football, having finished 16th in...
, and was signed by Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
in 2007 before moving to FC Lorient
FC Lorient
Football Club Lorient-Bretagne Sud is a French association football club based in Lorient. The club was founded in 1926 and currently play in Ligue 1, the top level of French football. Lorient plays its home matches at the Stade du Moustoir located within the city. The team is managed by Christian...
in August of 2011. After retiring, Sunu moved to Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
with his wife, but now resides in Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil is a town in Wales, with a population of about 30,000. Although once the largest town in Wales, it is now ranked as the 15th largest urban area in Wales. It also gives its name to a county borough, which has a population of around 55,000. It is located in the historic county of...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
.
International career
Manu was a full international for his country and a regular member of the Togo national football teamTogo national football team
The Togo national football team, nicknamed Les Eperviers The Togo national football team, nicknamed Les Eperviers The Togo national football team, nicknamed Les Eperviers (The Sparrow Hawks, is controlled by the Fédération Togolaise de Football.They played at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Their team bus...
during the 90s. He won 28 caps in seven years, scoring twice in unofficial friendly matches versus the Southern Cameroons
Southern Cameroons
Southern Cameroons was the southern part of the British Mandate territory of Cameroons in West Africa. Since 1961 it is part of the Republic of Cameroon, where it makes up the Northwest Province and Southwest Province...
(a 1–11 away win) and Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso national football team
The Burkina Faso national football team, nicknamed Les Etalons , is the national team of Burkina Faso and is controlled by the Fédération Burkinabé de Foot-Ball. They were known as the Upper Volta national football team until 1984, when Upper Volta became Burkina Faso...
(a 2–6 home loss).
International goals
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01. | 16 April 1995 | Stade de Moliko Stade de Moliko Stade de Moliko is a multi-use stadium in Buéa, Cameroon. It is currently used mostly for football matches. It serves as a home ground of Mount Cameroon FC. The stadium holds 8,000 people. The stadium is situated at the Molyko quarters in Buea and the turf is made of a mixture of sand and gravel.... , Buéa Buea Buea is the capital of the Southwest Region of Cameroon. The town is located on the eastern slopes of Mount Cameroon and has a population of 90,088 . Buea was the colonial capital of the German Kamerun from 1901 to 1919,and the capital of the Southern Cameroons from 1949 until 1961... , Cameroon Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the... |
Unofficial friendly Exhibition game An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition... |
|||
| 02. | 3 April 1997 | Stade Municipal Stade Municipal (Kpalimé) Stade Municipal is a multi-use stadium in Palimé, Togo. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Gomido. The stadium holds 10,000 people.... , Kpalimé, Togo Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately... |
Unofficial friendly Exhibition game An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition... |