Mohammed Tchité

Mohammed Tchité

Personal information
Date of birth	January 31, 1984 (1984-01-31) (age 27)
Place of birth	Bujumbura, Burundi
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Standard Liège
Number	10
Youth career
1996–2001	Dragon Super Rangers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2001–2002	Prince Louis
2002–2003	Mukura Victory
2003–2006	Standard Liège	58	(21)
2006–2007	Anderlecht	33	(21)
2007–2010	Racing Santander	88	(24)
2010–	Standard Liège	27	(11)
National team
2001	Burundi U20
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 June 2011. † Appearances (Goals).

Mohammed 'Mémé' Tchité (born 31 January 1984) is a Belgian-Burundian footballer who plays for Standard Liège in the Belgian First Division, as a striker.

He was born and brought up in Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi, but his parents come from neighbouring Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Club career

Tchité started his footballing career with hometown club Dragon Super Rangers FC Nyakabiga (then known as AS Rangers FC). He joined Prince Louis FC in 2001, winning the Burundian League and the Revelation Footballer of the Year award, also being the finalist in the Kagame Inter-Club Cup. In 2002, he left for Mukura Victory Sports FC in Rwanda, where he would be noticed by scouts from Belgium's Standard de Liège.

In 2003, Tchité arrived in Liège, where he became a regular member of the first team, scoring 21 goals in 58 matches during his three years with the club. During a brief, three-match loan to Juventus FC during the 2004–05 post-season tour of Asia, he made one appearance, against FC Tokyo, before he returned to Standard. In 2005–06, Tchité scored 16 Belgian First Division goals to help Standard finish as runners-up to R.S.C. Anderlecht. That tally put him second in the goalscoring list, behind only Tosin Dosunmu, who scored 18 for K.F.C. Germinal Beerschot. In the following season, he was named Belgium's Professional Footballer of the Year,^[1] also being the recipient of the Belgian Ebony Shoe.

On 31 August 2007, the last day of the summer transfer period, Racing de Santander announced the signing of Tchité in order to replace Valencia CF-bound Nikola Žigić.^[2] In the November 11 match against Deportivo de La Coruña, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 road win,^[3] repeating the feat on 24 February 2008, against UD Almería (home fixture).^[4] The striker netted four times in his first twenty La Liga matches at Santander, finishing the season at seven, squad best.

On 1 November 2008, Tchité scored a hat-trick against Valencia at the Estadio Mestalla, in a 4–2 win that signified the Che side's first defeat in 2008–09.^[5] He appeared significantly less in his second year, but managed to score the same number of goals, adding one in the UEFA Cup, the 1–1 home draw against FC Schalke 04.

In the 2009–10 season, Tchité struggled initially, even though he started most of the games; however, in two consecutive matches in April 2010, he netted braces for Racing, at home against RCD Espanyol (3–1)^[6] and at Xerez CD (2–2)^[7] – three penalties. On 16 May, he added two in the club's 2–0 home win against Sporting de Gijón,^[8] taking his league tally to 11, a season-best in Spain, as Racing certified its permanence in the topflight for a further year.

On the very last hours of the 2010 August transfer window, after being targeted by West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League,^[9] Tchité returned to former club Standard Liège, on a three-year contract.^[10]

International career

Despite his African roots, Tchité announced his desire to play for Belgium once he obtained his citizenship having played for Standard Liège for over two years. He officially became a Belgian citizen on July 11, 2008.^[11]

National team coach René Vandereycken called him up for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, but FIFA intervened and ruled the player ineligible because he had previously represented Burundi at senior level in the CECAFA Cup in 2000, also having appeared for the nation at under-20 level, and having changed international allegiances to Rwanda when he moved to Mukura Victory Sports in 2002, even though he never played for the Rwandan national side,^[12] which meant Tchité remained eligible for the latter, according to FIFA regulations.

References

1. ^ Tchité takes Belgian acclaim; UEFA.com, 21 May 2007
2. ^ Racing complete spree with Tchité; UEFA.com, 1 September 2007
3. ^ Deportivo La Coruña 0-1 Racing Santander; ESPNsoccernet, 11 November 2007
4. ^ Racing Santander 1-0 Almeria; ESPNsoccernet, 24 February 2008
5. ^ Valencia 2-4 Racing Santander; ESPNsoccernet, 1 November 2008
6. ^ Racing Santander 3-1 Espanyol; ESPNsoccernet, 14 April 2010
7. ^ All-square in Xerez; ESPNsoccernet, 18 April 2010
8. ^ Tchite brace saves Racing; ESPNsoccernet, 16 May 2010
9. ^ West Brom target Racing Santander striker Mohamed Tchite; Daily Mail, 20 May 2010
10. ^ Standard Liege complete Mohammed Tchite swoop; Inside Futbol, 1 September 2010
11. ^ Le diable rouge, Mémé Tchité (The red devil, Mémé Tchité); Burundi Transparence, 2 September 2009 (French)
12. ^ Meme runs out of options; The New Times, 25 September 2008

External links

• BDFutbol profile

Preceded by Mbark Boussoufa

Belgian Footballer of the Year 2007

Succeeded by Milan Jovanović

Persondata
Name	Tchite, Mohammed
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1984-01-31
Place of birth	Bujumbura, Burundi
Date of death
Place of death