Michael Luyambula

Michael Ngemba Luyambula^{[upper-alpha 1]} (born 8 June 1999) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Regionalliga West club Wuppertaler SV.

Michael Luyambula

Personal information
Full name	Michael Ngemba Luyambula[upper-alpha 1]
Date of birth	(1999-06-08) 8 June 1999 (age 25)[5]
Place of birth	Neumünster, Germany
Height	1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	Wuppertaler SV
Number	24
Youth career
0000–2008	TSV Kronshagen
2008–2018	Borussia Dortmund
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2017–2018	Borussia Dortmund II	0	(0)
2018–2020	Birmingham City	0	(0)
2018	→ Hungerford Town (loan)	0	(0)
2018–2019	→ Hungerford Town (loan)	20	(0)
2019–2020	→ Crawley Town (loan)	0	(0)
2020	→ AFC Telford United (loan)	5	(0)
2020–2021	VfB Lübeck	0	(0)
2021–2024	Sportfreunde Lotte	66	(0)
2024–	Wuppertaler SV	4	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 25 September 2024

Born in Germany, Luyambula came through Borussia Dortmund's youth system but was released without playing for the club's first team. He joined English second-tier club Birmingham City in 2018. He spent time on loan to Hungerford Town of the National League South in 2018–19, to League Two club Crawley Town in 2019–20, during which he played in the EFL Cup and EFL Trophy, and to AFC Telford United of the National League North in 2020. Released by Birmingham at the end of the 2019–20 season, he returned to Germany with VfB Lübeck, newly promoted to the 3. Liga. He moved on to Sportfreunde Lotte for the 2021–22 season.

Luyambula was named in a long list for the DR Congo under-20 team in 2018, and was called up to the senior squad's training camp in June 2017.

Club career

Early life and club career

Luyambula was born in Neumünster,^[6] Germany. As a youngster he played for TSV Kronshagen before joining Borussia Dortmund's youth system as an under-12.^[7] He was an unused substitute for Borussia Dortmund II in a couple of Regionalliga matches in 2018, but was released without playing for the club's first team.^[5]

Birmingham City

Luyambula joined English Championship club Birmingham City on trial, and signed a short-term contract in August 2018.^[8] In compliance with transfer restrictions imposed on the club by the English Football League, he could play only for Birmingham's under-23 team,^[6] for which he made 12 appearances in the first half of the 2018–19 season.^[9]

Hungerford Town

He also spent three weeks on loan to Hungerford Town of the sixth-tier National League South in October,^[10] during which he made his senior debut in their FA Cup third qualifying round defeat by Wealdstone.^[11] In mid-December, he returned to Hungerford on loan for an initial month,^[10] and after the EFL gave their permission for his Birmingham contract to be extended to the end of the season, the loan was likewise extended.^[12][13] Luyumbula was the regular goalkeeper during the second half of Hungerford's season. He made 20 league appearances and helped his team avoid relegation in the final fixture.^[5][14]

Crawley Town

After Luyambula signed a one-year contract with Birmingham,^[9] he joined League Two (fourth-tier) club Crawley Town on loan for the 2019–20 season. Crawley manager Gabriele Cioffi hoped he would "put pressure on" established first-team goalkeeper Glenn Morris.^[15] Luyambula made his first competitive appearance for Crawley in the starting eleven for the EFL Cup first-round match away to Walsall on 13 August 2019; his team won 3–2.^[16] He kept his place for the next rounds of the competition, "punching and catching everything Norwich flung into his six-yard area" and keeping a clean sheet as Crawley beat the Premier League team,^[17] and then facing a penalty shoot-out to eliminate Stoke City.^[18] He also appeared in the EFL Trophy, but made no league appearances, and was recalled by his parent club in January 2020 with the intention of finding first-team football for him.^[19]

AFC Telford United

Luyambula signed for AFC Telford United on 30 January 2020 on loan until 16 May.^[20] He played five times in the National League North before the season was first suspended and then ended early because of the COVID-19 pandemic.^[21][5]

Birmingham confirmed in May 2020 that he would be released when his contract expired at the end of the season.^[22]

Return to German football

Luyambula returned to his native northern Germany and, on 4 June, signed a one-year contract with VfB Lübeck, newly promoted to the 3. Liga for the 2020–21 season.^[23][7] He spent the season as backup to Lukas Raeder, made no first-team appearances, and signed for Regionalliga West club Sportfreunde Lotte in August 2021 after a trial.^[5][24]

International career

Luyambula was named in a 58-man long list for the DR Congo under-20 team in 2018,^[25] and was called up to the senior squad's training camp in June 2017.^[26]

Career statistics

As of match played 25 September 2021

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup[lower-alpha 1]		League Cup[lower-alpha 2]		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Borussia Dortmund II	2017–18[5]	Regionalliga West	0	0	—		—		—		0	0
Birmingham City	2018–19[27]	Championship	—		—		—		—		—
	2019–20[16]	Championship	—		0	0	—		—		0	0
	Total		—		0	0	—		—		0	0
Hungerford Town (loan)	2018–19[5]	National League South	20	0	1	0	—		—		21	0
Crawley Town (loan)	2019–20[16]	League Two	0	0	0	0	4	0	3[lower-alpha 3]	0	7	0
AFC Telford United (loan)	2019–20[5]	National League North	5	0	—		—		—		5	0
VfB Lübeck	2020–21[5]	3. Liga	0	0	0	0	—		—		0	0
Sportfreunde Lotte	2021–22[5]	Regionalliga West	5	0	0	0	—		0	0	5	0
Career total			30	0	1	0	4	0	3	0	38	0

1. Includes FA Cup, DFB-Pokal
2. Includes EFL Cup
3. Appearances in EFL Trophy

Notes

1. Some sources list his given names as Ngemba Michael,^[1][2] but this article follows the player's usage of Michael Ngemba on his social media, an ordering also supported by the EFL website.^[3][4]

References

1. "Ngemba Michael Luyambula". UEFA. Archived from the original on 18 September 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
2. "Ngemba Michael Luyambula". Crawley Town F.C. Archived from the original on 13 August 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
3. "Michael Ngemba Luyambula". Twitter. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
4. "Club list of registered players as at 18th May 2019" (PDF). English Football League. p. 4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
5. "N. Luyambula". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
6. "Under-23s strengthened with four new additions". Birmingham City F.C. 14 August 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
7. "Rotation im Tor: Schuchardt verlässt den VfB – Michael Luyambula unterschreibt bis 2021" [Reshuffle in goal: Schuhardt leaves VfB – Michael Luyambula signs until 2021] (in German). VfB Lübeck. 4 June 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
8. "Paul Robinson on the influence and character of two emerging Under-23s players". Birmingham City F.C. 17 January 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
9. "Three more Under-23s secured on deals". Birmingham City F.C. 27 June 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
10. "Michael Luyambula re-joins Hungerford Town". Birmingham City F.C. 18 December 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
11. DuGard, Nick (7 October 2018). "FA Cup: Hungerford Town 1 Wealdstone 2". Brent & Kilburn Times. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
12. Dick, Brian (14 January 2019). "Birmingham City boosted by contract developments". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
13. Headd, Liam (24 January 2019). "Crusaders are starting to gel". Newbury Today. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
14. Headd, Liam (29 May 2019). "Ekpiteta rewarded for a Marvellous campaign". Newbury Today. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
15. Pole, Matt (12 July 2019). "Crawley Town sign Birmingham City goalkeeper on loan". Crawley Observer. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
16. "Games played by Michael Luyambula in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
17. Szczepanik, Nick (27 August 2019). "Norwich crash out of Carabao Cup following shock defeat at League Two Crawley". Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
18. Dunford, Michael (24 September 2019). "Crawley Town v Stoke City: Match report: Reds go through after penalty drama in Carabao Cup". Crawley Observer. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
19. Pole, Matt (20 January 2020). "Birmingham City recall goalkeeper from Crawley Town loan spell". West Sussex Gazette. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
20. "Luyambula loaned out". Birmingham City F.C. 30 January 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
21. "National League clubs vote to end regular season immediately". BBC Sport. 22 April 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
22. "Blues announce Under-23s departures". Birmingham City F.C. 19 May 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
23. Dick, Brian (6 June 2020). "Confirmed: Birmingham City goalkeeper finds new club – in Schleswig-Holstein". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
24. "Sportfreunde Lotte: Torhüter Luyambula kommt aus Lübeck" [Sportfreunde Lotte: Goalkeeper Luyambula arrives from Lübeck]. Media-Sportservice West (in German). 2 August 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
25. "Éliminatoires CAN U20: Des belles surprises dans la présélection du coach Éric Thibasu" [CAN U20 qualifiers: some nice surprises in coach Éric Thibasu's preselection]. Foot RDC (in French). 18 February 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
26. "CAN 2019: les 23 Léopards de RDC pour défier le Congo-Brazzaville" [CAN 2019: the 23 DRC Leopards to face the Congo]. Afrique Foot (in French). RFI. 26 May 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
27. "Games played by Michael Luyambula in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 July 2019.