imported>Jevansen: Copying from Category:Cameroonian men's footballers to Category:21st-century Cameroonian sportsmen using Cat-a-lot

2024-12-28T23:22:40Z

Copying from Category:Cameroonian men's footballers to Category:21st-century Cameroonian sportsmen using Cat-a-lot

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{{Short description|Cameroonian footballer (born 1983)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Mathias Chago
| image = Mathias Chago 2008.jpg
| upright = 0.9
| caption = Chago in [[NK Dinamo Zagreb|Dinamo Zagreb]] colours
| full_name = Mathias Dengoue Chago de Confiance
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1983|03|13|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Bakou, Cameroon
| height = 1.83 m
| position = [[Midfielder]]
| currentclub =
| youthyears1 = | youthclubs1 =
| years1 = 2000 | clubs1 = [[Olympic Mvolyé]] | caps1 = | goals1 =
| years2 = 2001–2002 | clubs2 = [[Racing Club Bafoussam|Racing Bafoussam]] | caps2 = | goals2 =
| years3 = 2002–2005 | clubs3 = [[NK Metalac Osijek|Metalac Osijek]] | caps3 = 33 | goals3 = 8
| years4 = 2005–2013 | clubs4 = [[NK Dinamo Zagreb|Dinamo Zagreb]] | caps4 = 72 | goals4 = 7
| years5 = 2010 | clubs5 = → [[NK Istra 1961|Istra 1961]] (loan)| caps5 = 12 | goals5 = 1
| years6 = 2012–2013 | clubs6 = → [[NK Lokomotiva Zagreb|Lokomotiva]] (loan) | caps6 = 17 | goals6 = 2
| years7 = 2013–2014 | clubs7 = [[NK Lokomotiva Zagreb|Lokomotiva]] | caps7 = 29 | goals7 = 1
| years8 = 2014–2017 | clubs8 = [[Foolad F.C.|Foolad]] | caps8 = 76 | goals8 = 4
| years9 = 2017–2018 | clubs9 = [[NK Lokomotiva Zagreb|Lokomotiva]] | caps9 = 11 | goals9 = 0
| nationalyears1 = 2009 | nationalteam1 = [[Cameroon national football team|Cameroon]] | nationalcaps1 = 1 |nationalgoals1 = 0
}}

'''Mathias Dellgoue Chago de Confiance''' (born 6 March 1983), commonly known simply as '''Chago''', is a Cameroonian former professional [[association football|footballer]] who played as a [[midfielder]]. Throughout his career, Chago played for [[Olympic Mvolyé]], [[Racing FC Bafoussam]], [[NK Metalac]], [[NK Dinamo Zagreb|Dinamo Zagreb]] and [[NK Lokomotiva Zagreb|Lokomotiva]] and was once capped for the [[Cameroon national football team|Cameroon]] at the international level in a friendly match again [[Ivory Coast national football team|Ivory Coast]] in June 2009. As of January 2006, Chago became a Croatian citizen, which also made him eligible to play for [[Croatia national football team|Croatia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nacional.hr/clanak/39077/novi-hrvati-u-maksimiru |title=Novi Hrvati u Maksimiru |trans-title=New Croats in Maksimir |language=Croatian |author=Dean Sinovčić |date=23 October 2007 |publisher=[[Nacional (weekly)]] |accessdate=11 July 2012 |archivedate=25 February 2012 |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225055743/http://www.nacional.hr/clanak/39077/novi-hrvati-u-maksimiru }}</ref>

== Club career ==

=== Early career in Cameroon ===
Chago started his football career at a youth club [[Olympic Mvolyé]]. There he played for two seasons before joining the [[MTN Elite one]] side [[Racing FC Bafoussam]] in 2000, where he until 2003.

=== Metalac Osijek ===
At the age of 19, Chago and two other Cameroonian players ran away to Croatia, hoping to succeed in professional football there in order to feed his family of ten brothers and sisters back in Cameroon.<ref name=ref1>[http://nogomet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=267 www.nogomet.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090802172043/http://www.nogomet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=267 |date=2 August 2009 }} {{in lang|hr}}</ref> The manager that brought them left them broke on the streets of [[Zagreb]]. Without any money to return to Cameroon, the players did not have any choice but to stay in Croatia. Soon after the players were contacted by Croatian football icon [[Miroslav Blažević]], who gave them his own flat to sleep at, also providing players with training sessions at the [[Maksimir stadium|Maksimir football centre]].<ref name=ref1/> The players had to hide from the [[police|Croatian police]] since they did not have the [[visa (document)|visas]] which were required for their prolonged stay in Croatia.

During one of the training sessions Croatian manager Boro Ivković (to who Chago also refers as his "dad")<ref name=ref1/> spotted Chago's talents and immediately brought him to [[Osijek]]. His new manager linked him with a [[Druga HNL|Croatian second division]] club [[NK Metalac]]. Chago impressed everyone in his new club and was signed on a long–term deal. Chago spent three seasons playing for Metalac, before he went on a trial to Osijek's best club, [[Prva HNL|first division]] side [[NK Osijek]]. Chago did not succeed at the trial but had another chance, this time with [[NK Dinamo Zagreb|Dinamo Zagreb]], Croatia's most successful football club.

===Dinamo Zagreb===
Chago was back on his way to Zagreb again, this time needing to prove his qualities in Dinamo's friendly match against [[Slovenia]]n football club [[NK Aluminij]]. Having his poor family depending on him, Chago was determined to give his best in the forthcoming match and force Dinamo into signing him onto a professional contract. Before the match Chago held a speech in the dressing room for his teammates, to which he never interacted before, saying:
:"''Guys, I'm poor. I came all the way from Cameroon to earn money so I could feed my family. You all have contracts and earn a lot. Please, help me to play well in this match, so I can sign a contract with Dinamo.''"<ref name=ref1/><ref name=ref2>[http://www.tportal.hr/sport/TcomPrvaHNL/25340/Mathias-Chago-je-najljepsa-nogometna-prica-HNL-a.html www.tportal.hr/sport] {{in lang|hr}}</ref>
Chago played well and amazed everyone in the club, especially the club's [[physio]]s who could not believe that Chago endured the whole match with painful blisters all over his feet. The injury was so serious that he had to undertake surgery after the match.<ref name=ref1/> With his driven attitude, determination and bravery Chago immediately won over hearts both of his teammates and fans. With €30,000 per season contract on his hands, all he had to do now is to concentrate on his game.

His debut season at his new club went well. At the end of [[Prva HNL 2005-06|Prva HNL season 2005–06]] Chago had 27 league appearances, also scoring 3 goals. Unfortunately for Chago, before the start of the next season he suffered a serious anterior [[abdominal wall]] injury. Which made things worse the injury did not seem to be short–termed. This made Chago miss the whole [[Prva HNL 2006-07|2006–07]] campaign, making no appearances for Dinamo in that season. Meanwhile, Chago's manager Boro Ivković started negotiations with his club concerning Chago's annual wage. The new contract was signed by the player and manager, a three-year €75,000 per season deal. His salary was almost matching the salaries of the club's stars at the time, [[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur]] footballers [[Luka Modrić]] and [[Vedran Ćorluka]].

Chago was finally back for the [[Prva HNL 2007-08|2007–08]] season, but struggled to make any impact since he had to be careful with his [[Human abdomen|abdomen]] which was not completely recovered. He played a total of 10 league matches, not scoring any goals.

He continued his struggle with injuries in the next season as well. He missed out on most of the matches in the summer part of [[Prva HNL 2008–09]], but came back fully recovered and eager to play in the winter part of the campaign. Chago made a total of 16 appearances, scoring 2 goals, including the one in the last week of the season against Dinamo's fierce rivals [[HNK Hajduk Split|Hajduk Split]]. He also made four appearances in [[2008–09 UEFA Champions League]] qualifying rounds and three appearances in [[Croatian Football Cup|Croatian Cup]].

===Istra 1961 (loan)===
The next season his role in the side was again reduced, making just eight appearances in all competitions until January 2010 and so a loan to [[NK Istra 1961]] followed where he found regular game time. At Istra, Chago made 12 out of 13 possible appearances, playing the full 90 minutes in the last 11 matches of the season.

Noticing his improvement at Istra, Dinamo brought him back to the first team squad and Chago made 24 appearances scoring two goals in the 2010–11 season.

A slipped disc injury in the 2011–12 pre-season resulted in a very long injury lay off for Chago. He missed the entire 2011–12 season and four months of the 2012–13 season.

===Lokomotiva===
Chago was loaned out to Dinamo partner club [[NK Lokomotiva]]. He made his return to action in the 12th round of the HNL, coming on as a half time substitute against [[NK Zagreb]]. He made a further 16 appearances that season, managing two goals and an assist, but struggled with form for the most part.

His loan to Lokomotiva was turned into a permanent move at the start of the 2013–14 season as Chago signed a two-year contract. The 2013–14 season was the best of Chago's career since his arrival in Croatia. Playing mostly as a central midfielder, he made 31 appearances in total and was appointed vice captain of the side towards the end of the season.

===Foolad===
On 4 July 2014, Chago agreed on a two-year contract with [[Iran Pro League]] side [[Foolad F.C.|Foolad]]. He officially joined the team on 7 July 2014 after passing the club's medical tests. He signed a two-year contract with the club and was given the number 15 jersey. He made his debut for Foolad in a 2–1 loss to [[Tractor Sazi F.C.|Tractor Sazi]]. Chago scored his first goal for the club on 3 April 2015 in a 2–1 victory against [[Esteghlal F.C.|Esteghlal]]. On 29 January 2016, Chago scored the only goal of the game in a 1–0 victory over rivals [[Esteghlal Khuzestan F.C.|Esteghlal Khuzestan]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2016/01/30/984905/esteghlal-khuzestan-misses-chance-to-return-to-ipl-top|title=Tasnim News Agency – Esteghlal Khuzestan Misses Chance to Return to IPL Top|work=Tasnim News Agency}}</ref>

After his contracted finished at the end of the 2015–16 season, Chago extended his contract with Foolad for one more year.

== International career ==
Chago was first called–up for the national squad on 30 May 2009, a week before [[Cameroon national football team|Cameroon]]'s [[2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF third round|World Cup]] qualifier against [[Morocco national football team|Morocco]]. On the next day he reported to Cameroon's training camp in [[Belgium]] where he started training with his new teammates. According to Chago, the national team staff was scouting him for a longer while with him knowing nothing about it.<ref>[http://www.javno.com/hr-sport/mathias-chago-pozvan-u-reprezentaciju-kameruna_261903 www.javno.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090804131319/http://www.javno.com/hr-sport/mathias-chago-pozvan-u-reprezentaciju-kameruna_261903 |date=4 August 2009 }} {{in lang|hr}}</ref> He did not make an appearance in the match against Morocco, but he started in the friendly match against [[Ivory Coast national football team|Ivory Coast]] and played for 60 minutes before being subbed. For the sport section of the Croatian daily newspaper ''[[Večernji list]]'', Chago gave an interview in which he stated that [[Samuel Eto'o]] encouraged him before the kick–off.<ref>''[[Večernji list]]'' – Sunday, 14 June, the sport section – Retrieved 24 June 2009</ref>

== Personal life ==
Chago was born in a poor Cameroonian family with 10 brothers and sisters. He left Cameroon in order to earn money for his family. He came to Croatia where he eventually succeeded at the top of professional football. As of 2009 Chago was living with his Croatian wife Daša and their two daughters Melissa and Marceline.<ref name=ref1/>

== Career statistics ==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hnl-statistika.com/p1.asp?ID=469|title=hnl-statistika.com}}</ref><ref>[http://www.nk-dinamo.hr/en/igrac/prikaz/26/default.aspx Career statistics at Dinamo Zagreb's official website]</ref>{{efn|The [[Croatian Football Cup|Croatian Cup]] appearances for Dinamo Zagreb can be viewed at the official website of the club [https://web.archive.org/web/20100815014954/http://www.nk-dinamo.hr/en/default.aspx nk-dinamo.hr] under ''The Match'' section.}}
|-
!rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season
!colspan="3"|League
!colspan="2"|Cup{{efn|Includes [[Croatian Football Cup|Croatian Cup]] and [[Hazfi Cup]].}}
!colspan="2"|Continental
!colspan="2"|Total
!colspan="2"|Total
|-
!Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[NK Metalac|Metalac]]
|2003–04
|rowspan="2"|[[Druga HNL]]
|15||5||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|–||15||5
|-
|2004–05
|18||3||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|–||18||3
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!33!!8!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!33!!8
|-
|rowspan="8"|[[Dinamo Zagreb]]
|[[Prva HNL 2005–06|2005–06]]
|rowspan="7"|[[Prva HNL]]
|27||3||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|–||27||3
|-
|[[Prva HNL 2006–07|2006–07]]
|0||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|–||0||0
|-
|[[Prva HNL 2007–08|2007–08]]
|10||0||1||0||4||0||colspan="2"|–||13||0
|-
|[[Prva HNL 2008–09|2008–09]]
|16||2||3||0||5||0||colspan="2"|–||24||2
|-
|[[Prva HNL 2009–10|2009–10]]
|3||0||4||1||5||0||colspan="2"|–||12||1
|-
|[[2010–11 Prva HNL|2010–11]]<ref name="sw">{{Soccerway|20298}}</ref>
|16||2||2||0||8||0||1{{efn|Includes the [[Croatian Supercup|2010 Croatian Supercup]] match against Hajduk Split.<ref name=supercup2010>{{cite news|url=http://www.sportnet.hr/vijesti/400660/nogomet-kup/biscan-presudio-hajduku|title=Bišćan presudio Hajduku|publisher=Sportnet.hr|language=Croatian|date=17 July 2010|accessdate=28 July 2010}}</ref>}}||0||27||2
|-
|[[2011–12 Prva HNL|2011–12]]<ref name="sw"/>
|0||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|–||0||0
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!72!!7!!10!!1!!22!!0!!1!!0!!105!!8
|-
|[[NK Istra 1961|Istra 1961]] (loan)
|[[Prva HNL 2009–10|2009–10]]<ref name="sw"/>
|Prva HNL
|12||1||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|–||12||1
|-
|[[NK Lokomotiva|Lokomotiva]] (loan)
|[[2012–13 Prva HNL|2012–13]]<ref name="sw"/>
|Prva HNL
|17||2||6||0||0||0||colspan="2"|–||23||2
|-
|Lokomotiva
|[[2013–14 Prva HNL|2013–14]]<ref name="sw"/>
|Prva HNL
|29||1||0||0||2||0||colspan="2"|–||31||1
|-
|rowspan="4"|[[Foolad F.C.|Foolad]]
|[[2014–15 Iran Pro League|2014–15]]<ref name="sw"/>
|rowspan="3"|[[Iran Pro League]]
|27||1||||||6||0||colspan="2"|–||33||1
|-
|[[2015–16 Iran Pro League|2015–16]]<ref name="sw"/>
|29||3||||||0||0||colspan="2"|–||29||3
|-
|[[2016–17 Iran Pro League|2016–17]]<ref name="sw"/>
|20||0||||||0||0||colspan="2"|–||20||0
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!76!!4!!0!!0!!6!!0!!0!!0!!82!!4
|-
|Lokomotiva
|[[2017–18 Croatian First Football League|2017–18]]<ref name="sw"/>
|Prva HNL
|11||0||4||0||0||0||colspan="2"|–||15||0
|-
!colspan="3"|Career total
!250!!23!!20!!1!!30!!0!!1!!0!!301!!24
|}

{{notelist}}

== Honours ==
'''Dinamo Zagreb'''
*[[Prva HNL|Croatian First League]]: [[2005–06 Prva HNL|2005–06]], [[2007–08 Prva HNL|2007–08]], [[2008–09 Prva HNL|2008–09]], [[2009–10 Prva HNL|2009–10]], [[2010–11 Prva HNL|2010–11]]
*[[Croatian Football Cup|Croatian Cup]]: [[2006–07 Croatian Cup|2006–07]], [[2007–08 Croatian Cup|2007–08]], [[2008–09 Croatian Cup|2008–09]], [[2010–11 Croatian Cup|2010–11]]
*[[Croatian Super Cup]]: 2006, 2010

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
*{{NFT player|pid=31839}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chago, Mathias}}
[[Category:1983 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Cameroonian men's footballers]]
[[Category:21st-century Cameroonian sportsmen]]
[[Category:RC Bafoussam players]]
[[Category:NK Metalac Osijek players]]
[[Category:GNK Dinamo Zagreb players]]
[[Category:NK Istra 1961 players]]
[[Category:NK Lokomotiva Zagreb players]]
[[Category:Croatian Football League players]]
[[Category:Persian Gulf Pro League players]]
[[Category:Cameroon men's international footballers]]
[[Category:Cameroonian expatriate men's footballers]]
[[Category:Cameroonian expatriate sportspeople in Croatia]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Croatia]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Iran]]
[[Category:Gostaresh Foulad F.C. players]]
[[Category:Naturalized citizens of Croatia]]
[[Category:Men's association football midfielders]]

Mathias Chago - Revision history

imported>Jevansen: Copying from Category:Cameroonian men's footballers to Category:21st-century Cameroonian sportsmen using Cat-a-lot