| Bongani Zungu | |
| Birth Date: | 9 October 1992 |
| Birth Place: | Duduza, South Africa |
| Height: | 1.84 m |
| Position: | Midfielder |
| Currentclub: | Mamelodi Sundowns |
| Clubnumber: | 8 |
| Youthyears1: | 2010–2012 |
| Youthclubs1: | Dynamos |
| Years1: | 2012–2013 |
| Clubs1: | University of Pretoria |
| Caps1: | 25 |
| Goals1: | 7 |
| Years2: | 2013–2016 |
| Clubs2: | Mamelodi Sundowns |
| Caps2: | 58 |
| Goals2: | 1 |
| Years3: | 2016–2017 |
| Clubs3: | Vitória Guimarães |
| Caps3: | 19 |
| Goals3: | 1 |
| Years4: | 2017–2022 |
| Clubs4: | Amiens |
| Caps4: | 67 |
| Goals4: | 1 |
| Years5: | 2020–2021 |
| Clubs5: | → Rangers (loan) |
| Caps5: | 14 |
| Goals5: | 0 |
| Years6: | 2022– |
| Clubs6: | Mamelodi Sundowns |
| Caps6: | 23 |
| Goals6: | 1 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2013–2021 |
| Nationalteam1: | South Africa |
| Nationalcaps1: | 30 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 5 |
| Club-Update: | 30 June 2024 |
| Nationalteam-Update: | 08:11, 08 February 2023 (UTC) |
Bongani Zungu (born 9 October 1992) is a South African professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Mamelodi Sundowns and the South Africa national team.
Having joined the University of Pretoria from Dynamos at the start of the 2012–13 season, Zungu helped AmaTuks to a top eight finish in the club's debut campaign in the PSL. At the end of the season it was announced that Zungu would be joining Mamelodi Sundowns in a swap deal, with Buhle Mkhwanazi and Siyabonga Ngubane joining University of Pretoria.[1]
Zungu suffered a hairline fracture of the shin in a 3–2 win over Maritzburg United, ruling him out for up to twelve weeks.[2] Despite missing most of the second half of the 2015–16 season, Zungu had the perfect send off from Sundowns with the club lifting the PSL title in May of 2016.[3]
On 20 January 2016, Zungu's agent Steve Kapeluschnik confirmed that he would be joining Portuguese side Vitória de Guimarães upon the expiration of his contract at the end of the season.[4] After a season in Portugal, Zungu moved to French club Amiens.
Zungu signed for Scottish club Rangers on loan from Amiens in October 2020.[5] Rangers secured an option to sign him permanently for a £2.7 million transfer fee. In February 2021 he was one of five Rangers players fined by Scottish police "for attending an illegal gathering of 10 people in a flat" in breach of lockdown rules during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.[6]
Zungu made his debut for South Africa in a 2–0 win against Burkina Faso on 17 August 2013.[7] He scored his first international goal against Swaziland on 15 November 2013, with South Africa winning 3–0.[8]
In July 2014 Zungu was a victim of a hi-jacking when a group of armed men made off with his car outside his home in Duduza.[9]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| University of Pretoria | 2012–13 | Premier Division | 25 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 27 | 7 | ||
| Mamelodi Sundowns | 2013–14 | Premier Division | 22 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 1 | |
| 2014–15 | 23 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1[10] | 0 | 32 | 0 | |||
| 2015–16 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 2 | |||
| Total | 58 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 75 | 3 | |||
| Vitória Guimarães | 2016–17 | Primeira Liga | 16 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 23 | 2 | |||
| 2017–18 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[11] | 0 | 4 | 1 | |||
| Total | 19 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 3 | |||
| Amiens | 2017–18 | Ligue 1 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 1 | |||
| 2018–19 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||||
| 2019–20 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 1 | |||||
| Rangers (on loan) | 2020–21 | Scottish Premiership | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 0 | |
| Career total | 169 | 11 | 13 | 1 | 15 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 205 | 15 | |||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Africa | 2013 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2014 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2015 | 9 | 1 | ||
| 2016 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2017 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2019 | 5 | 2 | ||
| 2020 | 2 | 1 | ||
| Total | 30 | 5 | ||
Scores and results list South Africa's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Zungu goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 November 2013 | Somhlolo National Stadium, Lobamba, Swaziland | 1–0 | 3–0 | Friendly | ||
| 2 | 29 March 2015 | Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit, South Africa | 1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly | ||
| 3 | 28 June 2019 | Al Salam Stadium, Cairo, Egypt | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2019 Africa Cup of Nations | ||
| 4 | 10 July 2019 | Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2019 Africa Cup of Nations | ||
| 5 | 13 November 2020 | Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban, South Africa | 2–0 | 2-0 | 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
Mamelodi Sundowns
Rangers