Clinton Mata

About

Clinton Mukoni Mata Pedro Lourenço (born 7 November 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Ligue 1 club Lyon. Born in Belgium, he played for the Angola national team.

Born in Verviers, Belgium, Mata started playing football with local clubs Royal Battice, Entente Rechaintoise, Etoile Elsautoise and Visé before moving to Eupen in 2010. On 17 February 2012, he made his professional debut in a 2–1 win over Waasland-Beveren in the Belgian Second Division. Afterwards, Mata was not always in the starting eleven, first winning a regular place in the starting lineup in the second half of the 2013–14 season, where Eupen qualified as runner-up for the final round for promotion to the first Belgian league. This ended in a disappointing 2–1 defeat to OH Leuven.

In the summer of 2014, Mata moved to Belgian First Division A club Charleroi, where he was mainly a substitute as before in Eupen, before coming closer to a regular starting spot in the second half of the 2015–16 season. As group winners in play-off 2, Charleroi qualified for the play-off for participation in the final for qualifying for the UEFA Europa League…