Gabriel Dengaki
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Gabriel Alphonse Dengaki | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 7 November 1952 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Brazzaville, Congo–Brazzaville | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 6 January 2025 (aged 72) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Brazzaville, Congo–Brazzaville | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Right-back | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1970–1973 | Étoile du Congo | ||||||||||||||||
| 1974–1975 | CARA Brazzaville | ||||||||||||||||
| 1976–1981 | Étoile du Congo | ||||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1972–1977 | Congo | 17 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | AS Cheminots | ||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | AS Otohô | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Gabriel Alphonse Dengaki (7 November 1952 – 6 January 2025) was a Congolese football player and manager. He played for Étoile du Congo and CARA Brazzaville throughout the 1970s, earning several titles with the two clubs. He also represented his home country of Congo internationally, being part of the winning squad for the 1972 African Cup of Nations.
Dengaki began his career with Étoile du Congo in 1970. His first tenure with the club wouldn't find much success due to either other clubs winning the Congo Ligue 1 or the tournament not being held such as in the 1972 edition. Following that, he transferred over to CARA Brazzaville where he found considerably more success as he won the 1974 African Cup of Champions Clubs as well as the 1975 Ligue 1. This success would continue upon his return to Étoile du Congo in 1976 as he was a part of the club's dynasty of the late 1970s, winning the 1977–78, 1979 and 1980 editions of the tournament before his retirement in 1981.[1] He was also named the best Congolese footballer of 1976.[2]
International career
Dengaki was first called up for the Congo national football team in the 1972 African Cup of Nations held in Cameroon. During the tournament, he'd help the Red Devils reach second in the group stage, knock out hosts Cameroon in the semi-finals and beat Mali in the final, earning the club's only title in the tournament as of 2025. Despite winning the tournament, each player was only given only 50,000 FCFA (76 Euro) and a plot of land.[3]