Peniel Mlapa

Peniel Kokou Mlapa was born on 20 February 1991 in Lomé, Togo. He is a German citizen.

Peniel’s youth career began at the FC Unterföhring academy, but in 1999 he left his first club and joined TSV 1860 München. The footballer spent 10 years at the club, climbing rapidly up the career ladder. In 2008 Mlapa got an opportunity to play for the reserve team, and then was promoted to the first squad. There he scored 6 goals in 23 matches, which was a great result for such a young player. Thanks to great performance for 1860 München, Peniel was spotted by TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. For two years the young footballer made 54 Bundesliga appearances in the first team and played only 3 matches with the reserve team. In 2012 Mlapa signed a professional contract with Borussia Mönchengladbach, running until the year 2016.

Peniel made his international debut on 7 October 2009. He debuted with the German U-19 team, taking part in 10 games. Even though Mlapa hadn’t shown great results, in a year he progressed to the German U-21 squad and did his best to deliver 10 goals in 13 appearances for the team. Soon Peniel was invited to represent Togo at international level, but he declined this offer.