Quick Facts
Biography
Juvhel Fred Tsoumou (born 27 December 1990) is a Congolese footballer who plays as a striker and is currently a free agent. His previous clubs include TSV Hartberg, FSV Zwickau, Eintracht Frankfurt, Blackburn Rovers, Alemannia Aachen and Plymouth Argyle. Born in the Republic of the Congo, he has represented Germany at youth international level and switched back to Congo for senior level.
Club career
Early years
The striker was raised in the Congolese capital Brazzaville where he showed his talent on sand pitches. As a 10-year-old, Tsoumou came with his mother, who was studying economics, to Zwickau, where he began to play in the youth system of FSV Zwickau.
In 2003, Charly Körbel led him to the Eintracht Frankfurt football academy. Here he played until July 2006 before moving to the academy of Blackburn Rovers.
Eintracht Frankfurt
After a season in England he returned to Eintracht because he saw a better future for himself at Frankfurt. On 4 September 2007, due to call-ups for the national youth team, Eintracht manager Friedhelm Funkel gave Tsoumou the chance to train with the first squad. For the Bundesliga match on 10 November 2007 against Borussia Dortmund the striker was in the squad for the first time. Youth Coordinator, Holger Mueller gave an interview on him and compared Tsoumou to Jermaine Jones due to his athleticism and ball-winning ability.
Tsoumou debuted in the Bundesliga on 28 September 2008 against Arminia Bielefeld, when he was substituted in the 74th minute for Nikos Liberopoulos. Since making his debut, Tsoumou moved to the reserves where he was able to get more playing time and scored 5 in 29 appearance or spent time on the bench when he joined the first-team squad. On 20 March 2010, Tsuomou scored his first goal for Frankfurt in the 87th minute to equalise against Bayern Munich but Martin Fenin scored a winning goal in a 2–1 win.
Alemannia Aachen
He signed a contract with Alemannia Aachen on 4 August 2010. On 20 August 2010, Tsoumou made his debut for the club in a 2–2 draw against Union Berlin. However, Tsoumou, once again, was not able as he spent time on the bench when he joined the first-team squad or moved to the reserves.
In 2011, he had a trial spell at Sheffield Wednesday.
Preston North End
After a successful trial, Tsoumou signed a two-year deal with Preston North End. On 4 October 2011 he scored his first goal for Preston against Morecambe in the Johnstones Paint Trophy. Preston went on to win 7–6 on penalties after the game had finished 2–2. He scored his first goal in English football against Huddersfield Town with a tap in from Iain Hume's cross. He then scored in Preston's next two fixtures against Oldham Athletic and AFC Bournemouth respectively. However under new manager Graham Westley, Tsoumou struggled to get playing time.
He was transfer listed by the club along with six other player in May 2012 in order for Westley to strengthen the Preston squad.
On 3 July 12, his contract was cancelled by mutual consent despite having one year left on his contract.
Plymouth Argyle (loan)
On 31 January 2012, Tsoumou joined League Two side Plymouth Argyle on loan along with Alex MacDonald, until the end of the season. His move to Plymouth delighted manager Carl Fletcher. On 4 February 2012, Tsoumou made his debut for the club in a 2–2 draw against Southend United. On 31 March 2012, Tsoumou scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0 win over Bradford City which was a winning goal. On 5 May 2012, in the last game of the season, Tsoumou scored Plymouth's only goal in the match against Cheltenham Town which Plymouth lost.
TSV Hartburg
On September 13, 2012, Tsoumou signed with Austrian club TSV Hartberg.
FK Senica
On 29 August 2013 he signed a two-year contract with FK Senica, following a free transfer. However his contract was cancelled and Tsoumou was released as a free agent on 1 January 2014.
SV Waldhof Mannheim
Tsoumou remained unattached until 14 November 2014 when he joined SV Waldhof Mannheim. He made 17 appearances, almost all from the bench, scoring 1 goal. He was released at the end of the 2014–15 Regionalliga season.
SV Wacker Burghausen
Tsoumou joined SV Wacker Burghausen on 3 September 2015.
International career
Juvhel Tsoumou has been capped by Germany at under-18 and under-19 level. He made two appearances for the under-18s against France in March 2008. Tsoumou made his under-19 debut against England in November 2008, replacing Taner Yalçın as a second-half substitute.
He was pre-selected by Congo on 19 May 2017.