Fabrice Olinga Profile

Fabrice Olinga Essono (born 12 May 1996), known as Olinga, is a Cameroonian footballer who plays for S.V. Zulte Waregem on loan from Málaga CF, as a forward.

Born in Douala, Olinga started learning football in the "Samuel Eto'o Foundation" in Cameroon. In 2009 he arrived in Spain, joining the youth ranks of RCD Mallorca.

Two years later, Olinga was spotted by Málaga CF's academy director, Manuel Casanova, who invited him to join the club. He played a crucial part in the Andalusians' side that reached the final of Copa del Rey Juvenil de Fútbol in 2012; however, he himself missed the decisive game against RCD Espanyol (0?1 loss) due to suspension.

At the age of only 16, Olinga was called up by first-team coach Manuel Pellegrini for the 2012–13 opener, away against Celta de Vigo: he came on as a 60th-minute substitute for Sebastián Fernández, and went on to score the game's only goal, becoming La Liga's youngest ever goalscorer at 16 years and 98 days, beating the previous record holder Iker Muniain by 191 days.

Four days later Olinga started again, appearing in a 2–0 win over Panathinaikos FC for the season's UEFA Champions League, and playing 70 minutes.

On the 20th of January 2014 it was announced that Olinga would join Zulte Waregem on a 1,5-season loan from Málaga until June 2015.

An option to join the team permanently after that time was also included. In his first season for Zulte Waregem he played 7 games.

His nickname, in Spanish, literally translates to 'Happy Feet', both for his quick footballing feet and also for his fondness for dancing.

On 2 October 2012, Olinga was called by the Cameroonian national team for a 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualification match against Cape Verde, and he scored on his debut on the 12th (2–1 win).