Emmanuel Mbende

Mbende was born in Douala, Cameroon, and came to Germany in 2006. The family settled in Bochum, where he began his football career with SC Weitmar 45. He was spotted by Borussia Dortmund and recruited into their youth system at the under-13 level. He went on to play for two seasons in the UEFA Youth League, but left the club at the end of the 2014–15 season. After trials in the Netherlands with Eredivisie club PEC Zwolle and MVV Maastricht of the Eerste Divisie, and in England with Football League Championship clubs Derby County, and Birmingham City, Mbende signed for the latter club in September 2015 until the end of the season. He was a regular member of Birmingham's under-21 team playing in the Professional Development League, and was a member of the Birmingham reserve team that lost the 2016 Birmingham Senior Cup final to National League North champions Solihull Moors, but did not break through to the first team. He was offered a one-year contract, with an option for another year, in April 2016, and manager Gary Rowett expected him either to challenge the existing first-team centre-backs or to go out on loan to a lower-division club. However, he turned down the contract offer, preferring to return to Germany to study and to play for 3. Liga club Chemnitzer FC, with whom he signed a two-year deal; Birmingham included a "significant" sell-on clause in the deal. Mbende began his Chemnitz career on the bench, but made his senior debut in their fourth match of the 2016–17 3.…

Mbende represented Cameroon at youth level. He played for their under-20 team in the 2015 African U-20 Championship qualification process.

As of match played 9 March 2025