Cephas Malele (Shanghai), Swiss top scorer of the year 2024

Cephas Malele deceived the opposing goalkeeper 21 times from January to December. No other Swiss has done better in 2024 among all Swiss professionals playing in a first division club.

His name may speak to some, but obviously Cephas Malele is unknown to the general public, particularly because he has never played in the Super League and his career is particularly exotic.

Born in Buco-Zau in Angola, Malele joined Switzerland at a young age and trained at FC Zurich, where he went so far as to appear with the reserves well before he came of age. A talent in the making, the striker has at the same time experienced the joys of the national team, since he represented the Nati from the M15 to M19 categories.

Cephas Malele then moved on. Recruited by Parleme with a view to swelling the ranks of young teams, he never really broke through with the professional group, despite a few appearances in Serie A then Serie B when the Rosanero club went down. Logically loaned to Trapani and Virtus Entella in the Italian second division, Malele did not convince and therefore first made a career in the backroom of the Portuguese elite, where he played more than 100 matches wearing the jersey of different training courses.

It was in the Romanian first division, at FC Arges, that the Zurich native continued his journey, scoring 18 goals in the 2020/2021 season, before giving in to the sirens of Saudi Arabia. An experience which nevertheless opened the doors to the European Cup, his club Al-Taï loaning him to Cluj, then involved in the Conference League. Malele thus played the group stage and was started in the decisive “round of 16” against Lazio Rome.

The center forward then turned to Asia and the Chinese Super League, where he scored 11 league goals for Shanghai Shenhua and won the national cup in his first season, also played on calendar year. Cephas Malele did even better in 2024, as he scored 21 times, including 16 times in the league, and gave his team victory in the Chinese Super Cup.

What about the ranking by extending it to second division players? Cephas Malele, 30, remains at the forefront. He is ahead of Dejan Sorgic (FC Sion) and Valon Fazliu (FC Aarau), having both scored 17 goals this year. In fact, only Fabrizio Cavegn (FC Vaduz) surpasses him. However, six of his 22 goals were scored during the very weak Liechtenstein Cup.

The Chinese championship, which Hulk, Oscar and even Lavezzi have passed through, also presents a questionable level, far from European standards. This Chinese Super League, however, allows us to highlight a Swiss striker who is currently successful. Someone relatively unknown, even though he once appeared in Serie A and most recently played in the European Cup in Cluj.

In fact, there is a bit of Kwadwo Duah in Cephas Malele. The first named had been somewhat forgotten after his time at Nuremberg in Bundesliga 2, and especially his departure for Ludogorest in Bulgaria. However, he was Murat Yakin’s surprise this summer at the Euro, selected thanks to his good form and his confidence in front of goal, at a time when the Nati was suffering from its lack of offensive efficiency. What if in 2025, the coach took us even more by surprise, by calling up a thirty-year-old with a more atypical background? After all, Yakin is capable of any fantasies.