Terence Kongolo (born 14 February 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Austrian Bundesliga club Rapid Wien, on loan from Fulham.
A product of the Feyenoord youth system, he made his Eredivisie debut for them during the 2011–12 season, remaining there until 2017, when he signed for AS Monaco.
He joined Huddersfield Town in January 2018, initially on loan, before rejoining them on a permanent transfer. When they were relegated from the Premier League in 2019, Kongolo remained for the first half of the 2019–20 season, before joining Fulham on loan in January 2020, making the deal permanent in October 2020.
Born in Switzerland to Congolese parents, Kongolo was raised in the Netherlands and has represented the Netherlands national team. He was part of the Netherlands squad that finished third at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Early life
Kongolo was born in Fribourg, Switzerland, to Congolese parents Editha and Erik; he moved to the Netherlands when he was four years old and, despite being raised in the Netherlands, he holds Swiss citizenship. He is the eldest of three children: he has two younger brothers: Rodney, born in 1998, and Fidel.
Club career
Feyenoord
Kongolo joined Feyenoord as an 8-year old. After progressing through the ranks of under-16 and under-17 side, Kongolo then signed his first professional contract with the side in June 2010. A year later, he was promoted to the first team ahead of the 2011–12 season and appeared on the substitute bench, around the same time playing for the reserve side. It wasn't until on 14 April 2012 when he made his debut under manager Ronald Koeman, where he came on as a substitute, in 3–0 win over Excelsior. This turned out to be his only appearance of the season and at the end of the 2011–12 season, he signed a contract extension, keeping him until June 2015.
In the 2012–13 season, Kongolo then made his first league start on 24 August 2012 against Heracles Almelo following the injury of Stefan de Vrij and the suspension of both Joris Mathijsen and Bruno Martins Indi, where he played the whole game, in a 2–1 win. The following month, on 26 September 2012, he scored his first Feyenoord goal in the second round of the KNVB Cup, in a 3–2 win over NEC and scored again in the third round of KNVB Cup, in a 4–0 win over XerxesDZB on 1 November 2012. However, Kongolo received a red card after a second bookable, just 13 minutes after receiving a yellow card, in a 2–2 draw against Groningen on 7 October 2012. As the 2012–13 season, Kongolo suffered a knee injury that kept him out for the most of the season and upon returning from injury, he played in the reserve for the rest of the season, scoring once against PSV Eindhoven U21 on 2 April 2013. At the end of the 2012–13 season, Kongolo went on to make five appearances for the first-team side.
At the start of the 2013–14 season, Kongolo didn't feature in the first team, as he spent the start of the season, on the reserve side. At the reserve side, he appeared nine times and captained the side on five occasions. It also saw Kongolo switch his shirt number from twenty-five to fifteen. His first appearance came on 29 September 2013 against ADO Den Haag, coming on as a second half substitute, which saw them win 4–2. After continuously appearing in the reserve side and making two more league appearances by the end of the 2013, Kongolo was then given a handful of first team appearances as a centre-back for the rest of the season, dispatching from Joris Mathijsen. Despite suffering a minor hip injury against Go Ahead Eagles on 30 March 2014, Kongolo finished the 2013–14 season, making eighteen appearances in all competitions.
Ahead of the 2014–15 season, Kongolo's performance in the World Cup, despite playing once, attracted interests from clubs around Europe, but the club management remained confident of keeping him. On 28 July 2014, it was announced that Kongolo signed a three-year contract with the club, keeping him until 2017 and ending his transfer speculation. After appearing the first two league matches of the season, Kongolo was demoted to the substitute bench for two matches after losing his left-back position to youngster Miquel Nelom. Kongolo returned to the first team soon after when he started against Willem II, which they lost 2–1. From that moment on, Kongolo regained his first team place, mostly playing in the centre-back position, partnering with Sven van Beek, for the most of the season. Kongolo then set up one of the two goals, in a 2–0 win over PEC Zwolle on 1 November 2014. Despite suffering from a groin injury, Kongolo finished the 2014–15 season, making forty-five appearances in all competitions.