Hérita N'Kongolo Ilunga (born 25 February 1982) is a retired Congolese footballer who played as a left-back. At club level, he represented Espanyol B, Saint-Étienne, Toulouse, West Ham United, Doncaster Rovers, Rennes, Carquefou, and US Creteil. He has also played international football for DR Congo. Career Early career Aged 13, Ilunga started training with Amiens SC, staying with the Somme-based club for four years before moving to Stade Rennais. Ilunga moved to Spain, aged 20, where he joined Espanyol. In Barcelona, the left-back featured exclusively for Espanyol's B team in the Spanish Third Division, but he still did enough to catch the eye of Saint-Étienne coach Frederic Antonetti, who took him back to France, initially on loan, in 2003. Ilunga spent four seasons at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, making 135 appearances for Les Verts and winning the club's player of the season award. Toulouse The summer of 2007 saw Ilunga move to Toulouse, who had qualified for the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League. The defender appeared at Anfield as Toulouse lost 5–0 on aggregate to Liverpool at the third qualifying round stage. His time at Toulouse was "horrible" in his first season when the club was 17th place in Ligue 1, avoiding relegation after having a struggling season. Toulouse dropped into the UEFA Cup, with Ilunga making six appearances as Le Tef beat CSKA Sofia on away goals before falling at the group stage. Toulouse also endured a difficult campaign in Ligue 1, only avoiding relegation on the final day of the season by beating Valenciennes 2–1. The following season (2008–09), Ilunga seems out of favor with new coach Alain Casanova, the latter preferring Jérémy Mathieu as a left back. After two months without playing a single minute and approaches from different European clubs (including Mallorca and Newcastle), Ilunga was linked interests from English Premier League side West Ham United. West Ham United On 2 September 2008, Premier League club West Ham United signed Ilunga on loan for the 2008–09 season. Ilunga made his Hammers debut away at West Bromwich Albion on 13 September, and quickly established himself as the club's first-choice left-back, after the sale of George McCartney to Sunderland. Illunga performance led him earned being voted player of the month of October by fans of the Hammers. Ilunga scored his first goal for the club in the 3–0 home FA Cup win against Barnsley on 3 January 2009, and scored