- Paul Kpaka
Football player infobox
playername= Paul Kpaka
fullname = Paul Kpaka
height = 5'10
weight = 163 IB
nickname = Senegal
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1981|5|21
cityofbirth = Kenema
countryofbirth =Sierra Leone
currentclub =K.F.C. Germinal Beerschot
clubnumber =
position =Striker
years =
clubs =
caps(goals) =
nationalyears = 2002-
nationalteam = Sierra Leone
nationalcaps(goals) =
pcupdate =
ntupdate =Paul Kpaka (English, pronounced Paul Parker) (born
May 21 ,1981 inKenema ,Sierra Leone ) isSierra Leonean international footballer. He is astriker , and plays forK.F.C. Germinal Beerschot in theBelgian Jupiler League . Kpaka is a regular starter for theLeone Stars , Sierra Leone national football team. He made his international debut for Sierra Leone as the Leone Stars defeated Gabon 2-0 on October 12, 2002 in a 2004African Cup of Nations qualifier inFreetown . He scored the first of Sierra Leone's two goals and then got himselfsent off for elbowing an opponent. Kpaka along withMohamed Kallon form one of Africa's deadliest strike partnership on paper.Biography
Paul Kpaka was born and raised in
Kenema , the third largest city in Sierra Leone to Sherbro parents. He attended the Kenema Government Secondary School. "Senegal", as he is commonly known in Sierra Leone grew up playingstreet football in his hometown of Kenema. As a youngster, Kpaka was not only considered to be one of the best young footballers in Kenema but also one of the best in the entire country. After he completed his secondary school education, hishometown club,Kamboi Eagles of theSierra Leone National Premier League signed him.Germinal Beerschot
In 2002,
Belgian clubGerminal Beerschot signed him from Kamboi Eagles. During his first season inEurope , Kpaka was the top scorer in the BelgianJupiler League , hitting an impressive 28 league goals in the 2002-03 campaign. After such an impressive season, he won the Ebony Boot, an award giving to the topAfrican footballer in Belgium. Some of Europe biggest clubs were interested in his services, including Arsenal,Bayern Munich and Ajax. Despite being link to the bigger clubs, non of the deals ever went through; he signed for fellow Belgian club Genk instead.Genk
Kpaka was expected to lead Genk to the top two position in the Jupiler League, and take the club to the
Uefa Champions league , but he suffered acruciate ligament injury during beginning of the season which kept him out of football for six months. When he returned from injury, he could no longer secure a place in the starting eleven. He left the club in 2006-2007 season and signed for another Belgian clubK.S.V. Roeselare .International
Kpaka is a regular starter for Sierra Leone. He made his international debut for Sierra Leone as the Leone Stars defeated Gabon 2-0 on October 12, 2002 in a 2004 African Nations Cup qualifier. He scored the first of Sierra Leone's two goals and then got himself
sent off for elbowing an opponent.External links
* [http://www.national-football-teams.com/php/spieler.php?id=6275 Player profile - national-football-teams.com]
*http://www.v-bal.nl/spelersjl/bekijk.php?naam=Paul%20Kpaka
*http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/3027397.stm
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
