John Paintsil
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| John Paintsil | ||
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | John Paintsil | |
| Date of birth | June 15, 1981 | |
| Place of birth | Berekum, Ghana | |
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | |
| Playing position | Defender | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | West Ham United | |
| Number | 14 | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| 1997–1998 | Berekum Arsenal | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1999–2000 2000–2001 2001–2002 2002 2002–2004 2004–2006 2006– |
Berekum Arsenal Liberty Professionals Berekum Arsenal Widzew Łódź Maccabi Tel Aviv Hapoel Tel Aviv West Ham United |
? (?) ? (?) ? (?) ? (?) 46 (0) 42 (3) 19 (0) |
| National team2 | ||
| 2001– | Ghana | 41 (0) |
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1 Senior club appearances and goals |
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John Paintsil (born June 15, 1981 in Berekum, Ghana) is a Ghanaian international football player who is currently under contract to West Ham United who play in the English Premier League and plays for the Ghana national team.
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[edit] Background
John Paintsil was born in June 1981 in Berekum, Ghana. A player comfortable at the full back or midfield position, Paintsil had stints in his native Ghana with Berekum Arsenal and Liberty Professionals and a brief spell with Polish side Widzew Łódź before moving to Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2002. Paintsil was referred as John Pantsil in his West Ham transfer documents, a name he has repeatedly insisted is incorrect.[1][2]
[edit] Club career
[edit] Maccabi Tel Aviv
Paintsil joined Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2002, where he was a member of the team that won both the Israeli title and reached the Cup Semi final.[3] He made 46 league appearances[4] and five appearances in the UEFA Champions League.
[edit] Hapoel Tel Aviv
In December 2004, he transferred to rivals Hapoel Tel Aviv[5] helping them to second place in the league in 2006[3] and to win the Israeli State Cup in May 2006.[6] He made 42 appearances for Hapoel, scoring three goals.[4]
[edit] West Ham United
After the 2006 World Cup, Israeli international Yossi Benayoun recommended Paintsil to West Ham United manager Alan Pardew as the Premier League club were in need of a right-back.[5] Pardew took Paintsil with the rest of the squad on their pre-season tour of Sweden and he featured in the matches out there putting in some impressive performances.[7] In August 2006, West Ham completed the signing of Paintsil after a work permit was granted.[8] John Paintsil was given the number 14 shirt at West Ham and competed for a place in the side with Tyrone Mears and American international, Jonathan Spector. Upon signing for West Ham, Paintsil claimed that the club had spelt his name wrong both on his contract and on the back of his shirt. The player insisted that his name was in fact 'Paintsil', not 'Pantsil'. This was placed into further confusion when West Ham confirmed that all of the player's official UK travel documentation and work permit carries the name 'Pantsil'. As a result, in spite of the player's protests, the name 'Pantsil' appears on the back of his West Ham shirt to abide by the English FA rules.[9] He made only five appearances for West Ham during the 2006/07 season and in the summer of 2007 was weighing up his options in order to ensure his place in the Ghana national team for the 2008 African Cup of Nations.[10] However, the defender still remained at West Ham United. In the 2007-2008 season Paintsil played significantly more for West Ham and developed a cult status amongst West Ham fans due to good performances against Manchester United, as a substitute, and Arsenal. His work rate and attitude despite not being the most talented of players in the squad have also contributed to Paintsil becoming one of the most popular players at Upton Park.
[edit] International career
Paintsil was a member of the Ghana Under 21 team who were runner-up in the FIFA World Youth Championship in Argentina in 2001 and played for the senior team in the African Cup of Nations in Mali in 2002 and Egypt in 2006.[5] He was also a member of the Ghana 2004 Olympics football team who exited in the first round in Greece, having finished in third place in Group B. He played in all matches for Ghana national team in the World Cup 2006 finals, where Ghana were beaten by Brazil in the second round.[5]
[edit] Flag Controversy
Following the first and second goals in Ghana's 2-0 victory over the Czech Republic on 17 June 2006, he celebrated by waving an Israeli flag, he also waved as the final whistle blew. This action provoked some protests in his native country Ghana and the Arab world.[11] Afterwards the Ghanaian Football Association issued an apology, and said of Paintsil "He was naive".[12]
[edit] References
- ^ Players Profile: John Paintsil, ESPNsoccernet. Retrieved 22 June 2007.
- ^ "Paintsil fights to keep his real name", Ghanaweb.com, 19 August 2006. Retrieved 22 June 2007.
- ^ a b Player Profile: John Paintsil, Ghanaweb.com. Retrieved 22 June 2007.
- ^ a b Soccerbase: John Pantsil, Racing Post. Retrieved 22 June 2007.
- ^ a b c d Player Profiles: John Pantsil, West Ham United Official Site. Retrieved 22 June 2007.
- ^ Player Profile: John Paintsil, Sky Sports. Retrieved 22 June 2007.
- ^ '""Hammers happy with Paintsil", Sky Sports, 26 Jul 2006. Retrieved 22 June 2007.
- ^ "Hammer Paintsil nets work permit", BBC Sport, 9 August 2006. Retrieved 22 June 2007.
- ^ "Pantsil situation clarified", West Ham United Official Site, 13 October 2006. Retrieved 22 June 2007
- ^ "West Ham's Paintsil eyeing exit", BBC Sport, 22 June 2007. Retrieved 22 June 2007.
- ^ "Fury in Egypt over Ghana's Israeli flag waver", Ynetnews, 19 June 2006. Retrieved 22 June 2007.
- ^ "Apology follows Paintsil gesture", BBC Sport, 19 June 2006. Retrieved 22 June 2007.
[edit] External links
- John Paintsil career stats at Soccerbase
- John Paintsil Biography on ESPN
- Fifa 2006 World Cup Profile
- Ghana Football Association - official website
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