Paul Kpaka

Paul Kpaka (born 7 August 1981) is a former Sierre Leonean footballer who played as a striker.[1]

Paul Kpaka
Personal information
Full name Paul Kpaka
Date of birth (1981-08-07) 7 August 1981
Place of birth Kenema, Sierra Leone
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
Kamboi Eagles
Degerfors
Östers
1998–1999 Feyenoord
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2001 Brussels 56 (22)
2001–2003 Germinal Beerschot 59 (45)
2003–2006 Genk 43 (6)
2005–2006 → RBC Roosendaal (loan) 29 (5)
2006–2008 Roeselare 58 (8)
2008–2010 Germinal Beerschot 19 (1)
2010 EN Paralimni 5 (0)
2011 Chalkanoras Idaliou 7 (0)
National team
2002–2008 Sierra Leone 14 (5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Early life

Paul Kpaka was born into the Sherbro Rogers family in Kenema, the third largest city in Sierra Leone. He is a member of the famous Sherbro Kpaka or Rogers family originally from Bonthe District. Kpaka grew up in Kenema and Bo. He attended Bo School in Bo, Sierra Leone's second largest city. Kpaka who is commonly known by his nickname Senegal and was considered the best secondary footballer in Sierra Leone. After he completed his secondary school education, his hometown club, Kamboi Eagles of the Sierra Leone National Premier League signed him.

Club career

Germinal Beerschot

In 2002, Belgian club Germinal Beerschot signed him from FC Brussels, whom he had joined after playing for various clubs in Sweden and Feyenoord in the Netherlands. During his first season in Belgium, Kpaka was the top scorer in the Jupiler League, hitting 28 league goals in the 2002–03 campaign. He was third at the Ebony Shoe Award, an award given to the top African footballer in Belgium. He signed for fellow Belgian club Genk for the next season.

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 a cruciate ligament injury during the 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 2006–07 season and signed for another Belgian club Roeselare.

Return to GBA

After two seasons for Roeselare, Kpaka returned to Germinal Beerschot in summer 2008.[2] However, after two unsuccessful seasons, his contract was not renewed, and he will therefore leave Germinal Beerschot on 1 July 2010.[3]

In Cyprus

Kpaka finished his career with Cypriot clubs Enosis Neon Paralimni and Chalkanoras Idaliou in the Cyprus Division A.[4]

International career

Kpaka is a regular starter for Sierra Leone. He made his international debut for Sierra Leone in a 2004 African Nations Cup qualifier against Gabon on 12 October 2002. Sierra Leone won the match 2–0, with Kpaka scoring the first goal. Later on in the match, he got sent off for elbowing an opponent.

References
  1. SIERRA LEONE’S LEONE STARS Archived 18 November 2013 at Archive.today
  2. "Paul Kpaka keert terug naar Germinal Beerschot". gva.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  3. "Germinal Beerschot laat Paul Kpaka vertrekken". vandaag.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 9 June 2010.
  4. Paul Kpaka signs for Enosis Archived 3 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine
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