Alex Nyarko
Alexander Nyarko (born 15 October 1973) is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Alexander Nyarko | ||
Date of birth | 15 October 1973 | ||
Place of birth | Accra, Ghana | ||
Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
Playing position(s) | Centre Midfielder | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1992–1993 | Asante Kotoko | ||
1994 | Dawu Youngstars | ||
1994–1995 | Sportul Studenţesc | 0 | (0) |
1995–1997 | Basel | 55 | (8) |
1997–1998 | Karlsruher SC | 22 | (1) |
1998–2000 | Lens | 45 | (3) |
2000–2004 | Everton | 33 | (1) |
2001–2002 | → Monaco (loan) | 26 | (2) |
2002–2003 | → Paris Saint-Germain (loan) | 18 | (0) |
2005 | IK Start | 3 | (0) |
2006–2007 | Yverdon Sport | 35 | (1) |
Total | 237+ | (16+) | |
National team | |||
1998–2000 | Ghana | 11 | (2) |
Honours
| |||
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only |
Football career
Nyarko started his career at Ghana, and in 1995 he joined FC Basel from Sportul Studenţesc, followed by Karlsruher SC in Germany; then RC Lens for two seasons. While at Lens he played as a substitute in the final as they won the 1998-99 Coupe de la Ligue.[1]
In 2000 he joined Everton F.C. for £4.5 million, signing a contract until June 2005. He scored his first and only goal for Everton against Tottenham Hotspur in September 2000.[2] He is infamous for an incident during the 2000–01 season where during a game against Arsenal a fan came on the pitch and offered him his own royal blue Everton shirt, signalling that Nyarko was not good enough to wear the colours of Everton. After the fan was escorted away by police, Nyarko requested to be substituted and transferred.[3][4]
Eventually, he went on loan to French club AS Monaco just days later for the rest of the season, and then had a loan spell at Paris Saint-Germain for the entire 2002–03 season. Nyarko returned to Everton for the 2003–04 season[5] and made his return to the first team in a League Cup tie against Charlton Athletic.[6] A few days later he made his first league appearance of the season against Chelsea and almost gave Everton the lead but his shot came back off the crossbar.[7] He went on to make 11 league appearances for the Merseyside club that season, but was released after the season because his work permit expired and could not be renewed.
Nyarko then spent six months out of football, before joining IK Start in March 2005.[8] He was, however, released by the club after an unauthorized trip to his family in Switzerland.[9][10] Nyarko joined Swiss team Yverdon Sport FC in June 2006. He was released again in December 2007 and retired.[11][12]
International career
Nyarko was capped for Ghanaian Olympic team at 1992 Summer Olympics, and won a bronze medal. He also played for Ghana in 1998 and 2000 Africa Cup of Nations.
References
- "Finale Coupe de la Ligue 1998/99 RC Lens - FC Metz". sitercl.com. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
- "Les curse strikes Everton". BBC. 5 September 2000. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
- "Arsenal crush Everton". BBC. 21 April 2001. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
- Davies, Christopher (22 April 2001). "T-shirt taunt too much for `hurt' Nyarko". The Telegraph. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
- "Nyarko back at Everton". BBC Sport. 3 July 2003. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
- "Everton 1-0 Charlton". BBC Sport. 29 October 2003. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
- "Chelsea edge past Everton". BBC Sport. 1 November 2003. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
- Refseth, Aud (1 March 2005). "Nyarko aktuell for Start". NRK Sørlandet (in Norwegian). Retrieved 21 August 2017.
- "Nyarko ferdig i Start". db.no (in Norwegian). Dagbladet. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
- "Nyarko leaves Start". BBC Sport. 1 June 2005. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
- Denis, Sébastien (30 December 2007). "Fin de carrière pour Nyarko" (in French). Retrieved 21 August 2017.
- "Yverdon : Nyarko à la retraite". Football 365 (in French). Retrieved 21 August 2017.
External links
- Alex Nyarko – French league stats at LFP (also available in French)
- Alex Nyarko at Soccerbase
- Alex Nyarko at Hattrick.ch (in German)
- Alex Nyarko at National-Football-Teams.com
- Alex Nyarko – FIFA competition record
- Alex Nyarko at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)