William Okpara
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Nwadinobi Okpara | ||
| Date of birth | 7 May 1968 | ||
| Place of birth | Lagos, Nigeria | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Orlando Pirates (Goalkeeping coach) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1987–1989 | ACB Lagos | 56 | (0) |
| 1989–2005 | Orlando Pirates | 374 | (0) |
| National team | |||
| 1986 | Nigeria U-17 | ||
| 1987 | Nigeria U-20 | 3 | (0) |
| 1992 | Nigeria Futsal | 1 | (0) |
| 1996–1998 | Nigeria | 5 | (0) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
William Nwadinobi "Willy" Okpara (born May 7, 1968 in Lagos) is a former Nigerian football goalkeeper who played more than a decade for South African side Orlando Pirates.
Career
He played for ACB Lagos from 1987 to 1989 and moved to South African side Orlando Pirates. Okpara was the club's first choice goalkeeper from 1990 to 2002, losing his place to Congolese goalkeeper Michel Nzamongini Babale during 2002-03 season, then becoming an understudy to Thabang Radebe and Francis Chansa before retiring in 2005. He holds the record of Pirates' appearances with 375 matches, also being the club's longest serving player.[1] He was part of the 1995 CAF Champions League winning team.[2]
International career
Okpara was Nigeria under-20's first goalkeeper during 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship, playing in all three matches as Nigeria failed to win during the group stage. He played for Nigeria national futsal team at 1992 FIFA Futsal World Championship as an outfield player,[3] featuring in the 4-5 loss against Poland when he was sent off.[4]
He made his debut for the Nigerian national team in 1996 and was selected for the 1998 FIFA World Cup squad.[5]
Retirement
After his retirement, Okpara became a goalkeeping coach for Orlando Pirates.[6]
Honours
- 2000-01, 2002-03
- 1994
- Nedbank Cup: 1
- 1996
- MTN 8: 3
- 1993, 1996, 2000
- Castle Challenge: 1
- 1992
- 1995
- 1996
References
- ↑ "Orlando Pirates Football Club" (PDF). Superbrands.com. Retrieved 2015-08-16.
- ↑ "Orlando Pirates 1995 CAF Champions League". kickoff.com. 12 September 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
- ↑ Archived December 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Archived January 2, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ 1998 FIFA World Cup: Nigeria Squad FIFA. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
- ↑ "I am available - Willy Okpara - Vanguard News". Vanguard News. 7 November 2011. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
External links
- William Okpara at National-Football-Teams.com
- Orlando Pirates player profile - William Okpara
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