John Paintsil

Ghanaian footballer

John Paintsil (born 15 June 1981) is a Ghanaian football player. He played for Fulham and Ghana national team. He was characterized by solid defensive performances, contributing significantly to both teams. Paintsil's agility, tactical awareness, and relentless work rate made him a formidable opponent on the pitch. He is regarded as one of the best Ghanaian defenders of his time.

John Paintsil
Paintsil in 2009
Personal information
Full name John Paintsil
Date of birth (1981-06-15) 15 June 1981 (age 43)
Place of birth Berekum, Ghana
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Full back, defensive midfielder
Club information
Current team
Kaizer Chiefs (assistant manager)
Youth career
1997–1999 Berekum Arsenal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2000 Berekum Arsenal 30 (0)
2000–2001 Liberty Professionals 10 (0)
2001–2002 Berekum Arsenal 12 (1)
2002–2004 Maccabi Tel Aviv 46 (0)
2004–2006 Hapoel Tel Aviv 46 (4)
2006–2008 West Ham United 19 (0)
2008–2011 Fulham 75 (0)
2011–2012 Leicester City 6 (0)
2012–2013 Hapoel Tel Aviv 9 (0)
2013–2014 Santos 17 (0)
2014–2016 Maritzburg United 34 (0)
Total 304 (5)
National team
2001–2013 Ghana[1] 89 (0)
Teams managed
2016– Kaizer Chiefs (assistant manager)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only


Club career

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Paintsil was born in the city of Berekum. He started his football career in the local club Arsenal Berekum. In 2000, he made his debut in the second league and, as a first-team player, was promoted to the Ghanaian top league at the end of the year. He played there for another year, and later in 2000, he moved to Liberty Professionals FC, with which he finished 3rd in the league.

In the summer of 2002, Paintsil was close to moving to Widzew Łódź, but ultimately he did not reach an agreement with the Łódź team. His new club was the Israeli Maccabi Tel Aviv. In the 2002/2003 season, he played 17 games and helped Maccabi win the Israeli championship. In 2004, he became the national vice-champion, and in the 2004/2005 season he won the Israel Cup. In early 2005, John joined Maccabi's local rivals, Hapoel Tel Aviv. In 2006, he became vice-champion of the country and won his second Israeli cup in his career.

In July 2006, West Ham United manager Alan Pardew brought Paintsil into his team. The sum of the transfer was approximately EUR 1.5 million. Thanks to his performances in the national team, the player received a work permit in Great Britain, as well as a shirt with the number 14. He was to compete for a place in the team with Tyrone Mears and the American Jonathan Spector. He made his Premiership debut on August 19 in a 3-1 win over Charlton. He played only 5 games throughout the season, mainly recovering from an injury. However, in the next season he played only 14 games and left the team after the season.

In July 2008, Paintsil signed with another London club, Fulham. He joined him for £ 6.3 million in a package with Bobby Zamora. He made his debut in the new team on August 16 in a 2-1 league defeat against Hull City.

In July 2011, he signed a contract with Leicester City.

On August 13, 2012, he signed a one-year contract with Israeli Hapoel Tel Aviv. He then played for South African teams Santos FC and Maritzburg United FC. He ended his career in 2016.

International career

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In 2001, Paintsil played at the U-20 World Championships in Argentina and finished runner-up. In 2002, he was named in the squad for the 2002 African Cup of Nations. On January 24, he made his debut for the Ghana first team in a match against South Africa.

In 2006, Paintsil was called up for the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations , but the Ghanaians were eliminated after the group stage. In the summer, Ratomir Dujković took him to the World Championships in Germany . There he played in all four matches of his team: group games against Italy (0:2), against the Czech Republic (2:0) and against the USA (2:1), as well as in the round of 16 against Brazil (0:3). In 2008, he won the bronze medal in the 2008 African Cup of Nations.


Club career statistics

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[2]

Club statistics League
SeasonClubLeague AppsGoals
IsraelLeague
2002–03 Maccabi Tel Aviv Premier League 17 0
2003–04 22 0
2004–05 7 0
2004–05 Hapoel Tel Aviv Premier League 15 1
2005–06 27 2
EnglandLeague
2006–07 West Ham United Premier League 5 0
2007–08 14 0
2008–09 Fulham Premier League 36 0
2009–10 39 0
Country Israel 88 3
England 94 0
Total 182 3

International career statistics

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Ghana national team
YearAppsGoals
2001 1 0
2002 7 0
2003 1 0
2004 0 0
2005 5 0
2006 12 0
2007 7 0
2008 15 0
2009 10 0
2010 9 0
2011 9 0
2012 7 0
2013 6 0
Total 89 0

Honours

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Player

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Maccabi Tel Aviv

Hapoel Tel Aviv

Fulham

Ghana U20

Ghana

Individual

References

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  1. Paintsil, John at National-Football-Teams.com
  2. Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "John Paintsil". www.national-football-teams.com.