Jeffrey Sarpong
Encyclopedia
Jeffrey Nana Darko Sarpong (born 3 August 1988 in Amsterdam
) is a Ghana
ian footballer, who currently plays as a midfielder for Spanish
club Real Sociedad
in La Liga
. He holds a Ghanaian passport
, a Nigerian passport
and a Dutch passport
.
were interested in signing the player, but he decided to stay with Ajax.
He made his Dutch League
debut on February 5, 2006 in the 3–2 away defeat against Feyenoord
. Sarpong played in eight more league matches during the season. In addition he and his team won the KNVB Cup
, but in the 2006–07 season he did not play a single league match. However the following season he became first team regular under new coach Marco van Basten netting his first goal in a 2–2 away draw against no other than Feyenoord
. On 31 December 2009, Ajax loaned the 21-year-old Dutch youth international to NEC until the end of the 2009–10 season.
side Real Sociedad
were interested in Jeffrey. But no official bid was made until the 15th. On the 21st it was rumoured he was in San Sebastián
and on the following day Real Sociedad
confirmed the signing of Jeffrey Sarpong for an undisclosed fee. Sarpong was given the number 14 shirt.
Sarpong made his debut on 3 October 2010 in a 1–0 home victory to Espanyol
.
in Peru
, where the team finished third.
On 24 June 2009 the young midfielder swapped representing the Netherlands internationally for The Black Stars
of Ghana
.
|2005–06||rowspan="4"|AFC Ajax||rowspan="6"|Eredivisie
||9||0||-||-||-||-||9||0
|-
|2006–07||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-
|-
|2007–08||1||0||-||-||-||-||1||0
|-
|2008–09||10||1||-||-||3||0||13||1
|-
|2009–10
||rowspan="1"|N.E.C.||15||0||1||0||-||-||16||0
|-
|2010–11
||rowspan="1"|AFC Ajax||0||0||0||0||1||0||1||0
|-
|2010–11
||rowspan="1"|Real Sociedad
||La Liga
||8||1||1||1||0||0||10||2
|-
43||2||1||0||4||0||50||3
ian father (George Sarpong) and a Nigeria
n mother (Josephine Hakim). He has four sisters and one brother. His idol is Kaká
and he would love to play alongside the Brazilian some day. He becomes the second Junior Dutch International to swap The Netherlands
for Ghana
after Quincy Owusu-Abeyie
turned out for Holland at the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship
.
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
) is a Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
ian footballer, who currently plays as a midfielder for Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
club Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 September 1909...
in La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
. He holds a Ghanaian passport
Ghanaian passport
Ghanaian passports are passports issued exclusively by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration to Ghanaians granted citizenship in accordance with Ghana Citizenship Act 2000. There are three types of passport booklets – regular, service and diplomatic passports...
, a Nigerian passport
Nigerian passport
Nigerian passports are issued to Nigerian citizens to travel abroad.-Physical properties:* Surname* Given Names* Maiden Name* Nationality Nigerian* Date of Birth.* Sex* Place of Birth* Date of Issue* Date of Expiry* passport number...
and a Dutch passport
Dutch passport
A Dutch passport is issued to citizens of the Kingdom of the Netherlands for the purpose of international travel. As the Netherlands only distinguish one category of citizen , for all countries in the Kingdom, passports are the same for all four countries...
.
Ajax
Sarpong joined AFC Ajax when he was just seven years of age, and signed his first contract in 2005. At the time ChelseaChelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
were interested in signing the player, but he decided to stay with Ajax.
He made his Dutch League
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
debut on February 5, 2006 in the 3–2 away defeat against Feyenoord
Feyenoord Rotterdam
Feyenoord is a Dutch professional football club located in Rotterdam. Along with Ajax and PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord is one of the "big three" clubs in the Netherlands. These three clubs and Utrecht and Roda JC are the only clubs never to have been relegated from the Dutch first division...
. Sarpong played in eight more league matches during the season. In addition he and his team won the KNVB Cup
KNVB Cup
The KNVB Cup is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association since 1899. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside of the Netherlands, it is often referred to as the Dutch Cup...
, but in the 2006–07 season he did not play a single league match. However the following season he became first team regular under new coach Marco van Basten netting his first goal in a 2–2 away draw against no other than Feyenoord
Feyenoord Rotterdam
Feyenoord is a Dutch professional football club located in Rotterdam. Along with Ajax and PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord is one of the "big three" clubs in the Netherlands. These three clubs and Utrecht and Roda JC are the only clubs never to have been relegated from the Dutch first division...
. On 31 December 2009, Ajax loaned the 21-year-old Dutch youth international to NEC until the end of the 2009–10 season.
Real Sociedad
On the 2nd of August 2010 it emerged that the La LigaLa Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
side Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 September 1909...
were interested in Jeffrey. But no official bid was made until the 15th. On the 21st it was rumoured he was in San Sebastián
San Sebastián
Donostia-San Sebastián is a city and municipality located in the north of Spain, in the coast of the Bay of Biscay and 20 km away from the French border. The city is the capital of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. The municipality’s population is 186,122 , and its...
and on the following day Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 September 1909...
confirmed the signing of Jeffrey Sarpong for an undisclosed fee. Sarpong was given the number 14 shirt.
Sarpong made his debut on 3 October 2010 in a 1–0 home victory to Espanyol
RCD Espanyol
Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona is a sports club based in Barcelona, Spain. It is best known for its football team. Espanyol currently play in the Estadi Cornellà-El Prat with seats for 40,500 spectators. It was inaugurated on 2 August 2009...
.
International career
Sarpong represented the Netherlands in the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship
The 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship was held in the cities of Lima, Trujillo, Chiclayo, Piura and Iquitos in Peru between 16 September and 2 October 2005. Players born after 1 January 1988 could participate in this tournament...
in Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, where the team finished third.
On 24 June 2009 the young midfielder swapped representing the Netherlands internationally for The Black Stars
Ghana national football team
The Ghana national football team, popularly known as the Black Stars, is the national association football team of Ghana and is controlled by the Ghana Football Association...
of Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
.
Statistics
|-|2005–06||rowspan="4"|AFC Ajax||rowspan="6"|Eredivisie
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
||9||0||-||-||-||-||9||0
|-
|2006–07||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-
|-
|2007–08||1||0||-||-||-||-||1||0
|-
|2008–09||10||1||-||-||3||0||13||1
|-
|2009–10
2009–10 Eredivisie
-Personnel and sponsoring:-Managerial changes:-League table:-Results:...
||rowspan="1"|N.E.C.||15||0||1||0||-||-||16||0
|-
|2010–11
2010–11 Eredivisie
-Managerial changes:-League table:-Results:...
||rowspan="1"|AFC Ajax||0||0||0||0||1||0||1||0
|-
|2010–11
2010–11 La Liga
The 2010–11 La Liga season was the 80th since its establishment. The campaign began on 28 August 2010 and ended on 21 May 2011. A total of 20 teams contested the league, 17 of which already contested in the 2009–10 season and three of which were promoted from the Segunda División...
||rowspan="1"|Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 September 1909...
||La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
||8||1||1||1||0||0||10||2
|-
43||2||1||0||4||0||50||3
Personal
He is born to a GhanaGhana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
ian father (George Sarpong) and a Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
n mother (Josephine Hakim). He has four sisters and one brother. His idol is Kaká
Kaká
Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite , commonly known as Kaká , is a Brazilian football attacking midfielder who currently plays for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and the Brazilian national team. Kaká started his footballing career at the age of eight, when he began playing for a local club...
and he would love to play alongside the Brazilian some day. He becomes the second Junior Dutch International to swap The Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
for Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
after Quincy Owusu-Abeyie
Quincy Owusu-Abeyie
Quincy James Owusu-Abeyie , often known simply by his first name, Quincy, is a Ghana international footballer who plays for Superleague Greece club Panathinaikos as a forward or winger....
turned out for Holland at the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship
2005 FIFA World Youth Championship
The 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in The Netherlands between 10 June and 2 July 2005. The 2005 championship was the 15th contested.- Venues :- Qualification :The following 24 teams qualified for the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship...
.