Willy Okpara

William Nwadinobi "Willy" Okpara (born 7 May 1968 in Lagos) is a former Nigerian football goalkeeper who played more than a decade for South African side Orlando Pirates.

William Okpara
Personal information
Full name William Nwadinobi Okpara
Date of birth (1968-05-07) 7 May 1968
Place of birth Lagos, Nigeria
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) 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

Career

Okpara played for ACB Lagos from 1987 to 1989 before moving 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 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, and is also 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 choice 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
1996
1993, 1996, 2000
  • Castle Challenge: 1
1992
1995
1996

References
  1. "Orlando Pirates Football Club" (PDF). Superbrands.com. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
  2. "Orlando Pirates 1995 CAF Champions League". kickoff.com. 12 September 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  3. Archived 23 December 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Archived 2 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  5. 1998 FIFA World Cup: Nigeria Squad FIFA. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
  6. Ajom, Jacob (7 November 2011). "I am available - Willy Okpara". Vanguard. Nigeria. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
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