John Paintsil

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Personal information
John Paintsil

Full name	John Paintsil
Date of birth	June 15, 1981 (age 25)
Place of birth	Berekum, Ghana
Height	5 ft 8 in (170 cm)
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current club	West Ham United
Number	14
Youth clubs
1997–98	Berekum Arsenal
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1999-2000 2000-2001 2001-2002 2002–2004 2004–2006 2006-present	Berekum Arsenal Liberty Professionals Berekum Arsenal Maccabi Tel Aviv Hapoel Tel Aviv West Ham United	0? (?) 0? (?) 0? (?) 46 (0) 42 (3) 05 (0)
National team²
2001–present	Ghana	29 (0)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:23, 08 February 2006 (UTC). ² National team caps and goals correct as of 27 March 2007. * Appearances (Goals)

John Paintsil (born June 15, 1981) is a Ghanaian international football player who is playing for West Ham United. He has been referred to once in the 2006 World Cup, and in his West Ham transfer documents, as John Pantsil, a name he has repeatedly insisted is incorrect.^[1]^[2]

A player comfortable at the full back or midfield position; Paintsil moved to Israeli club Maccabi Tel-Aviv after stints in his native Ghana with Berkum Arsenal and Liberty Professionals. In 2005 he was transferred to rivals Hapoel Tel-Aviv.

A committed Christian and an honest professional; Paintsil is known to pray in the dressing room before matches.

He was part of the Ghanaian 2004 Olympic football team, who exited in the first round, having finished in third place in group B. He is currently playing for the Ghanaian national team, which has recently reached the World Cup 2006 finals. This was the Black Stars' first ever appearance in the prestigious cup competition.

On 13 May 2006, Paintsil was named in Ghana's squad for the 2006 World Cup, and following his impressive showing in the World Cup - featuring in every game including against Brazil in the second round.

After the World Cup, Israeli international Yossi Benayoun recommended Paintsil to West Ham United manager Alan Pardew, as the Premier League club were in need of a new Right-Back. Pardew took Paintsil with the rest of the squad on their pre-season tour of Sweden, and featured in the matches out there, putting in some impressive performances. On 1 August 2006, West Ham United announced they had agreed a deal with Paintsil, prior to him receiving a work permit in the United Kingdom. John Paintsil will be given the number 14 shirt at West Ham and will compete for a place in the side with new signing Tyrone Mears and with the current starter, American international, Jonathan Spector.

1 Flag controversy
2 Name confusion
3 Honors and awards
4 Notes
5 External links

[edit] Flag controversy

Following the first and second goals in Ghana's impressive 2-0 victory over the Czech Republic on 17 June 2006, he celebrated by waving an Israeli flag which he kept in his sock. The flag was a cut off a line of flags that was given to the Israeli public free by Bank Hapoalim before Israel's Independence Day celebrations. He was also seen waving the Israeli flag as the final whistle blew. This flag waving was highly protested by several in the Arab world, who saw the act as an insult directed towards the Palestinians. Some Egypt state run newspapers described the player in question as a 'Mossad agent' or that he was paid for this [1] without providing any basis for the allegations. When the Egyptian commentator saw the flag, he stopped his yelling of "Goal" and said, "what are you doing!?!"

Before the final group match versus the USA, the Ghanaian FA had John Paintsil receive psychotherapy treatment because they were worried that with all the media attention he was receiving (both negative and positive) that he would be unable to perform in the squad's most crucial match.

Paintsil, said that he simply wanted to thank the people of Israel for their support. He is even more popular in Israel as a result of his gesture and has promised to explain his actions after the World Cup.[2]

[edit] Name confusion

Upon signing for West Ham, Paintsil claimed that the club had spelt his name wrong, both on his contract and on the back of his shirt. The player insisted that his name was in fact 'Paintsil', not 'Pantsil'. This was placed into further confusion when West Ham confirmed that all of the player's official UK travel documentation and work permit carries the name 'Pantsil'. As a result, in spite of the player's protests, the name 'Pantsil' appears on the back of his West Ham shirt to abide by the English FA rules.^[3] It is interesting to note that this controversy started during the 2006 World Cup.^[4]

Paintsil (with name spelled "Paintsil" on his shirt) with the Israeli flag.

[edit] Honors and awards

FIFA World Youth Championship runner-up: 2001

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

John Paintsil career stats at Soccerbase
John Paintsil Biography on ESPN
The flag controversy
Fifa 2006 World Cup Profile
Ghana Football Association - official website
Ghanaweb Football Forum - Official Fan Forum

	Ghana squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup
1 Adjei \| 2 Sarpei \| 3 Gyan \| 4 Kuffour \| 5 Mensah \| 6 Pappoe \| 7 Shilla \| 8 Essien \| 9 Boateng \| 10 Appiah \| 11 Muntari \| 12 Tachie‑Mensah \| 13 Mohamed \| 14 Amoah \| 15 Paintsil \| 16 Owu \| 17 Quaye \| 18 E. Addo \| 19 Pimpong \| 20 O. Addo \| 21 Issah \| 22 Kingston \| 23 Dramani \| Coach: Dujković