John Paintsil

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
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	89	(0)
Teams managed
2016–	Kaizer Chiefs (assistant manager)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

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

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

Club statistics			League
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals
Israel			League
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
England			League
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

Ghana national team
Year	Apps	Goals
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

Player

Maccabi Tel Aviv

• Israeli Premier League: 2002–03

Hapoel Tel Aviv

• Israel State Cup: 2006

Fulham

• UEFA Europa League runner up: 2009–10

Ghana U20

• FIFA World Youth Championship runner-up: 2001

Ghana

• Africa Cup of Nations Bronze Medal: 2008

Individual

• CAF Team of the Year: 2009