William Okpara

William Okpara

Personal information
Full name	William Nwadinobi Okpara
Date of birth	(1968-05-07) 7 May 1968
Place of birth	Lagos, Nigeria
Height
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team 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)
International career
1986	Nigeria U-17
1987	Nigeria U-20	3	(0)
1992	Nigeria Futsal	1	(0)
1996–1998	Nigeria	5	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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

Career

He played for ACB Lagos from 1987 to 1989 and moved 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 Nzamongini 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, also being the club's longest serving player.

International career

Okpara was Nigeria under-20's first 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, featuring in the 4-5 loss against Poland when he was sent off.

He made his debut for the Nigerian national team in 1996 and was selected for the 1998 FIFA World Cup squad.

Retirement

After his retirement, Okpara became a goalkeeping coach for Orlando Pirates.

Honours

• Premier Soccer League: 2

2000-01, 2002-03

• National Soccer League: 1

1994

• Nedbank Cup: 1

1996

• MTN 8: 3

1993, 1996, 2000

• Castle Challenge: 1

1992

• CAF Champions League: 1

1995

• CAF Super Cup: 1

1996

External links

• William Okpara at National-Football-Teams.com
• Orlando Pirates player profile - William Okpara