Richard Kingson

Richard Kingson

Kingson with Ghana in 2008
Personal information
Full name Richard Paul Franck Kingson
Date of birth (1978-06-13) 13 June 1978
Place of birth Accra, Ghana
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Playing position Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team
 Great Olympics
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–1996 Great Olympics 0 (0)
1996–2005 Galatasaray 27 (0)
1998–1999 → Sakaryaspor (loan) 21 (0)
1999–2001 → Göztepe (loan) 19 (0)
2001–2002 → Antalyaspor (loan) 15 (0)
2002–2003 → Elazığspor (loan) 20 (0)
2005–2007 Ankaraspor 4 (0)
2007 → Hammarby (loan) 11 (0)
2007–2008 Birmingham City 1 (0)
2008–2010 Wigan Athletic 4 (0)
2010–2011 Blackpool 20 (0)
2013 Doxa Katokopias 10 (0)
2014 Balıkesirspor 13 (0)
2015– Great Olympics
National team‡
1996–2012 Ghana 90 (1)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:35, 13 April 2014 (UTC).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15:29, 18 September 2013 (UTC)

Richard Paul Franck Kingson (born 13 June 1978) is a professional football goalkeeper who plays for the Ghana Premier League club Great Olympics. He is also known by his Turkish name Faruk Gürsoy[2] and sometimes by the surname Kingston,[3] which is the surname he used in his UEFA registration[4] and also the surname of his brother Laryea Kingston. The different spelling of the surnames is due to "irregularity on his identity documents".[5] Even in his native Ghana, he was quoted as "the man who got the 't' of his surname".[6]

After leaving home country, he played for several clubs in Turkey, for Hammarby in Sweden, and in England for Birmingham City, Wigan Athletic and Blackpool, who released him at the end of the 2010–11 season.

Kingson was the vice-captain for the Ghana national football team. He holds both a Ghanaian passport and a Turkish passport.

Club career

Kingson left his native Accra in 1996 to pursue a career in Turkey, where he represented six different clubs, and became a naturalised citizen, taking a Turkish name, Faruk Gürsoy, coming from Faruk Süren and Ergun Gürsoy. His first club in Turkey was Galatasaray S.K., whom he signed for in December 1996 but did not play a single game. On 2004–05 season when he played with Galatasaray again, he was suspended from football for six months after a failed doping test.[7]

After a three-month period on loan to Swedish club Hammarby IF, he drew attention from other clubs in Europe,[8] including Aalborg, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Birmingham City, eventually joining the latter. On 28 August 2007, Kingson made his debut for Birmingham in a League Cup third round tie against Hereford United. He played once in the Premier League, a 2–0 defeat to Portsmouth in caretaker manager Eric Black's only game in charge.[9] At the end of the season, co-owner David Sullivan blamed the club's relegation on the quality of previous manager Steve Bruce's signings, branding Kingson a "complete waste of space".[10] Kingson was disappointed and angered by the perceived unfairness of Sullivan's reaction, saying that "An older person, in his position, has to speak maturely. He has to be a responsible man as co-owner to speak well and set an example to younger people."[11] The player's contract, which still had one year to run, was cancelled by mutual consent at the end of the 2007–08 season.[12]

Kingson joined up with former manager Steve Bruce when he signed for Wigan Athletic on 12 September 2008. He was given the number 22 shirt, the same number as he wears for Ghana. He made his first-team debut in the FA Cup third round tie against Tottenham Hotspur, where his side lost 3–1. He made his first Premier League appearance for the club when he replaced the injured Chris Kirkland after 10 minutes of the away match against West Bromwich Albion on 9 May 2009. He saved a penalty from Chris Brunt, but Brunt was able to score from the rebound, and the game ended as a 3–1 defeat.[13] He was released after his contract expired at Wigan at the end of the 2009–10 season[14]

Following his release by Wigan Athletic, he signed for Premier League newcomers Blackpool in September 2010.[15] He made his debut for the Seasiders in a 3-2 defeat to Aston Villa on 10 November 2010. Following an injury to first-choice goalkeeper Matthew Gilks, Kingson had an extended run in the first team. On 26 May 2011, Kingson was released, along with several other Blackpool players.[16]

After two years out of the game, Kingson signed a one-year deal for Cypriot First Division club Doxa Katokopias in July 2013.[17] He made his debut on the opening day of the league season, keeping a clean sheet as his team beat Nea Salamis 2–0.[18]

In January 2014, Kingson returned to Turkey, to play for Turkish second-tier side Balıkesirspor on a half year plus two years deal.[19]

International career

Playing for Ghana in the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final victory against Nigeria.

Kingson was the starting goalkeeper of the Ghana national football team, and was called up for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

During the 2006 World Cup, the Ghanaian FA stated that his name is Kingston; however, the player's shirt used the correct spelling of his name, as confirmed by Kingson himself.[20]

He was voted as an All-Star Goalkeeper during the 2008 African Cup of Nations Tournament in Ghana. The Team of the Tournament was decided by the Technical Study Group (TSG) after careful observations of all the tournament's matches.[21]

In 2008, he scored a goal for Ghana in a friendly – a late equaliser in a 1–1 draw against Tanzania.[22]

As first-choice goalkeeper and team captain he was instrumental in leading Ghana to the final of the 2010 tournament, and was again selected for the all-star team along with Egypt goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary.

In the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Kingson was selected in Ghana's opening game against Serbia, who had Vladimir Stojković, Kingson's fellow goalkeeper at Wigan Athletic in goal on the other side, keeping a clean sheet in The Black Stars 1–0 victory. In his next game he made a mistake in the 11th minute to give the lead to Australia in a group game which finished 1–1. His final group game ended in a narrow 1–0 defeat to Germany, but the team still qualified for the knock-out stages. In the match of 16 versus USA, he was voted Turkish Airlines Top of the Match after making several saves in the 2–1 extra time victory.[23] The team then moved on to the Quarter Finals, where a goal was prevented by Uruguayan player, Luis Suarez and which awarded Ghana a penalty kick. Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan missed the penalty kick and Ghana ultimately lost the game in a penalty shootout.

Statistics

International goals

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 20 August 2008 Dar es Salaam, Tanzania  Tanzania 1–1 Draw Friendly
Correct as of 16 February 2013[22]

Titles and honours

Ghana

Personal life

Kingson is the brother of Laryea Kingston, who was also a member of the Ghana national team. He is a naturalised citizen of Turkey and his Turkish name is Faruk Gürsoy.[24] Kingson is married to Adelaide Tawiah. The ceremony took place in Ghana. Kingson's national team-mates Asamoah Gyan and John Paintsil were among the guests at the wedding.

In 2012 a controversy arose when Kingson's wife during a prayer deliverance at the Synagogue Church Of All Nations Church of T. B. Joshua in Nigeria confessed that she had used spirits to destroy Kingson's career and rendered him impotent. Kingson defended his wife by saying that it was not she who spoke but a spirit that spoke through her.[25][26]

References

  1. ↑ "Premier League Player Profile". Premier League. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  2. ↑ "Faruk Gürsoy".
  3. ↑ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/blackpool/9535139/Former-Blackpool-goalkeeper-Richard-Kingstons-wife-claims-she-used-her-evil-powers-to-trouble-his-career.html
  4. ↑ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1180914/So-Wigan-goalkeeper-Richard-Kingson.html
  5. ↑ Ibrahim Sannie (4 July 2007). "Birmingham complete Kingson deal". BBC. Retrieved 2 July 2010.
  6. ↑ http://www.modernghana.com/sports/607485/2/richard-kingson-avram-grant-and-andre-ayew-the-thr.html
  7. ↑ Turkish sportspeople in doping case
  8. ↑ Sannie, Ibrahim (29 June 2007). "Kingson set for Hammarby exit". BBC News. Retrieved 10 May 2009.
  9. ↑ "Birmingham 0–2 Portsmouth". BBC Sport. 24 November 2007. Retrieved 13 May 2008.
  10. ↑ "Sullivan slams fans and Bruce buys". ESPNsoccernet. 12 May 2008. Retrieved 13 May 2008.
  11. ↑ Tattum, Colin (19 May 2008). "Richard Kingson in a rage over Blues 'slur'". Birmingham Mail. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 22 May 2008.
  12. ↑ "Kingson released". Birmingham City F.C. 15 May 2008. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  13. ↑ Chowdhury, Saj (9 May 2009). "West Brom 3–1 Wigan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 May 2009.
  14. ↑ "Wigan sign keeper Ali Al Habsi on loan". BBC Sport. 15 July 2010. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
  15. ↑ "Premier League clubs submit squad lists". Premier League. 1 September 2010. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
  16. ↑ "Blackpool offer contract extension and release players.". BBC News. 26 May 2011.
  17. ↑ "Ghana goalkeeper Richard Kingson seals one-year move to Cypriot club Doxa". Ghanasoccernet.com. 6 July 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  18. ↑ "Kingson keeps clean sheet on debut for Cypriot club Doxa". Ghanasoccernet.com. 2 September 2013. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  19. ↑ Old Galatasaray player to set a new Balıkesirspor goalkeeper
  20. ↑ "Bajens nya målvakt Richard Kingson efter sin första träning med laget.". Svenskafans.com. 31 March 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-21.
  21. ↑ "CAF names Best XI for Ghana 2008 ACN". CAF Online. 10 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-10.
  22. 1 2 "Goalkeeper scores late equaliser in Ghana friendly". Reuters. 20 August 2008.
  23. ↑ Top of the Match sponsored by Turkish Airlines: Richard Kingson (Ghana).Goal.com. 26 June 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  24. ↑ HABER: Faruk Gürsoy da (Kingston) Premier Lig'te haberi
  25. ↑ "Former Blackpool goalkeeper Richard Kingson". uk.eurosport.yahoo.com. Eurosport. 11 September 2012.
  26. ↑ "Former Blackpool goalkeeper Richard Kingson". thesun.co.uk. The Sun. 11 September 2012.
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