View source for Joseph Akpala

{{Short description|Nigerian footballer (born 1986)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Joseph Akpala
| image = Joseph Akpala.JPG
| caption = Akpala with [[Kardemir Karabükspor|Karabükspor]] in 2013
| full_name = Joseph Eneojo Akpala<ref>{{cite web | url = http://pt.fifa.com/mm/document/tournament/competition/02/10/38/80/fcclop_neutral.pdf | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131110165328/http://pt.fifa.com/mm/document/tournament/competition/02/10/38/80/fcclop_neutral.pdf | url-status = dead | archive-date = 10 November 2013 | title = fcclop_neutral.pdf | publisher = FIFA.com | date = 7 June 2013 | access-date = 8 July 2013 | format = PDF}}</ref>
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1986|8|24}}
| birth_place = [[Jos]], Nigeria
| height = 1.85 m
| position = [[Forward (association football)|Forward]]
| currentclub = 
| youthyears1 = 1997–2002
| youthclubs1 = [[Pepsi Football Academy]]
| youthyears2 = 2003–2004
| youthclubs2 = [[Bendel United F.C.|Bendel United]]
| years1 = 2005 
| clubs1 = [[Bendel Insurance FC|Bendel Insurance]]
| caps1 = 19
| goals1 = 13
| years2 = 2006–2008
| clubs2 = [[R. Charleroi S.C.|Charleroi]]
| caps2 = 61
| goals2 = 24
| years3 = 2008–2012
| clubs3 = [[Club Brugge K.V.|Club Brugge]]
| caps3 = 105
| goals3 = 39
| years4 = 2012–2014
| clubs4 = [[SV Werder Bremen|Werder Bremen]]
| caps4 = 21
| goals4 = 1
| years5 = 2013–2014
| clubs5 = → [[Kardemir Karabükspor|Karabükspor]] (loan)
| caps5 = 11
| goals5 = 4
| years6 = 2014–2015
| clubs6 = [[Kardemir Karabükspor|Karabükspor]]
| caps6 = 25
| goals6 = 4
| years7 = 2015–2018
| clubs7 = [[K.V. Oostende|KV Oostende]]
| caps7 = 62
| goals7 = 12
| years8 = 2018–2019
| clubs8 = [[Al-Faisaly FC|Al-Faisaly]]
| caps8 = 14
| goals8 = 2
| years9 = 2019–2020
| clubs9 = [[K.V. Oostende|KV Oostende]]
| caps9 = 6
| goals9 = 1
| years10 = 2021
| clubs10 = [[FC Dinamo București|Dinamo București]]
| caps10 = 1
| goals10 = 0
| totalcaps = 325
| totalgoals = 90
| nationalyears1 = 2005–2006
| nationalteam1 = [[Nigeria national under-20 football team|Nigeria U20]]
| nationalcaps1 = 23
| nationalgoals1 = 10
| nationalyears2 = 2008–2013
| nationalteam2 = [[Nigeria national football team|Nigeria]]
| nationalcaps2 = 9
| nationalgoals2 = 1
| manageryears1 = 2023
| managerclubs1 = [[K.V. Kortrijk|Kortrijk]] (caretaker, two spells)
}}

'''Joseph Eneojo Akpala''' (born 24 August 1986) is a Nigerian football manager and former professional [[association football|footballer]] who played as a [[forward (association football)|forward]]. Since 2022, Akpala has been assistant coach at [[K.V. Kortrijk|Kortrijk]], taking over as caretaker coach for one match in September 2023, in between the dismissal of [[Edward Still]] and the appointment of [[Glen De Boeck]], and taking the reins again following De Boeck's sacking in November 2023.

== Club career ==
Akpala is a product of the Pepsi Football Academy in [[Lagos]]. His first professional contract came in April 2003 with Bendel United Football Club, a Division One club in [[Benin City]]. He later joined [[Bendel Insurance FC]], Benin City in the Premier Division of the Nigerian Professional League, in February 2005. He was to finish as joint top scorer with 13 goals in 19 games.

Subsequently, Akpala was signed by the [[R. Charleroi S.C.|Royal Charleroi S.C.]] of Belgian [[Belgian Pro League|Jupiler Pro League]] in January 2006. He wore the number 27 jersey. He had a very successful campaign in [[2007–08 Belgian First Division|2007–08]] as he topped the scorers chart with 18 goals. On 18 July 2008, Akpala joined [[Club Brugge KV|Club Brugge]] signing a contract until 2013.

On 22 August 2012, [[Bundesliga]] club [[SV Werder Bremen|Werder Bremen]] signed Akpala after facing competition from West Ham United and Celtic. On 19 August 2013, Akpala began a week-long trial with English [[Football League Championship|Championship]] side [[Reading F.C.|Reading]].<ref name="Akpala on trial">{{cite web |url=http://www.getreading.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/reading-fc-take-look-nigerian-5751041 |title=Reading to take a look at Nigerian international striker Akpala |publisher=getreading.co.uk|access-date=19 August 2013 | date = 19 August 2013 | first = Charles | last = Watts}}</ref>

On 3 September 2013, Akpala signed for Turkish [[Kardemir Karabükspor|Karabükspor]] on a season loan.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/23970553 | title = Akpala leaves Bremen for more football in Turkey| publisher = BBC Sport | date = 5 September 2013 | access-date = 27 April 2014 | first = Oluwashina | last = Okeleji}}</ref> In 2014 the deal was made permanent and he left Bremen for good.

However, only after another year, in July 2015, he returned to Belgium, signing for [[K.V. Oostende]] on a three-year contract.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nieuwsblad.be/sportwereld/cnt/dmf20150706_01765045|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151114160218/http://www.nieuwsblad.be/sportwereld/cnt/dmf20150706_01765045|archive-date=14 November 2015|title=KV Oostende strikt Joseph Akpala| language=nl| date=6 July 2015| publisher=[[Het Nieuwsblad]]}}</ref>

In April 2021, he joined [[Romania]]n club [[FC Dinamo București|Dinamo București]], signing a contract until the end of the 2020-21 season.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dinamo1948.club/transfer-joseph-akpala-la-dinamo-bucuresti/|title=TRANSFER. Joseph Akpala la Dinamo București| language=ro| date=7 April 2021| publisher=dinamo1948.club}}</ref>

==International career==
Akpala made his debut for [[Nigeria national football team|Nigeria]] against [[South Africa national football team|South Africa]] on 6 September 2008. In June 2009, he scored his first goal for Nigeria in a 1–0 away win against [[France national football team|France]] in [[Saint-Étienne]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/84/africa/2009/06/02/1301982/joseph-akpala-goal-sees-nigeria-shock-france|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090606065400/http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/84/africa/2009/06/02/1301982/joseph-akpala-goal-sees-nigeria-shock-france|archive-date=6 June 2009|title= Joseph Akpala Goal Sees Nigeria Shock France|date=2 June 2009|publisher=goal.com}}</ref>

He was selected for Nigeria's squad at the [[2013 FIFA Confederations Cup]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22827902|title=Nigeria to take new-look squad to Confederations Cup|date=9 June 2013|access-date=10 June 2013|publisher=BBC Sport}}</ref>

== Career statistics ==

===Club===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition<ref>{{cite web|title=Joseph Akpala » Club matches|url=http://www.worldfootball.net/player_summary/joseph-akpala/2/|website=worldfootball.net|access-date=13 May 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Soccerway|13460 |accessdate=1 March 2018}}</ref><ref name="nft">{{cite web |url=https://www.national-football-teams.com/player/12401/Joseph_Akpala.html |title=Akpala, Joseph |website=National Football Teams |access-date=18 April 2021}}</ref>
|-
!rowspan="2"|Club!!rowspan="2"|Season!!colspan="3"|League!!colspan="2"|Cup!!colspan="2"|Continental!!colspan="2"|Other!!colspan="2"|Total
|-
!Division!!Apps||Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|[[Bendel Insurance F.C.|Bendel Insurance]]
|[[2005 Nigeria Professional Football League|2005]]
|[[Nigeria Professional Football League]]
|19||13||||||||||||||19||13
|-
|rowspan="4"|[[R. Charleroi S.C.|Charleroi]]||[[2005–06 Belgian First Division|2005–06]]||rowspan="3"|[[Belgian First Division]]
|8||2||||||||||||||8||2
|-
|[[2006–07 Belgian First Division|2006–07]]
|22||4||||||||||||||22||4
|-
|[[2007–08 Belgian First Division|2007–08]]
|31||18||||||||||||||31||18
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!61!!24!!!!!!!!!!!!!!61!!24
|-
|rowspan=6|[[Club Brugge KV|Club Brugge]]||[[2008–09 Belgian First Division|2008–09]]||Belgian First Division
|32||15||0||0||6{{efn|Appearances in [[UEFA Europa League]]|name=UEL}}||1||colspan="2"|–||38||16
|-
|[[2009–10 Belgian Pro League|2009–10]]||rowspan="4"|[[Belgian Pro League]]
|25||7||3||1||11{{efn|name=UEL}}||3||6{{efn|Appearances in Belgian Pro League playoffs|name=BPLP}}||1||45||12
|-
|[[2010–11 Belgian Pro League|2010–11]]
|18||4||0||0||3{{efn|name=UEL}}||0||10{{efn|name=BPLP}}||3||31||7
|-
|[[2011–12 Belgian Pro League|2011–12]]
|27||13||1||0||11{{efn|name=UEL}}||7||9{{efn|name=BPLP}}||2||48||22
|-
|[[2012–13 Belgian Pro League|2012–13]]
|3||0||0||0||2{{efn|Appearances in [[UEFA Champions League]]|name=UCL}}||0||colspan="2"|–||5||0
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!105!!39!!4!!1!!33!!11!!25!!6!!167!!57
|-
|[[SV Werder Bremen|Werder Bremen]]||[[2012–13 Bundesliga|2012–13]]||[[Bundesliga]]
|21||1||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|–||21||1
|-
|[[Kardemir Karabükspor]] (loan)||[[2013–14 Süper Lig|2013–14]]||[[Süper Lig]]
|11||4||3||2||0||0||colspan="2"|–||14||6
|-
|Kardemir Karabükspor||[[2014–15 Süper Lig|2014–15]]||Süper Lig
|25||4||6||1||2{{efn|name=UEL}}||0||colspan="2"|–||33||5
|-
|rowspan="4"|[[K.V. Oostende|KV Oostende]]||[[2015–16 Belgian Pro League|2015–16]]||Belgian Pro League
|26||5||1||0||colspan="2"|–||9{{efn|name=BPLP}}||2||36||7
|-
|[[2016–17 Belgian First Division A|2016–17]]||rowspan="2"|[[Belgian First Division A]]
|9||1||3||0||colspan="2"|–||9{{efn|name=BPLP}}||3||21||4
|-
|[[2017–18 Belgian First Division A|2017–18]]
|27||6||2||0||2{{efn|name=UEL}}||0||9{{efn|name=BPLP}}||3||38||9
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!62!!12!!6!!0!!2!!0!!27!!8!!97!!20
|-
|[[Al Faisaly FC|Al Faisaly]]
|[[2018–19 Al-Faisaly FC season|2018–19]]
|[[Saudi Pro League]]
|14||2||||||||||||||14||2
|-
|KV Oostende
|[[2019–20 Belgian First Division A|2019–20]]
|Belgian First Division A
|6||1||1||0||colspan="2"|–||0||0||7||1
|-
|[[FC Dinamo București|Dinamo București]]||[[2020–21 Liga I|2020–21]]||[[Liga I]]
|1||0||0||0||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||1||0
|-
!colspan="3"|Career total
!325!!100!!20!!4!!37!!11!!52!!14!!434!!129
|}

{{notelist}}

===International===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by national team and year<ref name="nft"/>
|-
!National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan="6"|[[Nigeria national football team|Nigeria]]
|2008||3||0
|-
|2009||2||1
|-
|2010||1||0
|-
|2011||0||0
|-
|2012||0||0
|-
|2013||3||0
|-
!colspan="2"|Total||9||1
|}

:''Score and result list Nigeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after Akpala goal''.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ International goal scored by Joseph Akpala
|-
!scope="col"|No.
!scope="col"|Date
!scope="col"|Venue
!scope="col"|Opponent
!scope="col"|Score
!scope="col"|Result
!scope="col"|Competition
|-
| align="center"|1 || 2 June 2009 || [[Stade Geoffroy-Guichard]], [[Saint-Étienne]], France || {{fb|France}} || align="center"|1–0 || align="center"|1–0 || [[Friendly match|Friendly]]
|}

==Honours==
'''KV Oostende'''
*[[Belgian Cup]]: runner-up [[2016–17 Belgian Cup|2016–17]]

'''Individual'''
* [[Belgian First Division]] top scorer: [[Belgian First Division#Top goal scorers|2007–08]] (16 goals)

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Soccerway|joseph-akpala/13460}}
* {{NFT|12401}}

{{K.V. Kortrijk managers}}
{{Nigeria squad 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup}}
{{Belgian First Division top scorers}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akpala, Joseph}}
[[Category:1986 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Footballers from Jos]]
[[Category:Men's association football forwards]]
[[Category:Nigerian men's footballers]]
[[Category:Nigeria men's international footballers]]
[[Category:2013 FIFA Confederations Cup players]]
[[Category:Pepsi Football Academy players]]
[[Category:Nigeria Professional Football League players]]
[[Category:Belgian Pro League players]]
[[Category:Bundesliga players]]
[[Category:Süper Lig players]]
[[Category:Saudi Pro League players]]
[[Category:Liga I players]]
[[Category:Bendel United F.C. players]]
[[Category:Bendel Insurance F.C. players]]
[[Category:Royal Charleroi S.C. players]]
[[Category:Club Brugge KV players]]
[[Category:SV Werder Bremen players]]
[[Category:Kardemir Karabükspor footballers]]
[[Category:K.V. Oostende players]]
[[Category:Al Faisaly FC players]]
[[Category:FC Dinamo București players]]
[[Category:K.V. Kortrijk managers]]
[[Category:Nigerian expatriate men's footballers]]
[[Category:Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium]]
[[Category:Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Germany]]
[[Category:Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia]]
[[Category:Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey]]
[[Category:Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Romania]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Germany]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Romania]]
[[Category:21st-century Nigerian sportsmen]]