Mubarak Wakaso facts for kids
Wakaso with Ghana in 2015
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 25 July 1990 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Tamale, Ghana | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.71 m | |||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Midfielder | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| Adelaide | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | Ashanti Gold | |||||||||||||||
| 2008–2011 | Elche | 58 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2011 | Villarreal B | 5 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | Villarreal | 17 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Espanyol | 26 | (3) | |||||||||||||
| 2013–2016 | Rubin Kazan | 16 | (2) | |||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | → Celtic (loan) | 5 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | → Las Palmas (loan) | 20 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Panathinaikos | 8 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2017 | → Granada (loan) | 11 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2017–2020 | Alavés | 66 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2020 | Jiangsu Suning | 18 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2021–2023 | Shenzhen | 18 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | → Eupen (loan) | 9 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| National team‡ | ||||||||||||||||
| 2005 | Ghana U17 | |||||||||||||||
| 2012– | Ghana | 70 | (13) | |||||||||||||
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Honours
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† Appearances (Goals). |
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Mubarak Wakaso (born 25 July 1990) is a professional footballer from Ghana. He plays as a midfielder for the Ghana national team.
Mubarak Wakaso has spent most of his football career playing in Spain. He started with Elche in 2008. He also played for other Spanish teams like Villarreal, Espanyol, Las Palmas, Granada, and Alavés. Besides Spain, he has played professionally in Russia, Scotland, Greece, China, and Belgium.
Wakaso has also proudly represented his country, Ghana, in many big tournaments. He played in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He also took part in five Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, which is a major competition for African teams.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Starting in Spain
Mubarak Wakaso was born in Tamale, Ghana. He began his senior football journey with Ashanti Gold SC in Ghana. In 2008, he moved to Spain and joined Elche CF. He signed a five-year contract with them.
Later, in 2011, Wakaso moved to Villarreal CF's B team. Soon after, he made his debut in La Liga, which is Spain's top football league. This was in February 2011.
In July 2012, Wakaso signed with RCD Espanyol. He played for them for one season. He was a key player, starting in most of their league games.
Playing for Rubin Kazan and on Loan
In 2013, Wakaso moved to Russia to play for FC Rubin Kazan in the Russian Premier League. After a year, in 2014, he went on loan to Celtic in Scotland for a season.
Wakaso scored a goal in his very first game for Celtic. This was during a UEFA Europa League match against FC Red Bull Salzburg. In 2015, he was loaned out again, this time to UD Las Palmas in Spain for a year.
Time in Greece and Back to Spain
On 10 July 2016, Wakaso signed a three-year contract with Panathinaikos F.C. in Greece. He played for them in the Super League Greece. He also played in the UEFA Europa League with Panathinaikos.
In February 2017, Wakaso returned to Spain on loan to Granada CF. He scored his first goal for Granada in March, helping them win a game.
Joining Alavés
On 17 July 2017, Wakaso joined Deportivo Alavés in Spain. He signed a three-year deal with the club. He scored one important goal for Alavés in May 2019. This goal helped his team win against Girona FC.
Playing in China
In January 2020, Wakaso moved to China to play for Jiangsu Suning F.C. in the Chinese Super League. The next year, in April 2021, he joined Shenzhen F.C. in the same country. This move happened after Jiangsu Suning F.C. was no longer active.
International Career
Mubarak Wakaso has played for the Ghana national team for many years. He first played for Ghana's under-17 team in the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Peru.
He made his debut for the senior Ghana national team on 13 October 2012. This was in a qualifying match for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.
Key Goals and Tournaments
Wakaso scored his first goal for Ghana in a friendly game against Cape Verde in November 2012. He was a key player in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations. He scored the only goal in a group stage game against Mali. He then scored two goals in the quarter-final win against Cape Verde.
Wakaso was chosen to play for Ghana in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. This is one of the biggest football tournaments in the world. He played his first World Cup game on 21 June in a match against Germany.
In the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, Wakaso scored a goal in the semi-finals against Equatorial Guinea. This helped Ghana reach the final. In the final match against the Ivory Coast, he scored his penalty kick during the penalty shootout. However, Ghana lost the match.
Personal Life
Mubarak Wakaso has a younger brother named Alhassan Wakaso. Alhassan is also a professional footballer and plays as a midfielder. He has spent most of his career playing in Portugal.
Wakaso is a Muslim. In October 2018, he was in a car accident while traveling to the airport. Luckily, he was not hurt.
Honours and Awards
Mubarak Wakaso has won several awards and titles with his clubs and national team:
Celtic
- Scottish Premiership: 2014–15
- Scottish League Cup: 2014–15
Jiangsu Suning
- Chinese Super League: 2020
Ghana
- Africa Cup of Nations runner-up: 2015
Individual Awards
- Africa Cup of Nations top scorer: 2013 (with 4 goals)
- Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament: 2017
Images for kids
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Wakaso playing for Villarreal in 2011
See also
In Spanish: Wakaso Mubarak para niños
