Laryea Kingston

Laryea Kingston
Kingston with Ghana
Personal information
Date of birth (1980-11-07) 7 November 1980 (age 44)
Place of birth Accra, Greater Accra, Ghana
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)[citation needed]
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2001 Great Olympics
2000 → Al-Ittihad Tripoli (loan)
2001–2003 Hearts of Oak
2003 Al-Ettifaq[1]
2003 Maccabi Ahi Nazareth 0 (0)
2003–2004 Hapoel Tel Aviv 24 (2)
2004–2005 Krylia Sovetov Samara 15 (0)
2005–2007 Terek Grozny 11 (0)
2006 → Lokomotiv Moscow (loan) 12 (0)
2007 → Heart of Midlothian (loan) 10 (1)
2007–2010 Heart of Midlothian 41 (8)
2010 Vitesse Arnhem 3 (0)
2011–2012 Hapoel Be'er Sheva 7 (0)
2012–2013 Hearts of Oak
2013–2015 Phoenix FC 0 (0)
Total 133 (10)
International career
2002–2010 Ghana 41 (6)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Laryea Kingston (born 7 November 1980) is a Ghanaian former professional footballer. He played either as an attacking midfielder or as a right winger. He was appointed as the Assistant Coach of the Ghana Under 17 National Team on 12 December 2022.[2][3]

Club career

Early career

Born in Accra, Kingston started his career with local side Great Olympics, whom he joined aged 16, before moving to Libyan side Al-Ittihad Tripoli in 2000, on a loan deal. However, after only four months of this arrangement he returned to Accra, unhappy at his treatment in Tripoli, joining one of Ghana's traditional "Big Two", Hearts of Oak, in 2001. Two years later he moved to Israel, initially with Maccabi Ahi Nazareth. After two Toto Cup matches, Maccabi decided not to retain him and he was signed by Hapoel Tel Aviv, where he played until 2004.

Move to Russia

Russia was Kingston's next destination, where he joined Krylia Sovetov Samara, helping them to third place in the Russian Premier League in his first season. Krylia Sovetov also reached the Cup final that year but were surprisingly defeated 1–0 by Terek Grozny in Moscow. Kingston joined Terek halfway through the 2005 season but was unable to help them avoid a bottom-placed finish and relegation from the top flight into the First Division.

Several of Terek's higher-profile players left as a result of this demotion, and Kingston joined Lokomotiv Moscow on loan for the 2006 season. He was banned for 6 matches in July 2006 for deliberately injuring Dynamo Moscow defender Leandro Fernández.[4]

Hearts

When Terek failed to secure a return to the Premier League, Kingston appeared set for a permanent departure from the Chechen side. Despite an approach from Bolton Wanderers and rumoured interest from Newcastle United and Fulham. Kingston joined Hearts on 25 January 2007 on an initial six-month loan deal.[5] Hearts also negotiated the option to sign him permanently for a further three years at the initial contract's end and exercised this option on 6 June 2007, for a reported fee of £500,000.[6] Kingston's time at Heart of Midlothian is generally considered a disappointment as he was so rarely available to play because of injury and international commitments.[citation needed]

Vitesse

After his release from Hearts, Kingston moved to the Netherlands to sign for Vitesse Arnhem, but was released in December 2010 after just six months with the club.[7]

Move to Israel

Kingston, who had trained with his former club Hearts of Oak after his release from Vitesse, signed a two-year deal with Israeli Premier League side Hapoel Be'er Sheva on 13 July 2011.[8]

On 6 August, kingston scored his first goal for Be'er Sheva in a Free Kick Against Beitar Jerusalem In the Toto Cup in a game which Be'er Sheva won 3–0.

Return to Hearts of Oak

In the January 2012, Kingston returned to Ghana Premier League for his former club Hearts of Oak, signing a one-and-a-half-year contract.[9]

Move To America

In March 2013 Kingston signed to USL PRO team Phoenix FC.[10]

After leaving Phoenix, Kingston went on trial with Brunei DPMM of the S.League in November 2013.[11]

International career

Well known as an uncompromising and hard-working player by fellow professionals, Kingston's determined style has occasionally caused him problems, most notably when representing the Ghanaian national side at the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations, when he was sent off during Ghana's 1–0 victory over Senegal following an altercation with Habib Beye.[12] Both players subsequently received unprecedented four-match suspensions, which resultantly ruled Kingston out of contention for the Ghana squad for 2006 World Cup.[13] Kingston returned to prominence for the Black Stars in February 2007 though, scoring in their 4–1 victory over Nigeria in London.[14] He was also excluded from the squad for the 2010 World Cup.[15]

Personal life

Kingston's elder brother, Richard Kingson, is also a professional footballer, who played in goal in all four of Ghana's matches at the 2006 World Cup.[citation needed] Richard was also first-choice at the 2010 tournament. He previously played for Blackpool, Wigan Athletic and Birmingham City.

On 21 November 1997 his son, Jacob, was born, he is currently a professional footballer who plies his trade with Ghanaian club Accra Great Olympics.[16][17]

References

  1. ^ "الاتفاق السعودي يتعاقد مع الغاني كينغستون والبرازيلي فابيانو".
  2. ^ "Laryea Kingston to Assist Coaching the Black Starlets".
  3. ^ "Laryea Kingston appointed Ghana U17 assistant coach". 12 December 2022.
  4. ^ UEFA (19 July 2006). "Okocha and Lehmann on the move". Retrieved 2 September 2010.
  5. ^ Kingston completes Hearts move Archived 3 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine, Official Ghana FA website, 24 January 2007.
  6. ^ BBC Sport (6 June 2007). "Hearts complete Kingston signing". BBC News. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
  7. ^ "Laryea Kingston released by Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem". BBC Sport. 28 December 2010. Retrieved 28 December 2010.
  8. ^ "Laryea Kingston signs for Israeli side Hapoel Be'er Sheva". Ghanasoccernet. 14 July 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
  9. ^ "My presence will bring back excitement – Laryea Kingston..." www.accraheartsofoak.com. 26 January 2012. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  10. ^ "Phoenix FC to sign another Ghanaian midfielder to fill club's seventh and last foreign roster spot". www.azcentral.com. 20 March 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  11. ^ Kunju, Bhas. "Brunei DPMM FC to trial a global list of stars". Goal.com. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  12. ^ Ghana 1–0 Senegal, BBC Sport, 27 January 2006.
  13. ^ FIFA confirm Kingston ban, BBC Sport, 16 March 2006.
  14. ^ Ghana hammer Nigerians in London, FIFA.com, 8 February 2007.
  15. ^ "Kingston fails to make Ghana squad". BBC Sport. BBC. 30 May 2010. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
  16. ^ "Great Olympics sign young Jacob Kingston, Rodney Appiah". Graphic Online. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  17. ^ "FEATURE: Stepping into the big shoes of their fathers, meet talented Jacob Kingston and Rodney Appiah". Graphic Online. Retrieved 4 May 2021.