Jeffrey Sarpong
NetherlandsBiography of Jeffrey Sarpong
Early Life and CareerJeffrey Sarpong, a Dutch football player and midfielder for Ajax Amsterdam, was born on August 3, 1988, in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He was raised in a family of Ghanaian father George Sarpong and Nigerian mother Josephine Hakim. Sarpong has four sisters, three younger and one older, as well as one brother.
At the age of 6, Sarpong started playing football in the youth team of Abcoude club, located north of Amsterdam. In 1996, he joined the football academy of Ajax Amsterdam after writing a letter to the television program of Willem van Waveren, seeking advice on how to become a player for Ajax. Following Van Waveren's suggestion, Sarpong attended a tryout at the Ajax football school and was accepted into the club.
Professional Career
In 2005, Sarpong signed his first professional contract with Ajax. Although he received interest from English club Chelsea, Sarpong chose to stay with Ajax. He made his debut for the first team on December 22, 2005, in the Dutch Cup 1/8 final against Eindhoven. Sarpong came on as a substitute in the 75th minute, replacing striker Angelos Charisteas, and Ajax won the match with a score of 6-1. On February 5, 2006, he made his debut in the Dutch league against Feyenoord, coming on as a substitute in the 60th minute. Unfortunately, Ajax lost the match 3-2. In his debut season, Sarpong played 9 league matches and won the Dutch Cup with Ajax.
In the 2006/2007 season, Sarpong did not participate in league matches but played in the Dutch Cup, where Ajax emerged victorious in the final against AZ in a penalty shootout, winning 8-7 after a 1-1 draw in regular time. After the 2008 European Championship, former Ajax striker Marco van Basten was appointed as the new head coach, replacing Adrie Koster. Sarpong started receiving more call-ups to the first team under Van Basten's leadership. On August 2, 2008, during a friendly match against Cardiff City, Sarpong suffered a fractured right shoulder and was sidelined for one month. After recovering from the injury, he scored his first goal for Ajax on September 22, 2008, in a match against Feyenoord. Sarpong scored in the 39th minute, assisted by Luis Suarez, and the match ended in a 2-2 draw. In the 2008/2009 season, Sarpong played 10 league matches and scored 1 goal, while Ajax finished in third place behind Twente and AZ, the league champions.
On January 1, 2010, Ajax officially announced that Sarpong would spend the remainder of the 2009/2010 season on loan at NEC.
Sarpong also represented the Dutch youth national team in the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Peru. The Netherlands won the tournament's bronze medal, defeating the Turkish youth team 2-1 in the third-place match. Sarpong played 6 matches and scored 2 goals, both of which were scored on September 26, 2005, in the quarterfinal against the United States, which ended in a 2-0 victory for the Netherlands. Sarpong is a two-time winner of the Dutch Cup, in 2006 and 2007, as well as the Dutch Super Cup in 2007.
