Charles Gbeke

Charles Gbeke

Personal information
Full name	Charles Patrick Gbeke
Date of birth	March 15, 1978 (1978-03-15) (age 33)
Place of birth	Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Playing position	Forward
Club information
Current club	free agent
Youth career
1998	Vancouver 86ers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1999–2000	Troyes B
2000	Comercial
2001	S. E. Matsubara
2001	Vancouver Whitecaps	3	(0)
2002	Seattle Sounders	1	(0)
2002–2004	Ottawa Wizards	18	(10)
2004	→ Toronto Lynx (loan)	16	(6)
2004	→ Hamilton Thunder (loan)	5	(2)
2005	Herfølge	8	(0)
2005	Toronto Lynx	6	(2)
2005	Montreal Impact	9	(2)
2006	Rochester Raging Rhinos	22	(2)
2007–2008	Montreal Impact	40	(11)
2008–2009	Vancouver Whitecaps	42	(15)
2010	Guangzhou Evergrande	21	(9)
National team‡
2008	Canada	3	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 30 April 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 2 January 2010

Charles Gbeke (born March 15, 1978 in Abidjan) is an Ivorian-born Canadian soccer player who currently free agent.

Gbeke began his career with brief stints with Seattle Sounders and Vancouver Whitecaps, where he was deployed as a defender and failed to establish himself as a starter. It was in the Canadian Professional Soccer League during his stint with the Ottawa Wizards he made the transition to a striker that rose him to prominence. His achievements at Ottawa where winning a league title and a Open Canada Cup.

He returned to the USL First Division on loan to the Toronto Lynx, where he proved to be a consistent striker capable of performing in the First Division. Following a brief stint in Europe, he was acquired by the Montreal Impact in a trade deadline move after tallying two goals in six games. Gbeke led the defending champions in scoring in the postseason tallying all three goals, but were knocked out 4-3 on aggregate by the eventual champion Seattle Sounders. The following year he was transferred to the Rochester Rhinos only to have a disappointing season.

Gbeke found success again since his return to Montreal as he went on to record 10 goals that claimed him the Goal Scoring Championship for the first time in his career. After a slow start with Montreal he was traded back to Vancouver only to win his first USL First Division Championship, where he scored both goals in the Whitecaps’ 2-1 victory over Puerto Rico Islanders. In 2009 went on to claim the Goal Scoring Championship for the second time in three years with 12 goals. On February, 2010 he was ranked 18th in the USL First Division Top 25 of the Decade, which announced a list of the best and most influential players of the previous decade.^[1]

Club career

Early years

Although Gbeke was born in the Ivory Coast, he grew up in Montreal and is a citizen of Canada. From 1999-2001, Gbeke played in France for the Troyes AC reserves and in Brazil with clubs Comercial and S. E. Matsubara. He played parts of three seasons with the Vancouver Whitecaps^[2] and had a one-game stint with the Seattle Sounders. In 2002-2003, he played with the Ottawa Wizards of the CPSL where he scored 10 goals in 18 games. During the 2002 CPSL season Gbeke helped the Wizards to 11 game undefeated streak and also helped his team win the treble by claiming the Eastern Conference title, the Rogers Cup, and for the second year in a row the Open Canada Cup. The following season he led the Wizards to an undefeated season that clinched the franchise's third Eastern Conference title. In 2004 Ottawa was facing revokation from the league which resulted in Gbeke to get loan out to the Toronto Lynx.^[3] He would make his debut for the club on June 13, 2004 against the Atlanta Silverbacks, the match marked the return of Gbeke to the A-League.^[4] Coincidently he would record his first goal for the Lynx against his former club the Vancouver Whitecaps.^[5] Though his tenure with the Toronto club was rather short, nonetheless he proved to be an effectibe striker forming a solid parthnership with Ali Gerba. He would conclude his season with the Lynx as their second highest goal scorer with six goals.

Gbeke would finish off the season with the Hamilton Thunder, where he scored his first goal in his debut match against London City.^[6] He helped Hamilton clinch a playoff spot by clinching the Western Conference title. In 2005, Gbeke had a short stint in Europe where he played in Denmark with Herfølge, but following the team’s relegation to the second division he was released from his contract. Following his release he secured a trial with Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb, but he returned to the Lynx for a second stint. His return to Toronto was not as successful as his previous term. With the club being run by poor management and continualness mediocre performances all resulted in him to request a transfer.

Montreal Impact and Rochester

On August 1, 2005, Gbeke was acquired by the Montreal Impact along with David Diplacido before the trading deadline.^[7] With the Impact he scored the insurance goal and had an assist on the winner, in a 2-0 win against the Atlanta Silverbacks at home on August 7, in his first game with the Impact. During the playoffs he scored all three goals in the semifinals against the Seattle Sounders. The following season Gbeke departed from Montreal in order to sign a new deal with the Rochester Rhinos for the 2006 season. Unfortunately Gbeke suffered a rather disappointing season with Rochester, where he only managed to score two goals in a total of 22 league matches. Though he did manage to lead the Rhinos to the USL First Division Championship finals, only to be defeated by his former club the Whitecaps.

Headshot of Charles Gbeke in 2008

In 2007 Gbeke resigned for the Impact, where he was the top scorer in the United Soccer Leagues First Division, with 10 goals, tied with Seattle Sounders forward Sébastien Le Toux. He was named to the All-League second team^[8] for the first time in his career, and was proclaimed Player of the Week for week 19 and was named five times to the USL D1 Team of the Week.^[9] During the team’s annual awards banquet he was awarded the Impact's Offensive Player of the Year award.^[10]

Back at Vancouver Whitecaps

On June 30, 2008, Gbeke was traded back to Vancouver in return for cash and Tony Donatelli going to Montreal. Gbeke scored both goals Vancouver's 2-1 win in the USL First Division final against Puerto Rico.^[11] The victory gave the Whitecaps their second USL Championship and also marked Gbeke's first USL Championship. Gbeke won the 2008-2009 USL First Division Golden Boot award scoring 12 goals. He also managed to lead the Whitecaps back to the Championship finals for the second consecutive year. Their opponents would end up being the Montreal Impact, this marking the first time in USL history where the final match would consist of two Canadian clubs. Unfortunately for Gbeke and his entire team they were defeated by Impact losing the series 6-3 on goals for aggregate. He was released by the Whitecaps at the end of the 2009 season in order to pursue other footballing options.^[12][13]

Move to China

Charles Gbeke celebrated his goal with Gabriel Melkam in a Guangdong derby match on 29 May 2010

In February 2010,Gbeke moved to China with his former teammate Lyle Martin and signed a contract with Guangzhou F.C.,^[14] which was newly relegated to China League One in the fallout of a match fixing scandal.

Gbeke made his China League One debut for Guangzhou against Beijing BIT on 3 April and earned a penalty kick in 23rd minute, which helped China national team striker Gao Lin score his first goal for Guangzhou.^[15] He scored his first goal for the club on his second appearance,in a 3–3 away draw against Pudong Zobon on 10 April.^[16] In season 2010, Gbeke scored 9 goals in 21 appearances as Guangzhou finished first place in the League One and won promotion back to the top flight at the first attempt.

International career

On February 1, 2008 Gbeke made his debut for Canada against Martinique in 1-0 victory. By December 2009, he earned a total of 3 caps, all played in 2008, scoring no goals. He has so far represented Canada in 2 FIFA World Cup qualification matches.^[17] He was on the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup roster but did not play.

Honors

Ottawa Wizards

• Rogers Cup (1): 2002
• Open Canada Cup (1): 2002
• Canadian Professional Soccer League Eastern Conference Champions (2): 2002, 2003

Vancouver Whitecaps

• USL First Division Championship (1): 2008

Guangzhou Evergrande

• China League One Champions (1): 2010

Individual

• USL First Division Top Scorer: 2007, 2009

References

1. ^ "USL-1 Top 25 of the Decade". USLsoccer.com. http://www.uslsoccer.com/home/398536.html. Retrieved 2010-02-03. 
2. ^ Whitecaps Sign Gbeke^{[dead link]}
3. ^ "NEW LYNX STRIKER SEES FIRST GAME ACTION". Toronto Lynx media release. http://22066.vws.magma.ca/reports04/04lynx67.htm. Retrieved 2010-02-04. 
4. ^ "A-League game of Sunday June 13th, 2004 between Toronto Lynx and Atlanta Silverback". Rocket Robin match report. http://22066.vws.magma.ca/reports04/04lynx63.htm. Retrieved 2010-02-04. 
5. ^ "TORONTO LYNX GAME REPORT". Toronto Lynx game report. http://22066.vws.magma.ca/reports04/04lynx74.htm. Retrieved 2010-02-04. 
6. ^ "HAMILTON DEFEAT LONDON CITY 4-1 TO STRENGTHEN HOLD ON TOP SPOT". CSL match report. http://22066.vws.magma.ca/reports04/04cpsl98.htm. Retrieved 2010-02-04. 
7. ^ "DiPlacido and Gbeke join Impact!". Toronto Lynx media release. http://22066.vws.magma.ca/reports05/05lynx1h.htm. Retrieved 2010-02-04. 
8. ^ GERVAIS, GBEKE, JORDAN AND DI LORENZO NAMED TO USL ALL-LEAGUE TEAMS
9. ^ FORWARD CHARLES GBEKE IS NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK
10. ^ CHARLES GBEKE: OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
11. ^ [1]^{[dead link]}
12. ^ Goodbye, Gbeke, we're gonna miss ya^{[dead link]}
13. ^ Goodbye, Gbeke, we're gonna miss ya - The Province^{[dead link]}
14. ^ Charles Gbeke - Player changes, player transfers - transfermarkt.co.uk
15. ^ 韩国铁帅赢得首演 郜林梅开二度广州击败学生军(Chinese)
16. ^ 郜林嗅觉破门救主申思强攻险爆冷 中邦3-3战平广州(Chinese)
17. ^ Record at FIFA Tournaments - FIFA

External links

• Montreal Impact profile
• National Team profile - CanadaSoccer
• Career stats - National Football Teams

Persondata
Name	Gbeke, Charles
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1978-03-15
Place of birth	Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Date of death
Place of death