Nathaniel Lepani

Nathaniel Lepani

Personal information
Full name	Nathaniel Lepani
Place of birth	Papua New Guinea
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) [1]
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Brisbane City FC
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2001–2002	Cosmos Port Moresby
2002	Menlo Oaks
2003–	Brisbane City FC
National team
2001	Papua New Guinea U-20	4	(2)
2004–	Papua New Guinea	12	(9)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Nathaniel Lepani (born 20 January 1982) is a footballer from Papua New Guinea. Lepani plays as a midfielder and currently plays for Brisbane City at club level and the Papua New Guinea national football team at international level.

Club career

Lepani began his career in 2001 with Cosmos Port Moresby, ^[2] a team based in the capital of his home country. Just one year after joining Cosmos, however, the midfielder moved to the United States of America to play for Menlo Oaks, ^[3] while studying at Menlo College. He wore the no.7 shirt for the team. ^[4] After playing for the Californian club in the 2002 season, ^{[5] [6]} Nathaniel moved to another club and another country, this time transferring to Australia's Brisbane City FC in time for the 2003 season. He has remained at the club ever since. ^[7]

International career

Nathaniel played for Papua New Guinea U-20 in the 2001 OFC U-20 Championship held in the Cook Islands and New Caledonia. He scored twice for the side, in the 4-0 win over Cook Islands on 17 February 2004. ^[8] However, despite this win, Papua New Guinea finished bottom of their group and failed to make it to the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship.

Lepani made his senior debut for Papua New Guinea on 14 January 2004 against the Solomon Islands in a 4-2 loss. He went on to make eight appearances that year, scoring against Fiji in a 2004 Summer Olympics qualifier on 18 January 2004, ^[9] and also netting against Samoa three times over two games. ^{[10] [11]}

In June 2008 he was called up to Papua New Guinea's Wantok Cup 2008 squad, ^[12] but his country eventually withdrew from the competition.

These eight caps remained Lepani's only appearances for the national team until he was called up for the men's football tournament at the 2011 Pacific Games in New Caledonia. ^[13] He justified his inclusion in the squad by scoring Papua New Guinea's fourth goal in their 4-0 win over the Cook Islands on 27 August 2011, after coming off the bench.^{[14] [15]} Nathaniel was again a used substitute in the 1-1 draw with Tahiti on 1 September 2011, coming on just eleven minutes into the game after an injury to Reg Davani.^{[16] [17]} He was later substituted off the pitch after Cyril Muta's red card. Lepani scored four times in the 17-1 demolition of Kiribati on 3 September 2011, including two goals in the space of a minute. ^{[18] [19]} He then played in Papua New Guinea's final group match, the 2-0 loss to Fiji on 5 September 2011 that meant Papua New Guinea were sent home. ^[20]

International appearances and goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Result	Competition	Goals
1	14 January 2004	Marconi Stadium, Sydney	Solomon Islands	L 4-2	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)
2	16 January 2004	Marconi Stadium, Sydney	Australia	L 9-0	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)
3	18 January 2004	Marconi Stadium, Sydney	Fiji	L 4-1	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)	1 [21]
4	22 January 2004	Marconi Stadium, Sydney	Samoa	D 4-4	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)	2 [22]
5	10 May 2004	Toleafoa J.S. Blatter Complex, Apia	Vanuatu	D 1-1	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)
6	12 May 2004	Toleafoa J.S. Blatter Complex, Apia	Fiji	L 4-2	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)
7	17 May 2004	Toleafoa J.S. Blatter Complex, Apia	American Samoa	W 10-0	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)
8	19 May 2004	Toleafoa J.S. Blatter Complex, Apia	Samoa	W 4-1	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)	1 [23]
9	27 August 2011	Stade Boewa, Boulari Bay	Cook Islands	W 4-0	2011 Pacific Games	1 [24]
10	1 September 2011	Stade Boewa, Boulari Bay	Tahiti	D 1-1	2011 Pacific Games
11	3 September 2011	Stade Boewa, Boulari Bay	Kiribati	W 17-1	2011 Pacific Games	4 [25]
12	5 September 2011	Stade Boewa, Boulari Bay	Fiji	L 2-0	2011 Pacific Games

Personal life

Lepani attended Port Moresby International School and St Peter's College ^[26] in Papua New Guinea and Menlo College, California in the United States. He then graduated from the Queensland University of Technology in 2006, after studying business. His mother is from the United States and his father is Papua New Guinean. ^[27] Nathaniel's brother, Andrew Lepani, is also a footballer and has played for Papua New Guinea. ^{[28] [29]} His grandmother is from the Trobriand Islands and still lives there. ^[30] In November 2006, Nathaniel met World Cup winner Christian Karembeu at the launch of the Oceania Football Confederation's OFC Champions League 2007. ^[31]

References

1. ^ Menlo College - 2002 Men's Soccer Roster
2. ^ Nathaniel Lepani: ogol.com.br (Spanish)
3. ^ National Football Teams: Player - Nathaniel Lepani
4. ^ 2002 Men's Soccer Roster: Nathaniel Lepani
5. ^ Nathaniel Lepani
6. ^ Menlo College - 2002 Men's Soccer Roster
7. ^ Brisbane City FC - transfermark.de
8. ^ Oceania U-20 World Cup 2001 Qualifiers
9. ^ 2004 OFC Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament - SportingPulse
10. ^ Austadiums Mobile - Sport: 2004 OFC Olympic Qualifying
11. ^ PNG defeats Samoa 4-1 to finish third|OFC News @ OleOle
12. ^ PNG sets sight on Wantok Cup
13. ^ Men’s train on squad picked
14. ^ Oceanian Football Confederation: Papua New Guinea 4-0 Cook Islands
15. ^ Fiji Football Association: Day One Results
16. ^ Oceanian Football Confederation: Tahiti 1-1 Papua New Guinea
17. ^ Papua New Guinea Football Association: Tahiti 1-1 Papua New Guinea
18. ^ Oceanian Football Confederation: Kiribati 1-17 Papua New Guinea
19. ^ Match report - Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, 03.09.2011
20. ^ Papua New Guinea 0-2 Fiji
21. ^ Group A & B: Round 3 Results
22. ^ Group A: Match 9 - PNG, Samoa draw 4-4
23. ^ Match details/line up: Papua New Guinea - Samoa (WC Qualifiers Oceania 2004/2005)
24. ^ Papua New Guinea 4-0 Cook Islands
25. ^ Kiribati 1-17 Papua New Guinea
26. ^ Port Moresby Board: Any Ex SPLC people out there!?
27. ^ Nathaniel Lepani
28. ^ Papua New Guinea Coach Farina Goes For Family Connection
29. ^ Andrew Lepani > Internationals
30. ^ Sanatoi Wedding in Port Moresby
31. ^ "Papua New Guinean footballer in awe at superstar Christian Karembeu". Radio New Zealand International. 29 November 2006. http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=28644. Retrieved 27 October 2011. 

Persondata
Name	Lepani, Nathaniel
Alternative names
Short description	Footballer
Date of birth	20 April 1982
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death