- Riga Mustapha
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Riga Mustapha Personal information Full name Rahamat Riga Mustapha Date of birth 10 October 1981 Place of birth Accra, Ghana Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) Playing position Right winger / Striker Club information Current club Free agent Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 1998–2003 Vitesse 31 (1) 2000–2001 → RBC Roosendaal (loan) 8 (0) 2003–2005 Sparta Rotterdam 68 (26) 2005–2008 Levante 104 (28) 2008–2011 Bolton Wanderers 18 (0) 2011 Cartagena 10 (0) National team‡ Netherlands U21 * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:45, 29 August 2009 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 11 August 2006Rahamat Riga Mustapha, commonly known as Mustapha Riga (born 10 October 1981 in Accra, Ghana), is a Ghanaian-born Dutch footballer who most recently played for Segunda División club FC Cartagena. He can play as either a winger or a striker.
Career
Riga started his professional career in the Netherlands, playing for Vitesse Arnhem (1998–2003), RBC Roosendaal (2000–2001, a loan) and Sparta Rotterdam (2003–2005), for whom he scored 26 goals in two seasons.
In 2005, he joined Spain's Levante UD, and was instrumental in the Valencia side's return to the top flight, after a one-year absence (38 matches, 11 goals). In La Liga, Riga was also the club's top scorer in two seasons, at 9 and 8 goals respectively. During his time in Spain, he developed the name "The Bullet", due to his electric pace.
Riga signed a deal with Bolton Wanderers on July 28, 2008. The move was only made official on August 1, 2008 when he was granted international clearance. The following day, he made his debut in a friendly against Chorley, scoring in a 2–0 win. His Premier League debut came against Newcastle United in a 1–0 away loss on August 23, coming on in the 85th minute as a substitute.
Riga was unregistered and re-registered with the club in August 2009 so he could be given the squad number 10 and Ivan Klasnić could take his previous number, 17. The season after he was changed from number 10 to number 15. He was not included in Bolton's 24 man squad for the 2010/2011 season and had his contract terminated on 27 January 2011.[1]
Riga signed a deal with the Spanish Segunda División outfit FC Cartagena on 22 March 2011.[2]
On 28th September 2011 he played as a trialist, along with QPR's Lee Cook for Nottingham Forest's reserve team
References
- ^ "Riga Departs". bwfc.co.uk (Bolton Wanderers). 27 January 2011. http://www.bwfc.co.uk/page/General/0,,1004~2278304,00.html. Retrieved 27 January 2011.
- ^ "Riga moves to Spain". Bolton News. 23 March 2011. http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/wanderers/wanderersnews/8929840.Riga_moves_to_Spain/?. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
External links
- Mustapha Riga career stats at Soccerbase
- VI.nl profile (Dutch)
- Stats at Liga de Fútbol Profesional (Spanish)
Categories:- 1981 births
- People from Accra
- Living people
- Dutch people of Ghanaian descent
- Association football forwards
- Ghanaian footballers
- Dutch footballers
- Dutch expatriate footballers
- Expatriate footballers in Spain
- Expatriate footballers in England
- SBV Vitesse players
- RBC Roosendaal players
- Sparta Rotterdam players
- Levante UD footballers
- Bolton Wanderers F.C. players
- FC Cartagena footballers
- Eredivisie players
- Eerste Divisie players
- Ghanaian expatriates in Spain
- La Liga footballers
- Premier League players
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