Patrick Nyarko (born January 15, 1986) is a Ghanaian former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

Career

College

After coming to the United States in 2005, Nyarko was a star

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and three-time All-ACC selection for the Virginia Tech Hokies soccer team, which played in the 2007 Division I Men's College Cup, falling to Wake Forest in the National Semifinals. Nyarko, who finished his Virginia Tech career with 31 goals, was called by coach

Oliver Weiss Oliver Weiss is a German-born, U.S.-based soccer coach, who worked successfully over a 14-year span (1995–2009) at the NCAA division I level. He was the head men's soccer coach at Virginia Tech from 2002 through 2009. Career Under Weiss Virgin ...

, "the most incredible player I've ever coached" and he is considered to be the best soccer player in Virginia Tech history. Nyarko first met Weiss when the coach was on a recruiting trip to

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

In Nyarko's freshman year, he scored the lone goal of his team's marquee win over then-#4

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. Tech rose as high as #10 in the polls and earned its second trip in school history to the NCAA tournament. Nyarko was named the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

freshman of the year and was named to the all-ACC team. Following the 2007 season, in which the Hokies finished #8 in the final

AP poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...

and played in the National Semifinals of the 2007 Division I Men's College Cup, Nyarko was named as a finalist for the

Hermann Trophy The Hermann Trophy is awarded annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the United States's top men's and women's college soccer players. History In 1967, Bob Hermann, the president of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and the ...

. His accomplishments for the Hokies led to his enshrinement into the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 2018.

Professional

Nyarko decided to forgo his senior season and enter the 2008 MLS SuperDraft. Widely predicted to be the first pick in the draft, Nyarko was selected 7th overall by the Chicago Fire. He made his MLS debut on June 15, 2008, against

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise be ...

, and scored his first MLS goal on August 2, 2008, against

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. The club played from 2005 to 2014 in Major League Soccer (MLS) and was a subsidiary of Mexican club C.D. Guada ...

. After eight seasons with Chicago, Nyarko was traded to

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

on January 6, 2016, in exchange for a second round

2016 MLS SuperDraft The 2016 MLS SuperDraft was the seventeenth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is held each year in conjunction with the annual National Soccer Coaches Association of America convention. The 2016 convention was held in Ba ...

pick. Nyarko scored his first goal for United on April 2, 2016, scoring against the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

. He missed the last 3 months of the season with concussion. He was out of contract with United following the 2017 season and was considering retirement due to brain trauma due to 8 separate concussions he has suffered from.

International career

Nyarko was called up to the

squad to face

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. Nyarko made his Ghana debut against Chile on February 29, 2012, at the

PPL Park Subaru Park (formerly known as PPL Park and Talen Energy Stadium) is a soccer-specific stadium located in Chester, Pennsylvania, located next to the Commodore Barry Bridge on the waterfront along the Delaware River. The venue is home to the Ph ...

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is the only city in Delaware County and had a population of 32,605 as of the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1682, Chester is ...

Personal

Nyarko was granted a U.S. green card in 2011. This status qualifies him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nyarko, Patrick 1986 births Living people Ghanaian footballers Ghanaian expatriate footballers Ghana international footballers Virginia Tech Hokies men's soccer players Chicago Fire FC players D.C. United players Major League Soccer players Virginia Tech alumni Expatriate soccer players in the United States Chicago Fire FC draft picks Footballers from Kumasi All-American men's college soccer players Association football wingers