Jonathan Mensah

Not to be confused with John Mensah.
Jonathan Mensah

Mensah in 2012
Personal information
Full name Jonathan Mensah[1]
Date of birth (1990-07-13) 13 July 1990
Place of birth Accra, Ghana
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position Defender
Club information
Current team
 FC Anzhi Makhachkala
Number 25
Youth career
2004–2006 Ashanti Gold
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2007–2008 Ashanti Gold 0 (0)
2008–2009 Free State Stars 39 (2)
2010–2011 Udinese 0 (0)
2010–2011 → Granada (loan) 15 (1)
2011–2016 Evian 49 (2)
2016– Anzhi Makhachkala 3 (0)
National team‡
2009 Ghana U-20[2] 6 (0)
2009– Ghana[3] 36 (1)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18 March 2016.
† Appearances (goals)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 28 March 2015

Jonathan Mensah (Akan: /mɛnˈsæh/ men-SAH) (born 13 July 1990), commonly known simply as Jonathan, is a Ghanaian professional footballer who currently plays as a defender for Russian Football Premier League club FC Anzhi Makhachkala and the Ghana national team.

To avoid confusion with the similarly named but unrelated John Mensah, he is typically known as and plays with the name "Jonathan" on his shirt.

Club career

Ashanti Gold and Free State Stars

Jonathan joined Free State Stars in the 2008 off-season and was signed from top Ghanaian side Ashanti Gold.[4] In July 2009, there was speculation about a possible move to Greek club Panathinaikos, but Jonathan ultimately decided to stay at his South African club.[5]

Udinese and Granada loan

In January 2010, after joining Udinese,[6] Jonathan moved to Spanish club Granada on loan.[7]

Evian

On 8 July 2011, Jonathan moved to newly promoted French Ligue 1 side Evian, signing a four-year contract for undisclosed fee.[8]

During the 2012-13 season, Jonathan struggled with fitness and form. He played six games with the reserve side in the Championnat de France Amateur level 2. Jonathan returned to the first team in 2013, and featured in the club's opening game of the 2013-14 Ligue 1 campaign, playing the full ninety minutes in the club's 1-1 draw with Sochaux on 10 August 2013.[9]

On 25 May 2015, Mensah was banned for four months by FIFA in a breach-of-contract case, that judged that Mensah was still contracted to Udinese when he joined Evian four years prior claiming to be a free agent.[10]

Anzhi

On 23 February 2016, he signed a 2.5-year contract with the Russian club FC Anzhi Makhachkala.[11]

International career

In 2009, Jonathan was in the Ghana team for the under 20 youth championship[12] in Kigali and helped Ghana claim the prestigious cup.[13] Jonathan's performances during this competition earned him a call-up to the 2010 World Cup, held in South Africa where he was given the number 8 shirt usually worn by Michael Essien.[14] Jonathan established himself as a central defensive partner for John Mensah in the absence, through injury, of first-choice centre back Isaac Vorsah. Jonathan played in two out of the three group stage games for Ghana at the 2010 FIFA World Cup and also in the round of 16 win against United States.[15]

On 2 June 2014, Mensah was named in Ghana's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.[16] In the team's opening match, he was in the starting line-up for the Black Stars against the United States in a 2–1 defeat.[17] Mensah played every minute of Ghana's 2015 Africa Cup of Nations campaign,[18] helping them reach the final, where they lost in a penalty shootout against the Ivory Coast.

Career statistics

International goals

International appearances

Honours

International

Youth

Ghana U-20

Senior

Ghana

References

  1. ↑ "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 11 June 2014. p. 17. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
  2. ↑ Jonathan MENSAH – FIFA Statistics. FIFA.
  3. ↑ "Mensah, Jonathan". National Football Teams. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  4. ↑ "Mensah ploughs back to Bohlokong community – Bethlehem". Free State Stars. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  5. ↑ South Africa (13 August 2009). "Jonathan Mensah Decides To Stay at Free State Stars". Goal.com. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  6. ↑ "Jonathan Mensah set to join Udinese". Sports.peacefmonline.com. 16 November 2009. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  7. ↑ "Jonathan Mensah joins Granada". Africansoccerunion.com. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  8. ↑ "Jonathan Mensah s’engage avec le club" [Jonathan Mensah agrees to transfer] (in French). Evian TGFC. 8 July 2011.
  9. ↑ "Evian Thonon Gaillard 1-1 Sochaux". ESPNFC. 10 August 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  10. ↑ "FIFA hands Ghana defender Jonathan Mensah 4-month ban". ESPN FC. 19 May 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  11. ↑ Джонатан Менса подписал контракт с «Анжи» (in Russian). FC Anzhi Makhachkala. 23 February 2016.
  12. ↑ "10 Best Players at Under-20's World Cup 2009 | Just Football". Just-Football.com. 30 October 2009. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  13. ↑ "BBC SPORT | Football | African | Ghana win African Youth Champs". BBC News. 1 February 2009. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  14. ↑ "Ghana's shirt numbers revealed | Black Stars". Ghanafa.org. 4 June 2010. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  15. ↑ Fletcher, Paul. "USA 1–2 Ghana (aet)". BBC News. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  16. ↑ "Ghana World Cup 2014 squad". The Telegraph. 2 June 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  17. ↑ "Ghana 1-2 USA". BBC. 17 June 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  18. ↑ Hughes, Ian (1 February 2015). "Ghana 3-0 Guinea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  19. ↑ "Mensah, Jonathan". National Football Teams. Retrieved 20 January 2013.

External links

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