Daniel Tawiah Opare (; born 18 October 1990) is a Ghanaian 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 lea ...

who plays as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

Club career

Early career

In November 2007, Opare was recognized by '' World Soccer'' as one of the "50 Most Exciting Teenagers on the Planet". He received rave reviews for using his incredible footspeed and precision crossing to great effect for the Ghana national under-17 team, ''the Black Starlets'', at the 2007 U-17 World Cup. On 3 July 2010, Opare left

Real Madrid Castilla Real Madrid Castilla Club de Fútbol is a Spanish football team that plays in . It is Real Madrid's reserve team. They play their home games at the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium with a capacity of 6,000 seats. Reserve teams in Spain play in the ...

to sign for Belgian club

Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège ( ; ; ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most successful clubs in Belgium, having won t ...

. On 20 May 2014, just before the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

, it was announced Opare had signed for Portuguese club

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

after a successful four-year stint with Standard Liège.

Augsburg

On 13 August 2015, Opare signed a three-year contract with German club

FC Augsburg Fußball-Club Augsburg 1907 e. V., commonly known as FC Augsburg (), is a Football in Germany, German professional football club based in Augsburg, Bavaria. FC Augsburg play in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system. T ...

for an undisclosed transfer fee.

Royal Antwerp

In July 2018 Opare signed a contract with Belgian club

Royal Antwerp Royal Antwerp Football Club (commonly referred to as Royal Antwerp or simply Antwerp) is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Antwerp. They compete in the Belgian Pro League, the top flight of Belgian football. Founded in 1 ...

as a free agent after his contract with his previous team had run out.

Seraing

On 12 January 2022, Opare signed a 1.5-year contract with

Seraing Seraing (; ) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city of Wallonia located in the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Boncelles, Jemeppe-sur-M ...

International career

Youth

;2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup A converted

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

and skillful lateral defender, Opare initiated ''the Black Starlets'' attacking moves with surging runs and was responsible for supplying the forwards Ransford Osei and Sadick Adams with precise crosses from wide areas. At the back, he looks equally comfortable and composed. He assisted on many of Ghana's goals at the 2007 African Under-17 Championship in Togo in March 2007, as well as in the U-17 World Cup, where he was a standout in all seven matches he played in. Opare was widely regarded as the best defender at the 2007 FIFA U17 World Cup. ;2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup In September 2009, Opare was included in the Ghana national under-20 team (''the Black Satellites'') for the 2009 U-20 World Cup in Egypt, in which Opare had helped the Ghana team win for the first time by defeating

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

in the finals at the

Cairo International Stadium The Cairo International Stadium (), formerly known as Nasser Stadium, is an Olympic-standard, multi-use stadium with an all-seated capacity of 75,000. The architect of the stadium is the German Werner March, who designed the Olympiastadion (Berli ...

on 16 October 2009.

Senior

On 13 November 2007, three weeks after his 17th birthday, he received his first senior International call-up from

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

's coach,

Claude Le Roy Claude Le Roy (; born 6 February 1948) is a French football manager and former player, who gained prominence at international level as coach to the Cameroon, Senegal and Ghana national teams. Managerial career Le Roy has had a varied manageria ...

for a

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

international

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

against

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

at the

Ohene Djan Stadium The Accra Sports Stadium, formerly named the Ohene Djan Stadium, is a multi-use stadium (40,000-capacity, all-seater) located in Accra, Ghana, mostly used for association football matches. It is also used for rugby union. Overview The stadium w ...

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

, Ghana, on 18 November 2007, after another excellent display, assisting twice on a superb

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

by Ransford Osei against

's U-17 team in a junior international friendly at the same venue on Sunday, 11 November 2007. ;2008 African Cup of Nations The U-17 World Cup star was part of Ghana's squad for the

2008 African Cup of Nations The 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the MTN Africa Cup of Nations due to the competition's sponsorship by MTN, was the 26th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial football tournament for nations affiliated with the Confeder ...

. However, on 10 January 2008, Ghana's team doctor, Martin Engmann, told the media Opare had not recovered from an

ankle injury A sprained ankle (twisted ankle, rolled ankle, turned ankle, etc.) is an injury where sprain occurs on one or more ligaments of the ankle. It is the most commonly occurring injury in sports, mainly in ball sports (basketball, volleyball, and foot ...

he sustained in the Pre-Tournament Training Camp at the Jebel Ali Hotel Resort and Spa in

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

, and was excluded from the squad together alongside injured teammates

Matthew Amoah Mathew Amoah (born 24 October 1980) is a Ghanaian former professional footballer who played as a striker. From 2002 to 2011 he played for the Ghana national team at international level, scoring 12 goals in 45 matches. Club career Vitesse and ...

and captain Stephen Appiah. ;2012 African Cup of Nations In December 2011, Opare was named to the Ghana's provisional 25-man squad for the

2012 Africa Cup of Nations The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 28th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized by the Confederation of African Football (C ...

. In January 2012, he was selected for the tournament's 23-man squad. Opare was never given an opportunity by the then head coach of Ghana,

Goran Stevanović Goran Stevanović (, ; born 27 November 1966) is a Serbian football manager and former player. Playing career He started his career in Partizan, a club where he passed all categories, from the pioneer youth side to the senior side. He played a ...

, to feature in any of the six matches the Ghana national team played at the

2012 African Cup of Nations The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 28th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized by the Confederation of African Football (CA ...

. ;2014 FIFA World Cup On 2 June 2014, Opare was named in Ghana's squad for the

. In the team's opening match, he started at right-back against the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in a 2–1 defeat, however he did not appear in their other two matches as Ghana failed to advance past the group stage.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

CS Sfaxien *

CAF Confederation Cup The CAF Confederation Cup, known as the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual association football football team, club competition established in 2004 and organized by Confederation of African Football, CAF ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Standard Liège *

Belgian Cup The Belgian Cup (; ; ) is the main knockout football competition in Belgium, run by the Royal Belgian FA. The competition started in 1908 with provincial selections as the "Belgian Provinces Cup". Starting from 1912 only actual clubs were allowed ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

Ghana U-20 *

FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members' men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 when i ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Opare, Daniel 1990 births Living people Men's association football defenders Ghanaian men's footballers Ghanaian expatriate men's footballers Ghana Premier League players Belgian Pro League players Primeira Liga players Süper Lig players Bundesliga players Ligue 2 players Ashanti Gold S.C. players CS Sfaxien players Real Madrid Castilla footballers Standard Liège players FC Porto players Beşiktaş J.K. footballers FC Augsburg players Royal Antwerp F.C. players RC Lens players SV Zulte Waregem players R.F.C. Seraing (1922) players Expatriate men's footballers in Tunisia Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in France Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Tunisia Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in France Ghana men's international footballers Ghana men's under-20 international footballers 2012 Africa Cup of Nations players 2014 FIFA World Cup players 21st-century Ghanaian sportsmen