James Debbah

James Debbah

Personal information
Full name	James Salinsa Debbah
Date of birth	(1969-12-14) 14 December 1969
Place of birth	Monrovia, Liberia
Height
Position(s)	Centre striker
Team information
Current team	Liberia (manager)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1984–1989	Mighty Barolle	??	(??)
1989–1990	Union Douala	??	(??)
1990–1991	Olympique Alès	21	(6)
1991–1992	AS Monaco FC	12	(2)
1992–1995	Olympique Lyonnais	80	(18)
1995–1997	OGC Nice	57	(22)
1997	R.S.C. Anderlecht	7	(2)
1998	Paris Saint-Germain	12	(0)
1998–1999	Ankaragücü	2	(0)
1999–2001	Iraklis	45	(17)
2001–2003	Al-Jazira Club	61	(34)
2003–2004	Muharraq Club	??	(??)
2008–2009	PKT Bontang	32	(14)
2009–2010	Persiram Raja Ampat	16	(5)
International career
1988–2004	Liberia	72	(42)
Managerial career
2013–	Liberia
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

James 'Salinsa' Debbah (born 14 December 1969 in Monrovia) is a Liberian former football striker. He is currently the manager of Liberia.

Personal

Debbah was born in Monrovia on 14 December 1969. He is the cousin of Liberian football legend and former presidential candidate, George Weah. However, when Weah ran for president in 2005, Debbah did not support his candidacy because of a lack of political experience.

Football career

Debbah began his professional football career with the Liberian squad Mighty Barolle in 1984. In 1989, he left Liberia for Union Douala of Cameroon, where he lasted only 1 season. In 1990, Debbah moved to the French squad Olympique Alès. In 1991, Debbah moved up to the Ligue 1 squad AS Monaco and played the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup finals, then the year later he moved to Olympique Lyonnais. In 1995, moved across Ligue 1 to OGC Nice, where he lasted until 1997. In that year, Debbah moved to the Belgian League squad R.S.C. Anderlecht. He moved back to Ligue 1 for one season with Paris Saint-Germain. After leaving Paris Saint-Germain, Debbah moved to the Turkcell Super League squad Ankaragücü for the 1998 and 1999 seasons, then to the Iraklis squad in Greece. Debbah moved with Al-Jazeera Club from 2001–2003 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, then Muharraq Club from 2003–2004 in Muharraq, Bahrain. Four years after leaving Muharraq Club, he moved with Indonesia Super League squad, PKT Bontang for only one season (2008–09)

International competitions

Debbah was part of both the 1996 and 2002 Liberian national football squads in the African Cup of Nations. During a July 2004 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Togo in Monrovia, Debbah, as captain, refused to be substituted in the 53rd minute, instead waiting until the 68th minute to leave the pitch. The match resulted in a 0–0 draw, causing the team to leave the stadium under the protection of an armoured personnel carrier. Liberia finished in last place in their group during qualification, with only 4 points after 10 matches. The draw with Togo was their only draw during the qualification.

Sources

• Interview with James Salinsa Debbah LiberianSoccer.com
• James Debbah Zanziball.it
• James Debbah psg70.free.fr