Sagar Thapa (born 21 November 1985) is a Nepalese footballer, and was until October 2015 the captain of the Nepal national football team. He made his first appearance for the national team in 2003.[3] Since then, Thapa has represented his country in 50 international matches which puts him behind only Bal Gopal Maharjan and Upendra Man Singh in terms of the most appearances for Nepal.[4] In October 2015, five members of the All Nepal Football Association, including Sagar Thapa and Sandip Rai, were arrested for match fixing. He was supposed to take 5 lakhs per fixed match.[5]
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Sagar Thapa | ||
| Date of birth | 21 November 1985[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Machhegaun, Kathmandu District[2] | ||
| Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Banned | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| –2012 | Himalayan Sherpa Club | ||
| 2012–2013 | Friends Club | 12 | (-) |
| 2014–2015 | Manang Marshyangdi Club | ||
| 2015– | Three Star Club | 12 | (1) |
| International career | |||
| 2003–2015 | Nepal | 66[3] | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Early life
editThapa was born in the village of Machhegaun in Kathmandu District, although he spent most of childhood in Dharan and Biratnagar. When he was in eight grade Thapa was offered a scholarship by the Daffodil School of Kathmandu. In 2001 at the age of 17 Thapa joined Friends Club. Initially he played as a forward and midfielder but after a being offered a vacant spot in central defense Thapa made the position his own.[2]
Career
editYeti Himalayan Sherpa Club
editThapa started his career at the Himalayan Sherpa Club. His contract expired in 2012, but his decision to leave his club was heavily scrutinized in the media.[6] The main reason why he left was because he felt that the salary of 50,000 rupees per month wasn't good enough, demanding that he and other prominent Nepali footballers should be paid 1 Lakh (or 100,000 rupees) per month.[7]
Manang Marshyangdi Club
editThapa captained and played for Manang Marshyangdi Club in the domestic league. He also helped Manang Marshyangdi Club clinch A Division League in 2014. He was previously playing for Friends Club. He took the role of interim coach for Friends Club after their coach Dilkaji Gurung resigned.[8]
Nepali National Football team captain Sagar Thapa has been declared player of the year. All Nepal Football Association ( ANFA ) made such declaration amid a press conference in the Capital on Friday. On the occasion, ANFA awarded an apartment to Thapa. Receiving the award, Thapa said such honor for players have bestowed more responsibility upon them.
In January 2015 Thapa announced that he was leaving Manang Marshyangdi after a dispute over his salary.[9]
Three Star Club
editLatter that month it was announced that Thapa had signed with Three Star Club for the upcoming 2014–15 Martyr's Memorial A-Division League.[10][11] On 1 October 2015 Thapa scored his first goal for the club with a well placed free-kick in the thirty-eight minute against Nepal Army Club. Thapa however received significant criticism in the same match as he insulted and yelled at referee Sharwan Lama after the latter had issued Thapa a yellow card.[12][13] In the aftermath Thapa was suspended two games while Nepal Army Megh Raj KC was suspended for his out burst directed at the referee. Sharwan Lama was also penalized for not properly handling the incident.[14]
International career
editThapa made his international debut in a 2004 AFC Asian Cup qualification match against Vietnam in 2003.[15] Thapa became the permanent captain for his country during the 2010 AFC Challenge Cup.[15] He is one of the most capped Nepalese footballers of all time with more than 50 appearances to his name.[4] Perhaps his most famous moment for the national team was the last minute goal he scored from a free-kick during the 2011 SAFF Championship against Bangladesh that reminded many of Ronaldinho's memorable strikes.[2][15][16][17]
International goals
edit- Scores and results list Nepal's goal tally first.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 4 December 2011 | Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi |  Bangladesh |
1–0 |
1–0 |
2011 SAFF Championship | [2] |
Personal life
editThapa is married, with two children.[15]
Match fixing allegations
editOn 14 October 2015 Thapa, along with teammates Sandip Rai, Bikash Singh Chhetri, Ritesh Thapa and former Three Star Club coach Anjan KC were arrested by the Nepal Police on suspicion that the group was responsible for match-fixing at the domestic and international level.[5][18][19][20] On 19 October 2015 Thapa and the four others were banned by the Asian Football Confederation.[21]
References
edit- ^ FIFA.com
- ^ a b c d Ankit Shakya (30 September 2013). "Our Very Own Captain Fantastic". Archived from the original on 30 October 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
- ^ a b Sagar Thapa at National-Football-Teams.com
- ^ a b "Nepal Skipper Sagar Thapa To Score Half Century On Sauterday!". GoalNepal.com. 8 February 2013.
- ^ a b Keshav P. Koirala; Anil Ghimire (14 October 2015). "Nepal national team footballers arrested on charge of match-fixing in national and international games". The Himalayan Times. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
- ^ "Sagar Thapa: I Am A Professional Player; I Play Football & My Move To Other Club Should Be Normal". goalnepal.com. 27 May 2013. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
- ^ "Nepal National Team Skipper, Sagar Thapa: We Have Just Demanded Our Worth". goalnepal.com. 15 April 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
- ^ "Friends' Club Coach resigns; Sagar Thapa to be Coach cum Captain". 16 December 2012.
- ^ "Sagar Thapa Clarifies That It Was Him Who Decided To Leave MMC After Salary Dispute". GoalNepal.com. 8 January 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
- ^ "Lalitpur: Three Star Club Unveils Star Studded Squad For RedBull National League". GoalNepal.com. 23 January 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
- ^ "Three Star Defender Sagar Thapa: I Always Wanted To Play For Three Star Club". GoalNepal.com. 23 January 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
- ^ "RedBull National League: Three Star Club Thwart Nepal Army Club". GoalNepal.com. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
- ^ "An Embarrassing Day In Nepalese Football". GoalNepal.com. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
- ^ "RedBull National League: TSC Skipper Sagar Thapa & Nepal Army Coach Megh Raj KC Suspended". GoalNepal.com. 2 October 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
- ^ a b c d Sushil Thapa (27 February 2014). "Sagar Thapa, Astute Footballer". goalnepal.com. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
- ^ "Nepal Skipper Sagar Thapa's Free Kick Goal Listed In 20 Greatest Free Kick Goals". goalnepal.com. 23 October 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
- ^ "Sagar Thapa Listed In World Player Of The Week; Listed Along With Ribery, Yakubu". goalnepal.com. 6 December 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
- ^ Charchit Dahal (14 October 2015). "Four Nepali national team football players have been arrested in the capital on charge of match fixing in National and International football matches". Sports Arena. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
- ^ "BREAKING NEWS: Nepal Police Nabs Nepal Skipper Sagar Thapa & Four Others For Match Fixing!". GoalNepal.com. 14 October 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
- ^ "Metropolitan Police Crime Division Chief Sarbendra Khanal: We Have Strong Evidence Against Them; They Have Deceived Our Country And We Won't Spare Them". GoalNepal.com. 14 October 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
- ^ "Asian Football Confederation bans five in match-fixing investigation". Association Press. ESPN. 19 October 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2015.