Carlos Akapo

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Akapo and the second or maternal family name is Martínez.

Carlos Akapo Martínez (born 12 March 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Major League Soccer club San Jose Earthquakes. Born in Spain, he represents Equatorial Guinea at international level.

Carlos Akapo

Akapo with Equatorial Guinea in 2022
Personal information
Full name	Carlos Akapo Martínez[1]
Date of birth	(1993-03-12) 12 March 1993 (age 31)[1]
Place of birth	Elche, Spain
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Position(s)	Right-back
Team information
Current team	San Jose Earthquakes
Number	29
Youth career
1998–2008	Kelme
2008–2009	Hércules
2009–2011	Elche
2011–2012	Huracán
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2012–2013	Huracán	24	(0)
2013–2014	Numancia	29	(0)
2014–2016	Valencia B	39	(0)
2016–2019	Huesca	61	(0)
2019–2022	Cádiz	45	(1)
2022–	San Jose Earthquakes	49	(2)
International career‡
2013–	Equatorial Guinea	39	(2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11:28, 16 October 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15:48, 19 June 2024 (UTC)

Club career

Akapo was born in Elche, Province of Alicante, to an Equatoguinean father and a Spanish mother. He played youth football with four clubs, including Hércules and Elche, and finished his development also in the Valencian Community with Huracán.^[2][3] He made his senior debut with the latter on 22 January 2012, in a 2–1 home loss against Mallorca B.^[4]

On 11 July 2013, Akapo signed a two-year contract with Segunda División side Numancia.^[5] His first game as a professional took place on 25 August, as he started in a 4–2 home win over Real Jaén.^[6]

On 6 August 2014, Akapo joined Valencia and was assigned to the reserves in the third tier.^[7] After two seasons of relative playing time, he returned to division two after agreeing to a three-year deal at Huesca on 14 June 2016.^[8]

Akapo was regularly used the following campaigns, and contributed 20 appearances in 2017–18 as the club achieved a first-ever promotion to La Liga.^[9] He made his debut in the competition on 25 September 2018, replacing Luisinho in a 3–0 defeat at Atlético Madrid.^[10]

On 20 June 2019, after suffering immediate relegation, Akapo signed a three-year contract with Cádiz of the second division, as a free agent.^[11][12] He featured sparingly in his first season at the Estadio Ramón de Carranza, in a promotion as runners-up.^[13]

Akapo scored his first goal in the Spanish top tier – also his first as a senior – on 21 May 2021, his team's second in the 2–2 away draw against Levante.^[14] On 5 August 2022, he joined Major League Soccer side San Jose Earthquakes on a one-and-a-half-year deal.^[15]

International career

Akapo received his first call from Equatorial Guinea in late August 2012, for a 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against Congo DR the following month.^[16] He did not leave the bench in the 4–0 loss, making his debut on 5 June 2013 in a friendly with Togo.^[17]

Akapo's first major tournament was the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[18] He played all the minutes but one in Cameroon to help his team reach the quarter-finals; in the round of 16 against Mali, he converted his attempt in the penalty shootout.^[19]

Personal life

Akapo's younger brother, Javier, is also a defender and an international for Equatorial Guinea.^[20]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 25 October 2023^[21][22]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Huracán	2011–12	Segunda División B	3	0	0	0	—		3	0
	2012–13		21	0	0	0	2[a]	0	23	0
	Total		24	0	0	0	2	0	26	0
Numancia	2013–14	Segunda División	29	0	1	0	—		30	0
Valencia B	2014–15	Segunda División B	11	0	—		—		11	0
	2015–16		28	0	—		—		28	0
	Total		39	0	0	0	0	0	39	0
Huesca	2016–17	Segunda División	28	0	3	0	2[a]	0	33	0
	2017–18		20	0	1	0	—		21	0
	2018–19	La Liga	13	0	1	0	—		14	0
	Total		61	0	5	0	2	0	68	0
Cádiz	2019–20	Segunda División	7	0	2	0	—		9	0
	2020–21	La Liga	13	1	3	0	—		16	1
	2021–22	La Liga	25	0	2	0	1	0	28	0
	Total		45	1	7	0	1	0	53	1
San Jose Earthquakes	2023	Major League Soccer	29	2	0	0	2	0	31	2
Career total			227	3	13	0	7	0	247	3

1. Appearances in promotion playoffs

International

As of match played 10 June 2024^[23]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Equatorial Guinea	2013	3	0
	2015	4	0
	2016	4	1
	2018	2	0
	2019	1	0
	2020	2	0
	2021	6	0
	2022	5	0
	2023	5	0
	2024	7	1
Total		39	2

As of 9 January 2024

Scores and results list Equatorial Guinea's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Akapo goal.

List of international goals scored by Carlos Akapo

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	4 September 2016	Estadio de Malabo, Malabo, Equatorial Guinea	10	South Sudan	4–0	4–0	2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification[24]
2	9 January 2024		33	Djibouti	1–0	1–1	Friendly[25]

References

1. "Carlos Akapo". Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 January 2022.
2. Martín, Diego (26 February 2013). "Entrevista a Carlos Akapo (Huracán Valencia)" [Interview to Carlos Akapo (Huracán Valencia)] (in Spanish). Falso 9. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
3. Palomar, Julián (18 November 2013). "Un ilicitano en Malabo" [A ilicitano in Malabo]. Diario Información (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 May 2021.
4. "Crónica 2ª Div. B: Huracán Valencia 1–2 Mallorca B" [2 Div. B report: Huracán Valencia 1–2 Mallorca B] (in Spanish). Fútbol Balear. 22 January 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
5. "Akapo y Gaffoor refuerzan la defensa del Numancia" [Akapo and Gaffoor bolster Numancia's defence]. Marca (in Spanish). 11 July 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
6. "4–2: El Numancia gana de cabeza al Jaén" [4–2: Numancia beat Jaén using their head]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 25 August 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
7. "El Valencia ficha al lateral Carlos Akapo, que llega del Numancia" [Valencia sign full-back Carlos Akapo, who arrives from Numancia]. Marca (in Spanish). 6 August 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
8. "Carlos Akapo ficha por la SD Huesca" [Carlos Akapo signs for SD Huesca] (in Spanish). SD Huesca. 14 June 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
9. Sánchez-Flor, Ulises (22 May 2018). "El milagro del ascenso del Huesca a Primera: 8 millones y el 'cerebro' que no quiso Zidane" [The miracle of Huesca's promotion to Primera: 8 million and the 'brain' that Zidane did not want]. El Confidencial (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 August 2019.
10. Muñoz, Elena (25 September 2018). "Atlético 3 – Huesca 0: resultado, resumen y goles. LaLiga Santander" [Atlético 3 – Huesca 0: score, highlights and goals. LaLiga Santander]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 August 2019.
11. "Akapo es el primer fichaje de la nueva temporada" [Akapo is the first signing of the new season] (in Spanish). Cádiz CF. 20 June 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
12. González, Eugenio (20 June 2019). "Carlos Akapo, primer fichaje del Cádiz CF 2019/20" [Carlos Akapo, first signing of 2019/20 Cádiz] (in Spanish). Tercer Equipo. Retrieved 16 May 2020.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
13. "Carlos Akapo" (in Spanish). La Voz Digital. 9 September 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
14. Adewoye, Gbenga (21 May 2021). "Carlos Akapo scores first La Liga goal as Cadiz end season with draw against Levante". Goal. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
15. "NEWS: Earthquakes sign defender Carlos Akapo". San Jose Earthquakes. 5 August 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
16. "Los jugadores Akapo y Fabiani, convocados por Guinea Ecuatorial" [Players Akapo and Fabiani, called by Equatorial Guinea]. Diario Sur (in Spanish). 29 August 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
17. "Amistoso: Nzalang (0) – Togo (1)" [Friendly: Nzalang (0) – Togo (1)] (in Spanish). Fútbol de Guinea Ecuatorial. 6 June 2013. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
18. "Afcon 2021: Clubless Nsue named in Equatorial Guinea squad for Cameroon". BBC Sport. 27 December 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
19. "Mali 0–0 Equatorial Guinea". BBC Sport. 26 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
20. Bernabeu, Álvaro (30 April 2020). "Carlos y Javier Akapo: Dos hermanos y defensas de categoría" [Carlos and Javier Akapo: Two brothers and top-flight footballers] (in Spanish). Golsmedia. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
21. Carlos Akapo at Soccerway
22. Carlos Akapo at WorldFootball.net
23. "Carlos Akapo – Matches". Soccerway. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
24. "Contundente victoria del Nzalang Nacional frente a Sudán del Sur" [Powerful win for Nzalang Nacional against South Sudan] (in Spanish). Guinea Ecuatorial Press. 5 September 2016. Archived from the original on 22 July 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
25. "Nzalang empata a 1–1 ante Los Ribeños del Mar Rojo antes de la CAN" [Nzalang draw 1–1 against Los Ribeños del Mar Rojo before CAN.] (in Spanish). Equatoguinean Football Federation. 9 January 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2024.

External links

• Carlos Akapo at BDFutbol
• Carlos Akapo at Futbolme (in Spanish)
• Carlos Akapo at National-Football-Teams.com
• Carlos Akapo – FIFA competition record (archived)