Botaka: Jordan Rolly (Jordan)

2015-Current (Leeds Player Details) (Player Details)

Right Wing

Born: Kinshasa, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo): 24-06-1993

Debut: Middlesbrough (a) : 27-09-2015

6' 0 1/2' 11st 7lb (2015)

Born in Kinshasa, Zaire, which later became Democratic Republic of Congo of Congolese parents, his family had to flee their homeland because of war and spent five years in different asylum centres befire his parents finally settled in Holland and Botaka started his football career with Dutch sides Westlandia and ADO Den Haag, before his parents moved to Antwep in Belgium where he joined the Academies of Anderlecht and KSK Beveren and KSC Lokeren, and he went through several youth teams and failed trials before he was finally given a chance. He next joined Club Brugge but he wasn’t able to get his breakthrough and it seemed difficult for him despite his raw ability. But he really took advantage of the chance he received, working very hard to get to where he eas and wanted to honour his late father by fulfilling his potential. It is not hard not to admire someone and wish them well when they have been so driven to make their dream a reality, despite the hardships. After trials with Newcastle United and Lille OSC, he joined Club Brugge SK from KSC Lokeren in January 2012, playing at Under-Nineteen. I was there that he represented the Netherlands at that level and made his debut in a 3-0 away win over Switzerland on 29th February 2012 when he came on as a substitute for Luciano Slagveer in the sixtieth minute. He gained a second cap, again as a substitute, for Memphis Depay in the ninetieth minute of a 2-1 home win over Norway on 25th May 2012. Two days later he made it three in a 3-0 away win over the Czech Republic, in Prague, when he made his starting debut and was substituted in the fifty-eighth minute by Anass Achahbar. He did not add to his three caps but on 30th May 2012 he sat unused on the bench as the Netherlands were beaten 0-6 at home by France. He signed a two and a half year contract with Club Brugge SK on 23rd January 2013. He almost immediately went on loan to Portuguese side CF Belenenses Lissabon to gain first team experience, but due to administrative problems Botaka never played for the Portuguese side and he returned to Club Brugge SK. He went on trial to Feyenoord of Rotterdam. He was not taken on by Feyenoord but was recommended to Feyenoord's feeder club, Eerste Divisie side SBV Excelsior of Rotterdam, who he joined on a free transfer on 27th July 2013. He made his debut for SBV Excelsior Rotterdam in a 2-2 home draw with Helmond Sport on 2nd August 2013 and played the full game. He soon became known as "the Wizard" because of his quick feet, trickery and skill with the ball and earned himself a regular spot in the team. He scored his first goal for the club in a 3-1 home win over Ajax Amsterdam Under-Twenty-One on 6th October 2013, when he gave his side a 2-1 lead in the fiftieth minute and went on to add the third in the fourth minute of time added at the end of ninety minutes. In the season he started two and came off the bench once in the KNVB Beker Cup and scored ten goals in thirty-one starts, five games from the bench in the League in which he also had one game unused on the bench, as Excelsior finished third and reached the play-offs. He started all four play-off games as Excelsior beat RKC aalwijk on aggregate in the two-legged final to gain promotion to Eredivisie. In his second season with SBV Excelsior of Rotterdam he was not such a prolific goalscorer as he played a more midfield role but was once more a first team regular scoring once in the League while starting twenty-six games, coming from the bench in seven more and missing just one game, being from injury. He also scored once and played all five ties, starting three and coming from the bench in two, as the club reached the semi-final of the KNVB Beker where they were beaten 3-0 by FC Groningen. He had started all four League games in the 2015-16 season, when he was transferred to Leeds United on 1st September 2015, on a two year contract, with an option of a further two years at the end of that period and SBV Excelsior Rotterdam received £1 million. While at the club he had scored eleven League goals in sixty-five starts and twelve more from the bench, while he had started four games in the Play-offs and scored once in five starts and three games from the bench in the KNVB Beker Cup. Botaka had decided that he wished to play for the Democratic Republic of the Congo at International level, despite having represented the Netherlands at Under-Nineteen level, and he made his debut for them, as a seventy-fifth substitute for Aristote N'Dongala, on 28th March 2015 in a 1-2 loss to Iraq. There was a second three days later when they were beaten 0-1. In his third game in a 1-1 draw with Cameroon, on 9th June 2015, he scored in the eleventh minute to open the scoring but in the sixty-second minute he gave way to Jody Lukoki. After joining Leeds he gained his fourth cap when he played in an African Nations qualifier, on 6th September 2015, in a 0-2 away defeat by Central African Republic. He played his first game for Leeds on 14th September 2015 when he played for the Under-Twenty-Ones in a 3-0 victory over Bristol City and on 19th September 2015 he sat on the bench for the first team in a 2-1 win at MK Dons but was unused. He made his Leeds debut on 27th September 2015 in a 0-3 defeat at Middlesbrough, when he came of after sixty-four minutes when he was replaced by Souleymane Doukara. He was on the bench in the following fixture and came on as a fity-seventh minute replacement for Will Buckley. He retained his place in the starting eleven for the ensuing game with Brighton and Hove Albion at Elland Road and he had seventy-eight minutes before being replaced by Sam Byram. He had participated in three straight defeats and while often appearing on the bench he had only ten substitute appearances to show for the rest of the season until Steve Evans gave him a start and a full game in the final home game against Charlton Athletic, which again saw United go down 1-2, but sat unused on the bench for the final fixture at Preston North End. After joining Leeds he added three more caps and scored one more goal at international level for Democratic Republic of Congo. On 8th October 2015 he came on as a seventy-third minute substitute for Cedrick in a 0-2 loss to Nigeria followed by a starting role in a 1-2 defeat by Gabon four days later when he opened the scoring after just five minutes and was given seventy-seven minutes before being replaced by Ndombe Mubele. On 25th May 2016 he gained his sixth cap with a seventy-fifth minute substitution for Cedrick in a 1-1 draw with Romania. After being involved in the club's pre-season but failing to make the squad for the games with Queens Park Rangers and Fleetwood Town on 11th August he joined League One side Charlton on a season long loan.

(To 2015/16)