FOR many reasons the name Gregory ‘Jackie Chan’ Richardson always pops up in a football debate. On Wednesday night Richardson put on a show for football fans at the Georgetown Football Club (GFC) ground, to carry his Pele FC side to a 2-2 draw against Alpha ‘The Hammer’ United. He scored both goals.
“It always feels good scoring for the club I love since I was a ‘lil’ boy; Pele FC is the team I love,” Richardson told Chronicle Sport in an interview following his dominant performance against his former club.
Popularly known as ‘Jackie Chan’, Richardson became the first Guyanese to land a contract in the USA’s Major League Soccer (MLS) after securing a deal with the Colorado Rapids in 2009.
Known for his ability to ‘smartly’ evade defenders, Richardson came to eminence during the CONCACAF Club Championship with his Trinidad and Tobago Pro-League club Joe Public when he devastated MLS top club New England Revolution, scoring a hat-trick in his club’s 4-0 win. He also single-handedly ripped apart several other top clubs in the tournament.
Several international news agencies linked the striker with moves to New England Revolution and other top MLS clubs, including Columbus Crew and San Jose Earthquake.
But like most professional players, Richardson had hit a rough patch in his career as he went from the MLS to the North American Soccer League (NASL) with Carolina RailHawks (2009–2010) where he made 33 appearances and scored 12 times in the process, after which he transferred to Puerto Rico Islanders (2011–2013).
The forward then returned to Guyana and donned the uniform of Alpha United for two years before making a bold move back to Pele FC.
Some fans thought the player’s days were over since he wasn’t scoring as much and with him not finding a place on the Jamaal Shabazz-coached Golden Jaguars team any longer, talks of him walking away from the game surfaced.
“I don’t have anything to prove, I always come to play football, I love this game and the people that are saying I’m done, never played the game, so they could say anything.
“Remember, I’m the boss on the field and people always want to see ‘Jackie Chan’ play and people who know me and know this game; they know that I could never be done,” Richardson said as he blasted his naysayers.
Asked about Pele’s chances of winning the Stag Elite League, Richardson said, “Honestly, our focus is winning the next game but people know that Pele are capable of winning this league. Pele got the tools and more tools coming. So the team a little off-balance right now but we have a great chance of winning this league.”
Richardson, however, pointed out that while indeed he has nothing prove, he intends to leave his mark on the Stag Elite League, pointing out that “people, no matter what they say about ‘Jackie Chan’ will always come to see me play. I might not score every night, but I make an impact on the game. My goals will come and they will come when Pele need it all the time”.

By Rawle Toney