Oghenekaro Etebo

Oghenekaro Etebo

Etebo at the 2016 Olympics
Personal information
Full name Oghenekaro Peter Etebo
Date of birth (1995-11-09) 9 November 1995
Place of birth Lagos, Nigeria
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in)[1]
Playing position Midfielder/Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Feirense
Number 95
Youth career
Lord Honour FC
Warri Wolves
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–2015 Warri Wolves 64 (23)
2016– Feirense 8 (1)
National team‡
2015 Nigeria U-23 19 (11)
2013– Nigeria 8 (1)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13 June 2016.

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 13 June 2016

Etebo Peter Oghenekaro (born 9 November 1995) is a Nigerian football midfielder, who plays for the Portuguese club CD Feirense and the Nigerian national team. He has been described as a box-to-box midfielder who possesses boundless energy and is able to support defensive play in addition to his natural attacking talents. He is known for making runs from deep and arriving in the box from midfield to complete attacking moves. His versatility has also seen him play in the right-back position for both club and his national team.

Early life

Born in Lagos, Etebo began his youth career at Lord Honour F.C, a football academy in his hometown of Warri. He was signed to the youth setup of Nigerian Premier Football League side Warri Wolves at the start of the 2012/2013 season.

Club career

Warri Wolves

After joining Warri Wolves in 2012, Etebo was announced as a member of the senior squad for the upcoming 2012/2013 season. Due to his qualities it was intended that he would be deployed in an attacking midfield role for the club. However, due to school work and a delayed start to the league season, he only got to make his professional debut on April 14, 2013, announcing himself to Nigerian fans by scoring the first hat-trick of the season. With his goals in the 4th, 9th and 37th minutes and another by Joseph Osadiaye in the 12th minute as Wolves were up by 4 goals in the first half against El Kanemi Warriors.[2] He continued his development, being deployed across the forward line contributing both goals and assists as the season continued.

His excellent debut season continued when he scored the fastest hat-trick in the league in a 3-1 win against Wikki Tourists, scoring all 3 goals within 22 minutes of play.[3] Etebo opened scoring for Wolves in the seventh minute of the game, but the celebrations had yet to die down when Waziri Christopher equalized for Wikki. Etebo struck again in the 12th minute to restore Wolves' lead, and he completed his hat-trick in the 29th minute, after the hosts were awarded a spot kick.[4] This performance in the Week-34 game brought his league goal total to 15, the second highest by any player. He would go on to score a brace in the last game of the season to give him a total of 17 goals for the season. This is the best goal tally in a debut NPFL season by any player since Ahmed Musa in 2010 and the best ever by a Nigerian midfielder in the NPFL. By the end of the season he had been given a free-attacking role in the team and the comparisons to Frank Lampard and Michael Essien were commonplace.

In March 2014, he scored his first continental goal against Union Doala in the 2014 CAF Confederations Cup. His performances in the CAF Confederations cup (continental tournament) got the attention of top Tunisian clubs Esperance and Zamalek, sparking a fight over his signature.[5] But his transfer valuation, around 2 million dollars at the time, was more than they could afford. In the summer of 2014, he went on trial at Italian Serie A side Udinese and was to be offered a contract after impressing the coaches, but a fee would ultimately not be agreed with Warri Wolves, so he returned to Nigeria, deciding to instead complete his contract with Wolves ending in December 2015. This was considered the best move for him, so he could freely move at the right time without the constraints of his huge transfer valuation.

In 2015 Etebo received the Glo Wondergoal award, for the best goal of the 2014-2015 NPFL season, which was scored against Bayelsa United in Benin.[6] He scored 3 goals during Wolves' 2015 CAF Confederations cup campaign. He was also pivotal to Warri Wolves finishing second in the 2015 Nigeria Premier League, and qualifying for the 2016 CAF Champions League.

On 7 January 2016, he won the Most Promising Talent of the Year award at the CAF Awards in Abuja, Nigeria.[7]

A few days later, On 10 January 2016, he joined CD Feirense as a free player after his contract with Warri Wolves FC expired at the end of the 2014/15 season. It was believed to be the best move for him to a European league where he could play regularly while further-developing his immense talents.

C.D. Feirense

Following his transfer in the January 2016 window, his debut at Feirense was delayed due to work permit issues. He would eventually make his debut in the Ledman Liga Pro on April 24, starting against Oliveirense and providing an assist in the 29th minute. He scored his first goal for the club in the 0-5 away dismantling of Academica Viseu and provided another assist against Chaves on the last day of the season with C.D. Feirense being promoted to the Liga Pro for the 2016-2017 season.

International career

He made his international debut on 27 July 2013 against Côte d'Ivoire in a 2–0 loss in Abidjan during the 2014 African Nations Championship qualification campaign for home-based players. He also played against Jordan in an international friendly on 23 October 2013. In December 2015, he helped the Nigerian U-23 Team to the U-23 Africa Cup of Nations triumph in Senegal; finishing top scorer with 5 goals, including a brace in a 2–1 win against Algeria in the final. Both goals were characterized by deep runs from his team's own half. Having almost single-handedly guaranteed Nigeria's qualification to the Olympic games, he was subsequently selected by Nigeria in the 35-man provisional squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics.[8] Following a tumultuous arrival in Brazil, he scored 4 goals against Japan in Nigeria's opening group match. The game ended 5–4 to Nigeria. Injured in the third game of the tournament, he played a lessened part in the run of the team to a bronze medal finish. Etebo is a member of the full Nigerian national football team.[9] He scored the only goal for Nigeria in the Nations Cup qualifier against Egypt in Kaduna; and provided an assist to Mikel John Obi in the high-profile World Cup Qualifier against Algeria in November 2016.

Honours

Club

Individual

References

  1. ↑ Oghenekaro Etebo. rio2016.com
  2. ↑ http://www.goal.com/en-ng/match/shooting-stars-vs-akwa-united/1454485/report
  3. ↑ https://michaeloniks.wordpress.com/2013/10/24/npfl-201213-team-of-the-season/
  4. ↑ http://www.kickoff.com/news/37576/oghenekaro-etebo-scored-a-hat-trick-for-warri-wolves-to-beat-wikki-tourists
  5. ↑ http://www.footballmole.com/2015/12/tunisian-clubs-chase-oghenekaro-etebo.html
  6. ↑ http://theeagleonline.com.ng/warri-wolves-etebo-clinches-wonder-goal-7-award/
  7. ↑ "Oghenekaro wins Most Promising Player Award | Football Live — Beyond One-League". Footballlive.ng. 2016-01-07. Retrieved 2016-08-07.
  8. ↑ Oluwashina Okeleji (24 June 2016). "Kelechi Iheanacho included in Nigeria's Olympics squad". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  9. ↑ Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. "Oghenekaro Etebo". National Football Teams. Retrieved 2016-08-07.
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