Bright Dike facts for kids
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Dike in 2012
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Chinedu Dike | ||
| Date of birth | 2 February 1987 | ||
| Place of birth | Edmond, Oklahoma, United States | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2005–2009 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 86 | (27) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2006 | Indiana Invaders | 3 | (0) |
| 2010 | Portland Timbers | 23 | (10) |
| 2011–2013 | Portland Timbers | 23 | (6) |
| 2012 | → Los Angeles Blues (loan) | 10 | (6) |
| 2013–2015 | Toronto FC | 11 | (1) |
| 2015 | → San Antonio Scorpions (loan) | 5 | (1) |
| 2016 | Amkar Perm | 4 | (0) |
| 2017 | Pahang FA | 8 | (3) |
| International career | |||
| 2012–2014 | Nigeria | 2 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Bright Dike, whose full name is Chinedu Dike, is a former professional football (soccer) player. He was born in the United States on February 2, 1987. Bright Dike played as a forward, which is a position in football where a player's main job is to score goals. He also proudly represented the Nigeria national team.
Contents
Bright Dike's Football Journey
College and Early Career
Bright Dike grew up in Edmond, Oklahoma. He went to Edmond North High School. After high school, he played college soccer at the University of Notre Dame from 2005 to 2009.
In 2007, he took a break from playing for a year. When he was a senior, he played in all 21 games for his team. He was the top scorer with 12 goals and 29 total points. He was also named to the all-Big East Championship team. During his college years, Dike also played for the Indiana Invaders for one season. This was in a league called the USL Premier Development League.
Starting Professional Football
In 2010, Bright Dike was chosen by Columbus Crew in the MLS SuperDraft. This is like a draft for new players in professional soccer. However, he did not join the team after training with them.
On April 7, 2010, Dike signed a contract with Portland Timbers. He played his first professional game on April 22, 2010. This game was against AC St. Louis.
Bright Dike scored his first "hat trick" on June 22, 2010. A hat trick means scoring three goals in one game. This happened during a US Open Cup match against the Kitsap Pumas. In the 2010 USSF D2 Pro League season, Dike played in 23 matches. He scored 10 goals for Portland.
On October 19, 2010, Dike was one of the first four players signed by the Portland Timbers. This was when the team was joining Major League Soccer in 2011.
Playing for Portland and Toronto
In 2012, Dike was loaned to another club, Los Angeles Blues. He played 10 games there and scored 6 goals. He then returned to Portland on July 10, 2012. After coming back, Dike scored 5 goals in the last 11 games of the season.
On February 8, 2013, Dike had a serious injury. He tore a ligament in his left knee during a preseason game. This meant he was expected to be out of play for many months.
In September 2013, Dike moved to Toronto FC. He scored his first goal for Toronto on September 28, 2013. It was the winning goal in a 4–1 victory. After playing well for his national team, Dike trained with Celtic in Scotland. There were also rumors that other English clubs were interested in him. However, he returned to Toronto without a new offer.
In February 2014, Dike suffered another injury while training with Toronto FC. This injury kept him from playing for the rest of the year. It also meant he could not play in the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
In April 2015, he was loaned to San Antonio Scorpions. This was so he could get more playing time. Toronto FC then released him in August 2015.
Later Club Teams
On February 20, 2016, Dike signed an 18-month contract with FC Amkar Perm in Russia. He played four games for them. However, he was released by the club on May 24, 2016.
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Dike then signed with Pahang FA in Malaysia before the 2017 transfer window closed. He scored in his very first game for them. He helped Pahang reach the semi-finals of the Malaysia FA Cup. He scored a goal in the quarter-final match. He was released by the club during the mid-season transfer window.
Playing for Nigeria
First Call-Ups
On November 11, 2012, Bright Dike was called up to play for the Nigerian national team. This was for a friendly game against Venezuela. On November 14, 2012, he made his first international appearance for Nigeria. This was in a 3–1 win over Venezuela in Miami. He started the game and played for 68 minutes.
Dike was called up again in December 2012. This was as Nigeria prepared for friendly games against Catalonia and Cape Verde. These games were in preparation for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations. On January 2, 2013, Dike scored his first goal for Nigeria. This was in an unofficial friendly game against Catalonia. Even though he was playing well, Dike was not chosen for Nigeria's final team for the African Cup of Nations.
World Cup Qualifiers
In November 2013, Dike was called back to the Nigerian team. This was for a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Ethiopia. He also played in a friendly game against Italy. The coach, Stephen Keshi, said he brought Dike back because he knew what Dike could do.
Dike was on the bench for the Ethiopia match but did not play. Two days later, Dike started in the friendly match against Italy. He scored his first official goal for Nigeria in the 35th minute.
Sadly, Dike tore his Achilles tendon during practice in February 2014. This injury meant he could not play in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. The coach, Stephen Keshi, later said that Dike would have been on the team if he had not been injured.
International Goals
Bright Dike scored one official goal for Nigeria:
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 November 2013 | Craven Cottage, London, England |  Italy |
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Friendly |
Bright Dike's Family
Bright Dike comes from a family of soccer players. His sister, Courtney Dike, is also a soccer player. She played for the Nigeria women's national under-20 football team. She scored the fastest goal in the history of the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. This goal happened after only 18 seconds in a game against Korea in 2014.
His brother, Daryl Dike, is also a soccer player. He played college soccer for the UVA Cavaliers. He was later signed by Orlando City SC in the MLS Superdraft.
Bright Dike is also the cousin of Super Eagles striker Emmanuel Emenike.
See also
In Spanish: Bright Dike para niños
