Emmanuel Olisadebe facts for kids
Olisadebe with Henan Construction in 2009
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 22 December 1978 | ||
| Place of birth | Warri, Nigeria | ||
| Height | 1.80 m | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1992–1995 | Jasper United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1995–1997 | Jasper United | 40 | (20) |
| 1997–2001 | Polonia Warsaw | 66 | (20) |
| 2001–2005 | Panathinaikos | 74 | (24) |
| 2005–2006 | Portsmouth | 2 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | Skoda Xanthi | 9 | (0) |
| 2007–2008 | APOP Kinyras Peyias | 17 | (6) |
| 2008–2010 | Henan Construction | 63 | (24) |
| 2011–2012 | Veria | 9 | (1) |
| Total | 276 | (95) | |
| National team | |||
| 2000–2004 | Poland | 25 | (11) |
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Emmanuel Olisadebe (born 22 December 1978) is a former professional footballer. He played as a striker, which means he was a forward player who scored goals. Emmanuel was born in Nigeria. However, he played for the Poland national team.
He scored 11 goals for Poland in 25 games between 2000 and 2004. He also played in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, a very important football tournament. In 2001, he was named the Polish Footballer of the Year.
Olisadebe started his football journey with Jasper United in Nigeria. Later, in 1997, he joined Polonia Warsaw, a top club in Poland. At Polonia, he became a key player. He helped the club win the Ekstraklasa title, which is the Polish league championship. They also won the Ekstraklasa Cup and Polish SuperCup.
In 2000, Olisadebe became a Polish citizen. This allowed him to play for the Poland national team. He was the first black player to represent Poland. After leaving Polonia, he played in Greece, Cyprus, England, and China before he stopped playing professionally.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Playing for Polonia Warsaw
Olisadebe started playing for Polonia Warsaw in the 1997–98 season. In his first year, he played in 13 league games. During his time in Poland, he helped his team win their first championship in 50 years. This was in the 1999–2000 season, and he scored 12 goals that year. He also helped them win the League Cup and the Super Cup.
Time at Panathinaikos
Olisadebe then moved to Panathinaikos in Greece. He scored 24 goals in 74 matches for them. In 2004, he helped the club win the league title. This was their first title in seven years. He scored the winning goals in three of the last four games. He also won the Greek Cup that year, which meant they won both the league and the cup. While at Panathinaikos, he had an injury that needed surgery.
Short Spell at Portsmouth
On January 4, 2006, he joined Portsmouth in England. He played for them until the end of the 2005–06 season. He made his first appearance ten days later. He came on as a substitute in a game against Everton. A week later, he played his only other game for the club. His contract ended after four months. After that, he moved to Skoda Xanthi in Greece, where he played nine matches.
Playing for APOP Kinyras Peyias
Next, he played for APOP Kinyras Peyia FC in Cyprus. This was during the 2007–08 season. He played in 17 games and scored 6 goals for the team.
Success in China with Henan Construction
In 2008, he joined Henan Construction in the Chinese Super League. In his second game with Henan, he scored two goals. In his first season there, he scored 12 goals in 26 games.
On September 27, Olisadebe scored a goal for Henan in a 2–0 win. This helped his team take the lead in the league. Soon after, he injured his knee. Doctors found that he had injured a ligament in his left knee. This injury meant he missed the rest of the season. Because of his great performance, the government of Henan province gave him citizenship.
International Career
Emmanuel Olisadebe was born in Nigeria, but he became a Polish citizen in 2000. After that, he was chosen to play for the Poland national team. He scored eight goals in ten qualification matches for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. This helped Poland reach the World Cup for the first time since 1986. He even received a vote for the 2001 FIFA World Player of the Year award.
Olisadebe scored Poland's first goal in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. This was in a 3–1 win against the United States. However, Poland did not move past the first round of the tournament. After the World Cup, the coach who brought Olisadebe into the team left. This meant Olisadebe played very few games for Poland after that.
Personal Life
Olisadebe supported a campaign called "Let’s Kick Racism out of the Stadiums." This campaign was organized by the Polish Never Again Association. He married a Polish woman named Beata Smolińska in 2001. They were married until 2017 and separated as friends. Olisadebe stopped playing football in 2012. He later moved back to his home country, Nigeria. He sometimes misses Poland, but he prefers living in Nigeria. There, he now works in housing construction.
Honours
- Polonia Warsaw
- Ekstraklasa: 1999–2000 (League Championship)
- Polish Super Cup: 2000
- Polish League Cup: 1999–2000
- Panathinaikos
- Superleague Greece: 2003–04 (League Championship)
- Greek Cup: 2003–04
Individual Awards
- Polish Footballer of the Year: 2001
- Fourth-best Polish sportsman of the Year: 2002
- Nominated for the FIFA World Player of the Year: 2002
See also
In Spanish: Emmanuel Olisadebe para niños
