Ifeoma Dieke facts for kids
Dieke with Scotland in September 2014
|
|||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ifeoma Nnenna Dieke | ||
| Date of birth | 25 February 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Amherst, Massachusetts, U.S. | ||
| Height | 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
|
Current team
|
Apollon Limassol | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1999–2002 | FIU Golden Panthers | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2003 | Atlanta Beat | 13 | (1) |
| 2007 | QBIK | ||
| 2008 | Kristianstads DFF | 18 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | Chicago Red Stars | 19 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | Boston Breakers | 22 | (1) |
| 2011 | → Apollon Limassol (loan) | ||
| 2012–2017 | Vittsjö GIK | 94 | (0) |
| 2018 | IFK Kalmar | 14 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | Apollon Limassol | 9 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2004–2017 | Scotland | 123 | (0) |
| 2012 | Great Britain | 3 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:21, 12 December 2018 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:21, 12 December 2018 (UTC) |
|||
Ifeoma Nnenna Dieke (born on February 25, 1981) is a Scottish footballer who played as a defender. She was born in the United States but moved to Scotland when she was three years old. Ifeoma played for many professional clubs in Sweden, the United States, and Cyprus.
From 2004 to 2017, she played 123 games for the Scotland women's national football team. Ifeoma was the first black woman to be a captain for Scotland. She was also one of only two non-English players chosen for the Great Britain women's Olympic football team at the 2012 London Olympics.
Contents
Playing Career
Starting in Scotland
Ifeoma started playing football when she was eight years old. She played for her primary school team, St Mary's. Later, she joined local clubs called Cumbernauld Cosmos and Cumbernauld Ladies.
Playing in the United States
In 1999, Ifeoma received a special scholarship to attend Florida International University. She played for their women's soccer team, the FIU Golden Panthers. After graduating in 2003, she joined a professional team called Atlanta Beat in the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA). She played in 13 games and scored one goal. However, the WUSA league stopped operating at the end of her first season.
Ifeoma later played for the Chicago Red Stars in 2009. She played in 14 games during their first season. In 2010, she moved to the Boston Breakers. She played 13 games for them and scored one goal against her old team, Chicago.
Playing in Europe
During the break from the WPS league in 2011, Ifeoma played on loan for a club in Cyprus called Apollon Limassol. When the WPS league ended in 2012, she went back to Sweden. She signed with Damallsvenskan newcomers Vittsjö GIK. Even though she missed most of the 2013 season due to an injury, Vittsjö GIK still offered her a new contract for 2014.
In January 2018, Ifeoma left Vittsjö after six seasons. She wanted a new challenge and joined IFK Kalmar, a team that had just been promoted to the top league in Sweden. This move did not work out well. Kalmar was at the bottom of the league, and Ifeoma was released from the team during the mid-season break. She then returned to Apollon in Cyprus in September 2018.
International Career
Representing Scotland
Ifeoma could have played for Scotland, the United States, or Nigeria. She chose to play for Scotland and made her first appearance in January 2004 against Greece. In May 2009, she played her 50th game for Scotland against Northern Ireland.
In October 2008, she accidentally scored an own goal during a play-off match against Russia. This goal meant Scotland was knocked out of the tournament, which was very disappointing for her.
The 2012 London Olympics
In 2012, Ifeoma was chosen to be part of the Great Britain women's Olympic football team for the London Olympics. She and her Scotland teammate Kim Little were the only two players from outside England in the squad. Ifeoma played as a central defender but got a knee injury in the second group match. This injury meant she had to leave the team and could not play in Scotland's future matches.
Reaching 100 Caps
After being out of international football for almost two years because of her injury, Ifeoma returned to Scotland's team for the 2014 Cyprus Women's Cup. In October of that year, she played her 100th game for Scotland. This was a big achievement for her.
Ifeoma continued to play for Scotland in the qualifiers for UEFA Women's Euro 2017. She received a special cap in October 2015 to honor her for playing 100 or more games for her country.
Retirement from International Play
Scotland finally qualified for their first major tournament, UEFA Women's Euro 2017, after many close attempts. Ifeoma, who was 36 years old, announced that she would retire from international football after this tournament. She played in all three games during the tournament, and then confirmed her retirement the following month.
Coaching Career
After her playing career, Ifeoma started coaching youth soccer teams in the United States from 2000 to 2007. In 2019, she became the head coach for the varsity team at Palmer Trinity School.
From 2020 to 2022, Ifeoma coached at a youth club called FC Prime in Florida. She has spoken about the importance of having more women in leadership roles in sports. In April 2022, Ifeoma was named the Miami-Dade County girls' soccer coach of the year for her great work with the Palmer Trinity School Falcons. In May 2022, she was also announced as a coach for the U19 girls' team at Miami Rush Kendall SC.
Playing Style
Ifeoma was known as a strong defender. Hope Powell, who coached the Great Britain team, said that Ifeoma was "a great defender one-v-one." She was also described as a "quick and tactically astute central defender," meaning she was fast and smart in how she played.
Personal Life
Ifeoma is often called "Ife" or "Iffy" by her friends and teammates. She can also speak the Igbo language.
