Julius Aghahowa facts for kids
Aghahowa with Shakhtar Donetsk in 2010
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Julius Efosa Aghahowa | ||
| Date of birth | 12 February 1982 | ||
| Place of birth | Benin City, Nigeria | ||
| Height | 1.79 m | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Police Machines | |||
| Bendel Insurance | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1998–1999 | Bendel Insurance | ||
| 1999–2000 | Espérance | ||
| 2000–2007 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 89 | (32) |
| 2001 | → Shakhtar-2 Donetsk | 3 | (0) |
| 2007–2008 | Wigan Athletic | 20 | (0) |
| 2008–2009 | Kayserispor | 29 | (6) |
| 2009–2012 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 10 | (1) |
| 2010–2011 | → Sevastopol (loan) | 10 | (1) |
| Total | 161 | (40) | |
| National team | |||
| 2000–2007 | Nigeria | 32 | (14) |
| 2000 | Nigeria Olympic | 4 | (1) |
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Julius Efosa Aghahowa (born February 12, 1982) is a former professional footballer from Nigeria. He played as a striker, which means he was a forward player whose main job was to score goals.
Julius Aghahowa was known for his incredible speed on the field. He was also famous for his amazing goal celebrations. After scoring a goal against Sweden at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, he performed six consecutive backflips! During his career, he played for clubs in Ukraine, England, and Turkey.
Contents
Club Career
Starting His Football Journey
Julius Aghahowa was born in Benin City, Nigeria. He began his football career with a local team called Police Machines. After that, he played for Bendel Insurance.
Before the 1999 African Youth Championship, he was supposed to join a Danish team called Herning Fremad. However, he played so well at the championship that he wanted to join an even bigger club. He ended up signing with Espérance, the champions of Tunisia.
Playing for Shakhtar Donetsk
In the middle of the 2000–01 football season, Aghahowa moved to Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine. His new team quickly won the Ukrainian league championship!
In 2006, Aghahowa scored the winning goal for Shakhtar in the Ukrainian Championship against their rivals, Dynamo Kyiv. He scored with a header in extra-time and was named the best player of the match. This important goal helped him stay with the club. After playing for Shakhtar Donetsk for more than six years, Aghahowa moved to Wigan Athletic in England.
Time in England and Turkey
On January 30, 2007, Julius Aghahowa joined Wigan Athletic. He played his first match for them in the English Premier League on February 3 against Portsmouth. However, he didn't score any goals for Wigan during his year and a half there. So, on June 20, 2008, he signed with Kayserispor, a team in Turkey.
Returning to Shakhtar Donetsk
On July 4, 2009, Shakhtar Donetsk signed Aghahowa again. He was very happy to return to his old club, where he had played from 2000 to 2007.
However, he found it hard to get a regular spot in the starting team this time. At the start of the 2010–11 season, he was loaned out to Sevastopol. He was released from Shakhtar at the end of the 2011–12 season. In April 2013, Julius Aghahowa announced that he was retiring from playing professional football.
International Career
Playing for Nigeria
Even though Julius Aghahowa had played for Nigeria's Under-20 team in the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship, he had never played for the senior national team before. So, it was a surprise when he was chosen for the 2000 African Nations Cup, which was held in Ghana and Nigeria.
He had an amazing start to his international career! He scored a goal on his very first game, just 35 minutes after coming on as a substitute. This was also the first time he showed off his famous backflip goal celebration.
Aghahowa played 32 matches for the Nigeria national team and scored 14 goals. This included Nigeria's only goal at the 2002 World Cup against Sweden. He also became Nigeria's top goalscorer at the 2002 African Nations Cup. He even played football at the 2000 Summer Olympics.
Honours
Espérance
Shakhtar Donetsk
- Ukrainian Premier League: 2002, 2005, 2006, 2010
- Ukrainian Cup: 2002, 2004
See also
In Spanish: Julius Aghahowa para niños
