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Julius Aghahowa
Julius Aghahowa.jpeg
Aghahowa with Shakhtar Donetsk in 2010
Personal information
Full name Julius Efosa Aghahowa
Date of birth (1982-02-12) 12 February 1982 (age 43)
Place of birth Benin City, Nigeria
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) 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)
International career
2000–2007 Nigeria 32 (14)
2000 Nigeria Olympic 4 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Julius Efosa Aghahowa (born on February 12, 1982) is a former professional football player from Nigeria. He was a striker, which means he played in an attacking position, trying to score goals.

Julius Aghahowa played for teams in Ukraine, England, and Turkey during his career. He was well-known for his amazing speed and his cool goal celebrations. After scoring a goal against Sweden at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, he famously did six backflips in a row!

Julius Aghahowa's Football Journey

Starting His Career

Julius Aghahowa was born in Benin City, Nigeria. He began his football journey with a local team called Police Machines. After that, he played for Bendel Insurance. He was so good that he wanted to play for bigger clubs. He eventually joined Espérance, a top team in Tunisia.

Playing for Shakhtar Donetsk

In the middle of the 2000–01 season, Aghahowa moved to Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine. His team quickly won the Ukrainian league championship. In 2006, Aghahowa scored the winning goal in extra-time against Dynamo Kyiv in the Ukrainian Championship. He was even named the best player of that match! After playing for Shakhtar Donetsk for more than six years, Aghahowa moved to Wigan Athletic.

Time at Wigan Athletic

On January 30, 2007, Julius Aghahowa joined Wigan Athletic in England. He played his first game for them in the Premiership on February 3. Even though he played for a year and a half, Aghahowa did not score any goals for Wigan. Because of this, he signed with Kayserispor on June 20, 2008.

Back to Shakhtar Donetsk

On July 4, 2009, Shakhtar Donetsk brought Aghahowa back to their team. He had played for them before, from 2000 to 2007, and was very excited to return. However, he found it hard to get a regular spot in the starting lineup. So, at the start of the 2010–11 season, he was loaned out to Sevastopol. He left Shakhtar Donetsk at the end of the 2011–12 season and announced he was retiring from football in April 2013.

Playing for His Country: Nigeria

Julius Aghahowa played for Nigeria's Under-20 team in the FIFA World Youth Championship in 1999. Even though he hadn't played for the senior team before, he was surprisingly chosen for the 2000 African Nations Cup. He had an amazing start to his international career! He scored a goal in his very first game, just 35 minutes after coming on as a substitute. That's when he first showed off his famous backflip celebration.

Aghahowa played 32 matches and scored 14 goals for the Nigeria national team. This included Nigeria's only goal at the 2002 FIFA World Cup against Sweden. He was also Nigeria's top goalscorer at the 2002 African Nations Cup. He also played football at the 2000 Summer Olympics.

Career Achievements

Julius Aghahowa won several important titles during his football career:

Espérance

Shakhtar Donetsk

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Julius Aghahowa para niños

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