Victor Obinna facts for kids
Obinna playing for Lokomotiv Moscow in 2011
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Victor Nsofor Obinna | |||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 25 March 1987 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Jos, Nigeria | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | |||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Striker | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| 2003 | Plateau United | |||||||||||||||
| 2004 | Kwara United | |||||||||||||||
| 2005 | Enyimba | |||||||||||||||
| 2005 | Internacional | |||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||
| 2005–2008 | Chievo | 82 | (19) | |||||||||||||
| 2008–2011 | Inter Milan | 9 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 2009–2010 | → Málaga (loan) | 26 | (4) | |||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | → West Ham United (loan) | 25 | (3) | |||||||||||||
| 2011–2015 | Lokomotiv Moscow | 45 | (3) | |||||||||||||
| 2014 | → Chievo (loan) | 10 | (2) | |||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | MSV Duisburg | 15 | (3) | |||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Darmstadt 98 | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Cape Town City | 12 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| Total | 226 | (36) | ||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2014 | Nigeria | 48 | (12) | |||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||
Victor Nsofor Obinna (born on March 25, 1987) is a former professional footballer from Nigeria. He played as a striker, which means he was mainly focused on scoring goals.
His name, Obinna, means "father's heart" in the Igbo language. Victor Obinna played for several clubs, including Chievo in Italy. He also represented his country, Nigeria, in international matches. He made his first appearance for Nigeria at the 2006 African Cup of Nations.
Contents
Victor Obinna's Football Journey
Starting His Career
Victor Obinna began his football journey in Nigeria, playing for clubs like Plateau United and Kwara United. He also had trials with big Italian clubs such as Inter Milan, Perugia, and Juventus.
He then signed with a Brazilian club called Internacional. However, due to some paperwork issues, the transfer could not be completed. After that, he returned to Enyimba to play in their local league and the CAF Champions League.
Playing for Chievo
In July 2005, Obinna joined the Italian club Chievo on a five-year contract. In his first season with Chievo, he scored six goals in 26 games. He even scored a goal in his very first Serie A match against Parma on September 11, 2005, helping his team win 1–0.
In 2006, Obinna faced a short suspension because of a contract issue from 2005. Chievo was moved down to a lower league at the end of the 2006–07 season. However, the club decided to keep Obinna to help them get back to Serie A.
On October 4, 2007, Obinna was in a car accident while driving home from practice. He managed to avoid a serious injury, only getting a few cuts and bruises. His car was badly damaged. This accident happened close to where another Chievo player, Jason Mayélé, had a fatal car accident in 2002.
Time at Inter Milan
In the summer of 2008, Obinna moved to Inter Milan for a transfer fee of €1.2 million. He signed a three-year contract with the club. English club Everton tried to sign him on loan right away, but they couldn't get a work permit for him.
Obinna scored his first goal for Inter Milan on October 19 in a 4–0 victory against Roma. The coach of Inter Milan at the time, José Mourinho, said that Obinna was one of the club's most promising young talents for the future.
Loan to Málaga
On August 26, 2009, Obinna was loaned to Málaga, a Spanish club in La Liga, for one season. He scored his first goal for Málaga on October 4 in a 1–1 draw against Xerez. In that same match, he was also sent off the field.
Loan to West Ham United
On August 27, 2010, Obinna joined West Ham United in England on a loan deal for the season. There was also an option for West Ham to sign him permanently in 2011. He played his first game for West Ham on September 11 in a 3–1 loss to Chelsea.
He scored his first goal for West Ham in a 2–1 win against Sunderland in the League Cup on September 21, 2010. His first league goal came on November 27, 2010, in a 3–1 win against Wigan Athletic. He also provided four assists in a big 4–0 win against Manchester United on November 30, 2010, helping West Ham reach the League Cup semi-finals for the first time in 20 years.
During the League Cup semi-final first leg on January 11, 2011, Obinna was sent off against Birmingham City. On January 30, he scored three goals (a hat-trick) in an FA Cup match against Nottingham Forest, leading West Ham to a 3–2 victory. Just three days later, he scored two more goals as West Ham beat Blackpool 3–1.
Moving to Lokomotiv Moscow
On June 19, 2011, Victor Obinna signed a four-year contract with Lokomotiv Moscow in Russia. He joined them as a free agent.
Later Career Clubs
After his time in Russia, Obinna joined MSV Duisburg in Germany on September 9, 2015, for the 2015–16 season.
He then moved to Darmstadt 98 on August 5, 2016, but left the club on January 31, 2017.
In September 2017, Obinna signed with Cape Town City, a club in the Premier Soccer League in South Africa. At that time, his former West Ham teammate, Benni McCarthy, was the manager of Cape Town City.
Playing for Nigeria
Victor Obinna was part of the U-20 Flying Eagles team that won a gold medal at the African Youth Tournament in Benin in 2005. He was then called up to the Nigerian senior squad for the 2006 African Cup of Nations. He scored one goal before his team was eliminated in the semi-finals.
In August 2008, he was chosen to be part of Nigeria's squad for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Obinna scored Nigeria's first goal in a 2–1 win against Japan. He also scored the winning goal in the final group match against the United States, which helped Nigeria qualify for the quarter-finals.
Nigeria then played against Ivory Coast and won 2–0. Obinna scored a penalty kick and helped Peter Odemwingie score the other goal. He later became the captain of the Nigerian team when they beat Belgium 4–1 in the semi-final. However, they lost to Argentina in the final match.
Career Statistics
Club Appearances and Goals
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Chievo | 2005–06 | Serie A | 26 | 6 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 6 | ||
| 2006–07 | 24 | 5 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 27 | 6 | ||||
| 2007–08 | Serie B | 32 | 8 | — | — | — | 32 | 8 | ||||
| Total | 82 | 19 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 86 | 20 | ||||
| Inter Milan | 2008–09 | Serie A | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 |
| Málaga (loan) | 2009–10 | La Liga | 26 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 4 | ||
| West Ham United (loan) | 2010–11 | Premier League | 25 | 3 | 3 | 3 | — | 4 | 2 | 32 | 8 | |
| Lokomotiv Moscow | 2011–12 | Russian Premier League | 16 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 2 | — | 26 | 3 | |
| 2012–13 | 26 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 28 | 2 | |||
| 2013–14 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 45 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 2 | — | 58 | 5 | |||
| Chievo (loan) | 2013–14 | Serie A | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 2 | ||
| MSV Duisburg | 2015–16 | 2. Bundesliga | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 3 | ||
| Darmstadt 98 | 2016–17 | Bundesliga | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| Cape Town City | 2017–18 | Premier Soccer League | 12 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 226 | 36 | 17 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 255 | 44 | ||
International Appearances and Goals
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | 2006 | 5 | 1 |
| 2007 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2009 | 9 | 3 | |
| 2010 | 13 | 3 | |
| 2011 | 8 | 3 | |
| 2013 | 3 | 1 | |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 49 | 12 | |
Awards and Achievements
Victor Obinna achieved several honors during his football career:
With Chievo
- Serie B: Won the league in the 2007–08 season.
With Inter Milan
- Serie A: Won the league in the 2008–09 season.
- Supercoppa Italiana: Won the Supercoppa Italiana in 2008.
With Nigeria U23 Team
- Summer Olympics runner-up: Won a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
With Nigeria National Team
- Africa Cup of Nations third place: Finished third in the 2010 tournament.
See also
In Spanish: Victor Obinna para niños
