Victor Obinna facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Victor Obinna

Obinna playing for Lokomotiv Moscow in 2011
Personal information
Date of birth	(1987-03-25) 25 March 1987 (age 38)
Place of birth	Jos, Nigeria
Height	1.80 m
Playing position	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)
National team
2005–2014	Nigeria	48	(12)
Honours Olympic Games Silver 2008 Beijing Team Africa Cup of Nations Third 2006 Egypt 2010 Angola
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Victor Nsofor Obinna (born 25 March 1987) is a Nigerian former professional footballer. He played as a striker, which means he was a forward player who mainly scores goals.

The name Obinna, in the Igbo language, means "father's heart." Victor Obinna played for Chievo in Italy and was a regular player in Serie A, which is Italy's top football league. He also played for the Nigerian national team. He made his first appearance for Nigeria at the 2006 African Cup of Nations, where he scored one goal.

Victor Obinna's Club Career

Starting His Football Journey

Victor Obinna began his football career playing for clubs in Nigeria, including Plateau United and Kwara United. He also had trials with big Italian clubs like Inter Milan and Juventus. Later, he signed with a Brazilian club called Internacional, but he couldn't officially join them because of paperwork issues. He then returned to Enyimba to play in their local league and the CAF Champions League.

Playing for Chievo

In July 2005, Obinna signed a five-year contract with the Italian club Chievo. 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 was temporarily suspended 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 on his way home from practice. He was lucky and only had a few cuts and bruises.

Time at Inter Milan

Obinna with West Ham United

In the summer of 2008, Obinna moved to Inter Milan for €1.2 million. He signed a three-year contract. English club Everton tried to sign him on loan, but he couldn't get a work permit to play in England at that time.

Obinna scored his first goal for Inter on October 19 in a 4–0 victory against Roma. José Mourinho, who was the coach of Inter Milan, said that Obinna was one of Inter's most promising young players for the future.

Loan to Málaga

On August 26, 2009, Obinna was loaned to Málaga, a Spanish club in La Liga. He scored his first goal for Málaga on October 4 in a 1–1 draw against Xerez.

Loan to West Ham United

On August 27, 2010, Obinna joined West Ham United in England on a one-year loan. He played his first game for West Ham on September 11. He scored his first goal for the club in a League Cup match against Sunderland on September 21, 2010.

He continued to play well, scoring his first league goal against Wigan Athletic on November 27, 2010. He also helped West Ham reach the League Cup semi-finals for the first time in 20 years by providing four assists in a big 4–0 win against Manchester United on November 30, 2010.

On January 30, Obinna scored three goals (a hat-trick) in an FA Cup game against Nottingham Forest, helping West Ham win 3–2. Just three days later, he scored two more goals as West Ham beat Blackpool 3–1.

Moving to Lokomotiv Moscow

On June 19, 2011, Obinna signed a four-year contract with Lokomotiv Moscow in Russia. He moved there as a free agent, meaning his contract with Inter Milan had ended.

Later Club Teams

After his time in Russia, Obinna played for a few other clubs:

• He joined MSV Duisburg in Germany on September 9, 2015, for the 2015–16 season.
• He then moved to Darmstadt 98 on August 5, 2016, also in Germany. He 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.

Victor Obinna's International Career

Victor Obinna was part of the Nigerian U-20 Flying Eagles team that won the gold medal at the African Youth Tournament in Benin in 2005.

He was called up to the Nigerian senior team for the 2006 African Cup of Nations. He scored one goal before his team was knocked out 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, earning a silver medal.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Chievo

• Serie B: 2007–08

Inter Milan

• Serie A: 2008–09
• Supercoppa Italiana: 2008

Nigeria U23

• Summer Olympics runner-up: 2008

Nigeria

• Africa Cup of Nations third place: 2010

See also

In Spanish: Victor Obinna para niños