Nedum Onuoha

Personal information
Full name	Chinedum Onuoha
Date of birth	12 November 1986 (1986-11-12) (age 23)
Place of birth	Warri, Nigeria
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current club	Manchester City
Number	4
Youth career
2003–2004	Manchester City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2004–	Manchester City	88	(2)
National team‡
2005–2009	England U21	21	(2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:12, 5 December 2009 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20:59, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

Chinedum "Nedum" Onuoha (born 12 November 1986 in Warri) is an English footballer of Nigerian descent^[1]. He currently plays for Manchester City and the England national under-21 football team, though appearances have been limited due to injuries. He is a defender, typically a centre back, but he can also play at right-back or left-back.

[edit] Biography

Born in Nigeria, Onuoha was raised in Manchester, England. He went to Nelson Street Primary School Miles Platting followed by Hulme Grammar Private School in Oldham. He achieved an impressive eight 'A' and two 'B' grades at GCSE. He then completed his studies at Xaverian College Manchester where he achieved three 'A' grades at A-level^[2]. An outstanding junior sprinter; aged 14 he finished in second place in the final of the 2001 English School's Athletics Association Junior 100 metres contest, clocking 11.09 seconds and beating current Great-Britain sprinter Craig Pickering.^{[citation needed]}

He is also currently the co-national record holder for boys under 15 standing triple jump, in the Sports Hall events held annually throughout the UK, the record is held with international long jumper Jonathan Moore.

He is also known to have supported Manchester City as a boy and attended the Manchester City youth academy.

[edit] Club career

[edit] Manchester City

Onuoha played regularly for Manchester City's reserves in the 2003–04 season, and had his first involvement with the Manchester City first team in the 2004–05 pre-season, playing in a friendly against Bury.^[3] He made his first team debut against Arsenal in the Carling Cup on 27 October 2004, at the age of 17. He made his Premier League debut as a substitute on 1 November 2004 at home to Norwich City. Though Onuoha's natural position is centre-half, manager Kevin Keegan initially played him at right back with the intention of improving his passing ability.^[4]

Onuoha made 18 appearances in his debut season, but suffered a series of injuries during the 2005–06 season, meaning he played only 12 games.

Due to several injuries throughout the 2006–07 season, Onuoha was brought into the team for several long periods of time. He soon established himself and was rewarded with a new four-year contract.

He captained the Manchester City side to a 2–1 victory over Bristol City in the Carling Cup 2nd round. He scored his first goal for City at home against Tottenham Hotspur on 16 March 2008 in a 2–1 win.^[5] On 5 April 2008 Onuoha dislocated his shoulder in a game against Chelsea and was ruled out for the remainder of the 2007–08 season following surgery.^[6]

The first half of the 2008-09 season was an injury plagued time for Onuoha, missing most matches, however after City's 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest in the F.A. Cup, he started every single game until the end of the season, forming an effective partnership with Richard Dunne in the centre of defence.

On the 29th of July 2009 Nedum agreed a new 5-year deal with Manchester City.

[edit] International career

Onuoha is a regular in the England U-21 side, making his debut on 12 October 2005. He was part of the squad participating in the 2007 European Under 21s Championship in the Netherlands. During the Championships Onuoha was subjected to racist abuse from Serbian fans, but received praise for maintaining his conduct amid provocation.^[7][8] He was a regular at centre back, partnering Steven Taylor. During the semi-final against the Netherlands, he limped off with an injury and England were down to ten men as all three of the permitted substitutions had been made; they lost 13-12 on penalties. He captained the England Under-21 team for the first time in a 0–0 draw with Poland Under-21s. In the summer of 2009 he took part in the European Championships and played his last match for the U-21's.

In March 2007, Onuoha received an international callup from Nigeria,^[9] but has announced he would like to represent England at full international level.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nedum Onuoha

• Nedum Onuoha career stats at Soccerbase
• Nedum Onuoha Official Website at Icons.com

v • d • e England squad – 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship 1 Hart • 2 Cranie • 3 Taylor • 4 Cattermole • 5 Stearman • 6 Onuoha • 7 Milner • 8 Gardner • 9 Agbonlahor • 10 Noble • 11 Johnson • 12 Muamba • 13 Lewis • 14 Walcott • 15 Rodwell • 16 Tomkins • 17 Richards • 18 Mancienne • 19 Gibbs • 20 Driver • 21 Campbell • 22 Loach • 23 Rose • Coach: Pearce