Oguchialu Chijioke Goma Lambu "Oguchi" Onyewu or "Gooch" (born May 13, 1982 in Washington, D.C.) is an American football player who plays centre back for Standard Liège in Belgium and on the United States men's national team.
[edit] Background
Onyewu's parents moved to the United States from Nigeria to attend Howard University in Washington, D.C. Onyewu has two brothers, Uche and Nonye, and two sisters, Chi-Chi and Ogechi. Growing up in Silver Spring and later Olney, Maryland, Onyewu attended St. Andrew Apostle School and Sherwood High School, where he played soccer for two years.[1] He then enrolled in the U.S. residency program in Bradenton, Florida, before returning to Sherwood to graduate.
Onyewu, often referred to by the nickname "Gooch", is, at 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) and 210 lb (95 kg), believed to be the tallest outfield player in US team history, though two goalkeepers were taller, according to U.S. Soccer.[2]
[edit] Professional career
Onyewu played two years of college soccer at Clemson University, and moved to Europe in 2002, signing with FC Metz of Ligue 1 in France. In 2003, he was loaned out to La Louvière in Belgium, and to Standard Liège a year later. The move to Liège was made permanent for the 2004–05 season. After the season, he was named to the Belgian league's Best XI as well as Foreign Player of the Year for 2005.
On December 26, 2006, Onyewu was voted U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year. He was the first defender to earn the award since Alexi Lalas in 1995. Having been the subject of many transfer rumors regarding clubs throughout Europe, Onyewu finally completed a loan deal with Newcastle United on January 30, 2007, covering the remainder of the 2006–07 season. He wore the number 15 shirt, previously worn by another Newcastle loan signing, Giuseppe Rossi. He made his debut for Newcastle against Fulham on February 3, 2007[3], and his home debut a week later, alongside Titus Bramble, in a 2-1 victory over Liverpool. The two formed an ill-fated partnership, making a number of costly mistakes which was ultimately to cost Onyewu his place. Following the arrival of new manager Sam Allardyce, Onyewu fell out of favor, and Newcastle decided not to make the loan deal permanent.[4] He returned to Standard, and his play continued to improve. He made his 100th Jupiler league appearance for Standard Liège on March 14, 2008 against Germinal Beerschot, and was an intregal part of the club as they went on a 29-match unbeaten streak to win the Jupiler League in 2007–08. After the season he was named to the Belgian league Best XI for the second time. His strong form continued during the 2008–09 season. He led the Standard defense to a second consecutive Belgian league title. Standard was drawn with Anderlecht at season's end, and Standard won a two-legged playoff for the championship.
[edit] Racism controversy
Onyewu has dealt with racism during his time in Europe, even having been punched and shouted at by racist fans while playing for Standard.[5] The most well-publicized incident occured in the 2008–09 Championship playoff when Anderlecht defender Jelle Van Damme, according to Onyewu, repeatedly called him a "dirty ape",[6] even after Onyewu relayed the information to the referees.[7] Van Damme denied the accusations following the match, even claiming that Onyewu had called him a "dirty Flemish".[6] Approximately two weeks later, on June 2, 2009, it was announced by Onyewu's lawyer that he was suing Van Damme in an effort to end on-field racism in European football.[8]
[edit] International career
Onyewu has been part of various U.S. youth teams, and played at the 2001 World Youth Championship. He made his first appearance for the senior national team on October 13, 2004 against Panama.
Onyewu scored his first international goal in dramatic fashion, nodding home the extra time winner in the semifinal of the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup against Honduras. The powerful defender was later named to the tournament Best XI. Oguchi played for the USA in the FIFA World Cup 2006 held in Germany, and started in all three of the USA's games. Just before halftime of the third and final match of the group stages, with the USA drawing 1-1 against Ghana, Onyewu conceded a penalty from which Ghana scored, and the USA were eliminated with the resultant 2-1 defeat. The penalty award was controversial.[9][10]
During the 2009 Confederations Cup Onyewu teamed up with Jay Demerit at Center Back. Onyewu played exceptionally well against the Egypt national football team, helping lead the USA to a 3-0 win, thus advancing the United states national soccer team to the semi-finals. He was also a fundamental player in the victory against the Spain national football team, leading the USA to the final game. He also played in a 3-2 loss to the Brazil national football team in the final.
[edit] Honours
Standard Liege
International
- ^ Goff, Steven (April 11, 2006). "Onyewu Stands Out in Belgium". The Washington Post (Liège, Belgium): p. E01. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/10/AR2006041001478.html.
- ^ Whiteside, Kelly (August 16, 2005). "'Gooch' a big deal for U.S. soccer team". USA Today (Hartford, Connecticut: Gannett Company). http://www.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/national/2005-08-16-onyewu_x.htm.
- ^ "Fulham vs Newcastle United in FA Premier League 2006/2007". Football-Lineups.com. Craven Cottage, London. 3 February 2007. http://www.football-lineups.com/match/3683/.
- ^ Livie, Alex (16 May 2007). "Bramble Heads Magpies Cull". Sky Sports (BSkyB). Archived from the original on 18 May 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070518025440/http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?hlid=466965&CPID=8&clid=4&lid=&title=Bramble+heads+Magpies+cull.
- ^ Whiteside, Kelly; Contributor: Johnnie Whitehead (2006-06-02). "Concerns raised over racism during Cup". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/worldcup/2006-06-01-intolerance-cup_x.htm. Retrieved on 2008-02-17.
- ^ a b Seltzer, Greg (2009-05-22). "S365 Exclusive: No Onyewu Slur Look Pending". Soccer365.com. http://www.soccer365.com/us_news/story_22509121747.php. Retrieved on 2009-05-22.
- ^ Adubato, Michael (2009-05-22). "Onyewu: We'll Make Liege Proud". Yanks-Abroad.com. http://www.yanks-abroad.com/get.php?mode=content&id=4745. Retrieved on 2009-05-22. "I almost ended up fighting him (Van Damme). He called me a monkey several times. The league has these anti-racism campaigns, but when I told the referee what Van Damme was saying, he chose not to do anything about it. I also told the journalists after the game last night about this."
- ^ "U.S.' Onyewu sues over alleged racist slur". Sports Illustrated. Associated Press. 2009-06-02. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/soccer/06/02/onyewu.slur.ap/index.html. Retrieved on 2009-06-02.
- ^ "Second wind lifts Ghana". Financial Times. 2006-06-22. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/c5fd4f84-0225-11db-a141-0000779e2340.html. Retrieved on 2006-07-05.
- ^ "Ghana 2-1 USA". BBC Sport. 2006-06-22. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2006/4853408.stm. Retrieved on 2006-07-05.
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