Victor Obinna

Personal information
Full name	Victor Nsofor Obinna
Date of birth	25 March 1987 (1987-03-25) (age 22)
Place of birth	Jos, Nigeria
Height	1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)[1]
Playing position	Winger
Club information
Current club	Málaga CF (on loan from Internazionale)
Number	18
Youth career
2003	Plateau United
2004	Kwara United
2005	Enyimba
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2005–2008	Chievo	82	(22)
2008–	Internazionale	9	(1)
2009–	→ Málaga (loan)	10	(1)
National team‡
2005–	Nigeria	21	(5)
Honours Competitor for  Nigeria Men's Football Silver 2008 Beijing Team Competition
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 28 November 2009. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14 July 2009

Victor Nsofor Obinna (born 25 March 1987 in Jos, Nigeria) is a Nigerian footballer who plays as a striker for Málaga CF, on loan from Internazionale.

[edit] Biography

Obinna in Igbo, literally means "Father´s heart".^[2] He played for Chievo in Italy's Serie B, having played regularly in Serie A with the club until their relegation in 2007. He made his full international debut for Nigeria at the 2006 African Cup of Nations, scoring once in three appearances as his side were eliminated in the semifinals.

[edit] Club career

[edit] Enyimba

Obinna played for Nigerian clubs Plateau United and Kwara United, before signing for then-African champions Enyimba in 2005 and never play any competitive match for Eyimba. In the same year, he went on trials with Italian clubs Internazionale, Perugia and Juventus before signing with Brazilian club Internacional, but international clearance problems meant that the transfer was never finalised.^[3] He rejoined Enyimba to take part in their domestic league campaign and CAF Champions League defence.

[edit] Chievo Verona

Obinna was signed by Italian club Chievo on a three-year contract in July 2005.^[3]. In his first season with Chievo, Obinna scored six goals in 26 games, including a goal on his Serie A debut against Parma in a 1–0 win, 11 September 2005. In the first months of the 2006 season, Obinna was suspended for having signed a contract with both Internacional and Chievo in 2005.^[4] Chievo were relegated at the end of the 2006-07 season, casting some doubt over Obinna's future;^[4] however, the club successively chose to keep Obinna into the squad to help them earn promotion back to Serie A.

On 4 October 2007, Obinna was involved in a car accident on his way home from training in which he swerved away from a vehicle that tried to overtake him around a bend, escaping with only a few bruises and shock.^{[citation needed]} The car flipped several times and was totally destroyed. He lost consciousness and was taken to hospital. The accident occurred approximately 100 metres away from where former Chievo player Jason Mayélé was killed in a car accident in 2002.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Internazionale

In August 2008, Obinna moved to Internazionale signing a four year deal.^[5] English club Everton attempted to immediately sign him on loan, but were unable to secure a work permit for the player.^[6] Obinna's first goal for Inter came on 19 October in a 4–0 win over Roma.

[edit] Málaga CF

On 26 August 2009, Spain's La Liga side Málaga CF have signed the Nigerian forward on loan from Internazionale for one season.^[7] He scored his first goal for the Andalucians on 4th October in 1-1 a draw against Xerez.

[edit] International career

Obinna was called up to the Nigerian senior squad at the 2006 African Cup of Nations, scoring once before his side's semifinal elimination.

In August 2008, he was named amongst Nigeria's squad for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Obinna scored Nigeria's first goal in a 2–1 win against Japan^[8] the "super Eagles' winning goal in the final group match against the USA, ensuring that Nigeria qualified for the quarter-finals.^[9] Nigeria were drawn against Ivory Coast who they beat 2–0, with Obinna scoring a penalty and setting up Peter Odemwingie for the other goal. He later captained the Nigerian team when they beat Belgium 4–1 in the semi-final match, before losing to Argentina in the final.

[edit] International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	February 4, 2006	Port Said, Egypt	Tunisia	1-1 (6-5 pen.)	Won	2006 Africa Cup of Nations
2	October 11, 2008	Abuja, Nigeria	Sierra Leone	4-1	Won	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
3	June 6, 2009	Abuja, Nigeria	Kenya	3-0	Won	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
4	June 6, 2009	Abuja, Nigeria	Kenya	3-0	Won	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
5	October 11, 2009	Abuja, Nigeria	Mozambique	1-0	Won	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• FootballDatabase.com profile
• Soccernet.com profile
• NigerianPlayers.com profile
• Victor Nsofor Obinna FIFA competition record

Nigeria Squads v • d • e Nigeria squad – 2006 Africa Cup of Nations 1 Enyeama • 2 Yobo • 3 Taiwo • 4 Kanu • 5 Odiah • 6 Enakarhire • 7 Utaka • 8 Mikel • 9 Martins • 10 Okocha • 11 Lawal • 12 Ejide • 13 Yussuf • 14 Obinna • 15 Obiefule • 16 Oruma • 17 Aghahowa • 18 Obodo • 19 Makinwa • 20 Odemwingie • 21 Nwaneri • 22 Kaita • 23 Aiyenugba • Coach: Eguavoen v • d • e Nigeria squad – 2008 Summer Olympics Silver Medalists 1 Vanzekin • 2 C. Okonkwo • 3 - • 4 Apam • 5 Adeleye • 6 James • 7 Obasi • 8 Kaita • 9 Obinna • 10 Promise • 11 S. Okoronkwo • 12 Ajilore • 13 Adefemi • 14 Odemwingie • 15 Ambrose • 16 Anichebe • 17 Ekpo • 18 Ezenwa • 19 Oladapo • Coach: Siasia v • d • e Nigeria squad – 2008 Africa Cup of Nations 1 Enyeama • 2 Yobo • 3 Taiwo • 4 Kanu • 5 Nwaneri • 6 Shittu • 7 Utaka • 8 Yakubu • 9 Martins • 10 Mikel • 11 Odemwingie • 12 Ejide • 13 Afolabi • 14 Olofinjana • 15 Uche • 16 Etuhu • 17 Makinwa • 18 Obinna • 19 Emeghara • 20 Okonkwo • 21 Eromoigbe • 22 Apam • 23 Aiyenugba • Coach: Vogts