Oguchi Onyewu

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Personal information
Oguchi Onyewu

Full name	Oguchialu Chilioke Onyewu
Date of birth	May 13, 1982 (age 24)
Place of birth	Washington, D.C., USA
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Nickname	Gooch
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current club	Newcastle United (on loan from Standard Liège)
Number	15
Youth clubs
2000–01	Clemson University
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2002–04 2003 2004–present 2007	Metz → La Louvière (loan) Standard Liège → Newcastle United (loan)	03 (0) 24 (2) 75 (6) 04 (0)
National team²
2004–present	United States	017 (1)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:22, 16 March 2007 (UTC). ² National team caps and goals correct as of 17:38, 29 January 2007 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Oguchialu Chilioke "Oguchi" Onyewu (born May 13, 1982 in Washington, D.C.) is an American footballer who plays in defence for Newcastle United.

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 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 then played two years of college soccer at Clemson University, and moved to Europe in 2002, signing with FC Metz of France's Ligue 1. 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.

Onyewu, often referred to by the nickname "Gooch," is, at 6 ft 4[1] in (1.93 m) and 210 pounds (96 kg), believed to be the tallest field player in US team history, though two goalkeepers were taller, according to U.S. Soccer. ^[2]

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. He has also been named to the Belgian league Best XI twice and was named Foreign Player of the Year in 2005.

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 group play, with the USA tied 1-1 against Ghana, Onyewu was called for a foul in the penalty area. Ghana took the lead on the ensuing penalty kick, and the USA was eliminated with the 2-1 loss.

On December 26, 2006, Onyewu was voted U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year, mainly because of his strong performance earlier that year at the World Cup. He was the first defender to earn the award since Alexi Lalas in 1995.

Onyewu has long been the subject of transfer rumors throughout Europe. He has allegedly been courted at various times by Fulham F.C., Real Madrid, Inter Milan, F.C. Porto, Middlesbrough F.C., Olympique Lyonnais, Manchester United, PSV Eindhoven, Olympique de Marseille, Newcastle United, and Chelsea F.C..^[3] On January 25, 2007 various British newspapers claimed that Onyewu would sign for English Premiership side Newcastle United on loan until the end of the season, with an option of a permanent deal in the summer, and this deal was confirmed on January 30, 2007.

On 30 January Onyewu completed his loan deal to Newcastle United until the end of the season. He will be wearing the number 15 shirt, previously worn by another loan signing, Giuseppe Rossi. He made his debut for Newcastle United against Fulham F.C. on February 3rd, 2007 ^[4] . Onyewu's performance was one of the only positives to be taken out of a 2-1 defeat for Newcastle United ^[5]

Oguchi Onyewu made his home debut on Saturday 10 February 2007 alongside Titus Bramble for Newcastle, in a 2-1 victory over Liverpool.

[edit] Notes

^ Goff, Steven. "Onyewu Stands Out in Belgium", The Washington Post, 2006, April 11.
^ Whiteside, Kelly. "'Gooch' a big deal for U.S. soccer team", USA Today, 2005, August 16.
^ Associated Press. "Onyewu in talks with Chelsea", FoxSoccer, 2007, January 22.
^ Tactical Formation. Football-Lineups.com. Retrieved on February 8, 2007.
^ Newcastle United F.C.. "United Get States Star Gooch", Newcastle United F.C., 30/01/2007.

[edit] External links

Preceded by Kasey Keller	U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year 2006	Succeeded by Incumbent

	United States squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup
1 Howard \| 2 Albright \| 3 Bocanegra \| 4 Mastroeni \| 5 O'Brien \| 6 Cherundolo \| 7 Lewis \| 8 Dempsey \| 9 Johnson \| 10 Reyna \| 11 Ching \| 12 Berhalter \| 13 Conrad \| 14 Olsen \| 15 Convey \| 16 Wolff \| 17 Beasley \| 18 Keller \| 19 Hahnemann \| 20 McBride \| 21 Donovan \| 22 Onyewu \| 23 Pope \| Coach: Arena