| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Reuben Omojola Folasanje Agboola[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 30 May 1962 | ||
| Place of birth | Camden, London, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||
| Playing position | Left back/Sweeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1973–1977 | Cheshunt | ||
| 1978–1980 | Southampton | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1980–1985 | Southampton | 90 | (0) |
| 1985–1991 | Sunderland | 140 | (0) |
| 1986 | → Charlton Athletic (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 1990 | → Port Vale (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| 1991–1993 | Swansea City | 28 | (0) |
| 1993–1994 | Woking | 6 | (0) |
| Gosport Borough | |||
| Total | 274+ | (0+) | |
| National team | |||
| 1991–1993 | Nigeria | 9 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Reuben Omojola Folasanje Agboola (born 30 May 1962) is a retired Nigerian footballer who played at left back for Southampton and Sunderland and made nine appearances for Nigeria.
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Agboola was born in Camden, London. His family moved to Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire when he was a schoolboy where he played for Cheshunt's youth teams whilst also attending Southampton's London Selection Centre. In July 1978, he joined Southampton as an amateur before signing as a professional in April 1980, having made his reserve team debut in April 1979.
His first team debut came at Old Trafford on 29 November 1980, in the same match as Danny Wallace, when the "Saints" held Manchester United to a 1–1 draw. After the match manager Lawrie McMenemy said: "I was thrilled coming to Old Trafford ... knowing I would put the two youngsters in. And why not? Matt Busby showed everyone about playing kids at Old Trafford years ago. Even if we had lost I would have enjoyed the game for their sake."[2] He retained his position in the team for the next few games before the fit again Nick Holmes regained his place.
In his first two seasons as a professional he made only eleven appearances, but in November 1982 he eventually claimed the No. 3 shirt as his own, ousting Steve Baker, where he formed a partnership with England international Mick Mills. In 1983 McMenemy decided to adopt the continental idea of a sweeper, and Agboola's "quick and alert defending"[3] ideally suited him to the role, to such good effect that in 1983–84 Southampton recorded their highest-ever final position, second place behind Liverpool, as well as reaching the FA Cup Semi Final at Highbury where they lost 1–0 to Everton in extra time.
After the first six games of the following season he was replaced by Kevin Bond and after a few sporadic appearances, he was sold to Sunderland in January 1985 for £150,000. During his five years as a professional with the Saints, Agboola made a total of 112 appearances.
He made his official debut for Sunderland on 29 January 1985 in a 1–0 defeat at his former club, Southampton. He had started in an earlier match at Roker Park against Liverpool, but this match was abandoned because of a frozen pitch and was expunged from the records. He initially found it difficult to hold down a regular first team place as Sunderland struggled in vain to avoid relegation from the First Division at the end of his first season. As Sunderland continued to struggle (now under the management of Agboola's mentor, Lawrie McMenemy), Agboola spent a part of the 1986–87 season on loan at Charlton Athletic.
In the following season he had his best season for Sunderland, as (now under manager Denis Smith) they stormed back into the Second Division, followed two years later by a return to the top flight.
Sunderland again struggled at the highest level and Agboola was loaned out to Port Vale in November 1990,[4] before finally leaving Roker Park in November 1991.
He was first selected for Nigeria whilst with Sunderland, appearing in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against Ghana on 13 April 1991[5] thus becoming one of the first non-Nigerian born players to represent his native country. He went on to make a total of nine appearances for Nigeria, seven in the Nations Cup and two in World Cup qualifying matches.
He joined Swansea City in November 1991 and made 28 appearances before retiring from professional football. He subsequently turned out for Woking and Gosport Borough.
He returned to Southampton where he became the landlord at the "Sporting View" bar at the Southampton Sports Centre before moving to Majorca in 2004 to run a bar. He returned to Southampton again in 2007, where he now works as a car dealer at parkway car sales.
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