Sani Emmanuel

Sani Emmanuel
Personal information
Full name Sani Shehu Emmanuel
Date of birth 23 December 1992 (1992-12-23) (age 19)
Place of birth Edo, Nigeria
Height 1.67 m (5 ft 5 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Striker
Youth career
Years Team
- My People FC
2011 Lazio
National team
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2009 Nigeria U17 5 (5)
2010- Nigeria U20
† Appearances (Goals).

Sani Shehu Emmanuel (born 23 December 1992), commonly known as Sani Emmanuel, is a Nigerian footballer, who currently plays for S.S. Lazio as a striker, as well as having a stint with Swedish outfit Bodens BK. He played a prominent part of the 'Golden Eaglets' Nigerian U-17 Team's campaign in the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup and is now playing for the Nigerian U-20 Team, the 'Flying Eagles'.

Contents

History

Emmanuel began playing football with My People FC,[1] a Nigerian football club set up by T.B. Joshua of The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations [2] in Lagos, to help talented footballers. Initially coming into contact with The SCOAN through his father, who received substantial financial assistance from the church as part of their charitable outreach to widows and widowers, Sani lived and worked there for a number of years [3] whilst also honing his football skills.[4]

Career

With My People FC attracting interest from foreign scouts, Emmanuel was one of three players spotted to play football in Sweden for Bodens BK, a trip sponsored by T.B. Joshua and Emmanuel TV.[5] Upon impressive performances in Sweden with 21 goals in 10 games, including a win for Boden's Junior Team at the 'Internet Bay Cup' where Emmanuel scored nine of his team's goals,[6] he was chosen to represent his country at U-17 level.[7]

After an impressive performance at 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup, winning the Golden Ball and Silver Shoe, Sani was nominated for CAF's prestigious Young African Player Of The Year award.[8]

International career

The Golden Eaglets

Emmanuel played for the Nigeria U-17 team at 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Nigeria.[9] He scored the winning goal for Nigeria through a penalty kick in their match against Argentina, which saw Nigeria top their group with 7 points[10] In Nigeria's encounter with New Zealand, Emmanuel scored 2 goals in five minutes after coming on as a substitute late in the match,[11] and is already being tipped as one of Nigeria's future stars.[12][13][14] He scored a brace against Spain, sending Nigeria into the U-17 World Cup Final, which they eventually lost to Switzerland. Scoring a remarkable 5 goals in 221 minutes of play,[15] Sani won the prestigious FIFA U-17 World Cup Golden Ball as well as the Silver Shoe.[16]

The Flying Eagles

Following his performances, Emmanuel was promoted to the Nigeria U-20 team alongside many of his colleagues from the U-17 team.[17] His first brace of goals came in their 7-0 routing of Kenya in a four nation tournament in Egypt, May 2010.[18]

Foreign Interest

Many clubs have expressed interest in signing Sani following his Golden Ball winning performance at the U-17 World Cup, including Premiership giants Chelsea and Tottenham, whom he has reportedly had trials with.[19] He has also had trials with Greek giants Panathinaikos F.C..[20]

SS Lazio

In March 2011, Emmanuel and his colleague Ogenyi Onazi signed professional contracts with Italian giants SS Lazio.

External links

References

  1. ^ Njoku, Ihechukwu (2009-10-31). "Nigeria Beat Argentina To Top Group A". Africa News. http://www.africanews.com/site/Nigeria_beat_Argentina_to_top_Group_A/list_messages/27741. 
  2. ^ Adewale, Adebobola (2009-11-05). "Synagogue Boy Shines". The PM News. http://thepmnews.com/2009/11/05/synagogue-boy-shines. 
  3. ^ "From Altar Boy To Football Star". PM News. 2009-11-11. http://thepmnews.com/2009/11/11/from-altar-boy-to-football-star. 
  4. ^ Ajah, Uchenna (2009-09-11). "TB Joshua's Altar Boy is Eaglets' Joker". All Africa. http://allafrica.com/stories/200911091116.html. 
  5. ^ Hammarström, Leif (2009-04-03). "Church Recruits Football Talent". NSD. http://www.nsd.se/nyheter/boden/artikel.aspx?ArticleId=4546260. 
  6. ^ Olofsson, Anton (2009-04-20). "Enbom not missed when Boden won". Norbottens Kuriren. http://kuriren.nu/arkiv/2009/04/20/Lule%E5/4809255/Enbom-bommade-inte-n%E4r-Boden-vann.aspx60. 
  7. ^ Njoku, Emma (2009-10-12). "Eaglets go goal crazy". Sun News. http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/sports/2009/oct/12/sports-12-10-2009-001.htm. 
  8. ^ "Top Three Nominees Revealed". CAF Online. 2010-02-16. http://www.cafonline.com/caf/awards/194-glo-caf-awards-2009-top-three-nominees-revealed.html. 
  9. ^ "Pen Pix of Glory-chasing Eaglets". Kick Off. 2009-10-22. http://www.kickoff.com/static/news/article.php?id=11800. 
  10. ^ "Nigeria through as group winners". BBC. 2009-10-30. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/8334846.stm. 
  11. ^ Lere, Ismaila (2009-11-06). "Eaglets Maul New Zealand". Daily Trust. http://allafrica.com/stories/200911060177.html. 
  12. ^ Eludini, Tunde (2009-11-06). "Emmanuel - A Star On The Rise". Next. http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Sport/Football/5478247-146/Emmanuel,_a_star_on_the_rise.csp. 
  13. ^ Okusan, Olalekan (2009-08-11). "Sani Emmanuel with eyes on FIFA's Golden Crown". The Guardian. http://odili.net/news/source/2009/nov/8/8.html. 
  14. ^ "Emmanuel, Simply the Best". Daily Champion. 2009-08-11. http://allafrica.com/stories/200911080005.html. 
  15. ^ "Young marksmen eye prize". FIFA. 2009-11-13. http://www.fifa.com/u17worldcup/news/newsid=1133017.html. 
  16. ^ Udoh, Colin (2009-11-16). "Emmanuel Voted MVP". Kick Off. http://www.kickoff.com/static/news/article.php?id=12267. 
  17. ^ Oladoye, Bolade (2010-03-17). "League Players Dominate Flying Eagles List". Next. http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5541589-146/league_players_dominate_flying_eagles_list.csp. 
  18. ^ Udoh, Colin (2010-05-26). "Flying Eagles whip Kenya 7-0". Super Sport. http://www.supersport.com/football/nigeria/news/100526/Flying_Eagles_whip_Kenya_70. 
  19. ^ Stammers, Steve (2010-03-27). "Chelsea And Spurs In Fight To Land African Starlet". The Sunday Mirror. http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Transfer-news-Chelsea-and-Tottenham-in-fight-to-land-African-starlet-Sani-Emmanuel-article369847.html. 
  20. ^ "30 Members of Synagogue welcome Sani Emmanuel to Greece". All Nigeria Soccer. 2010-09-24. http://www.allnigeriasoccer.com/read_news.php?nid=2936.