Angelo Ogbonna

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Angelo Ogbonna

Ogbonna in 2011
Personal information
Date of birth (1988-05-23) 23 May 1988
Place of birthCassino, Italy
Height1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing positionCentre back
Club information
Current clubJuventus
Number5
Youth career
2002–2006Torino
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2006–2013Torino150(1)
2007–2008→ Crotone (loan)22(0)
2013–Juventus7(0)
National team‡
2009–2010Italy U-2110(0)
2011–Italy9(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 December 2013.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18 November 2013

Angelo Obinze Ogbonna (born 23 May 1988) is an Italian footballer of Nigerian descent who occasionally plays as a centre back for Serie A club Juventus and the Italian national team.

Club career

Torino

Born in Cassino and of Nigerian descent, Ogbonna was noted by Torino scouts and was later signed by the Granata youth academy. He made his Serie A and first-team debut on 11 February 2007 in a 1–2 home defeat against Reggina, playing the entire 90 minutes. He made three further Serie A appearances that season. He then spent the 2007–08 season on loan at Crotone, making 22 league appearances that season.

Ogbonna returned to Torino ahead of the 2008–09 Serie A season, playing mostly as a backup to regulars Cesare Natali and Marco Di Loreto, although he still managed 19 league appearances for the Granata. Torino, however, were relegated to Serie B at the end of the season. Starting from 2009, after the relegation of the club to Serie B, Ogbonna earned his place as a starter, making 31 league appearances and scoring one goal for the Piedmont-based club during the 2009–10 season. In three Serie B seasons with Torino, Ogbonna made 105 appearances, helping the club return to Serie A after finishing second to Pescara during the 2011–12 season. On 2 February 2012, he renewed his contract with Torino until 30 June 2016.[1]

Ogbonna's first full Serie A season was hampered by two lengthy injuries that limited the player to just 22 league matches. Likewise, Torino's return to the Italian top-flight began well but a dip in form late in the season left the club in a lowly 16th place finish in the league standings.

Juventus

On 11 July 2013, Ogbonna officially underwent medical examimations at Turin's Fornaca, Isokinetic and the Istituto di Medicina dello Sport ahead of his proposed cross-town move to incumbent league champions Juventus.[2] After passing the medical testings, Ogbonna officially signed for Juventus for a transfer fee of €13 million to be paid to Torino over three years, with an additional €2 million to be paid in future bonuses.[3]

International career

On 12 August 2009, he made his debut with the Italian under-21 national team in a friendly game against Russia.

On 4 June 2011, Ogbonna received his first senior squad call-up by coach Cesare Prandelli, despite playing in Serie B. He is the first Torino player to be called up to the Azzurri since 2007. Following several injuries in the Azzurri squad, Ogbonna was called up again on 5 October 2011. He made his senior debut on 11 November 2011 in a friendly won 2–0 against Poland, where he came on as substitute for Domenico Criscito in the 77th minute.

Ogbonna was included in the Italian 23-man final squad for UEFA Euro 2012, but never played in any match during the competition.

Personal life

Ogbonna was born to Nigerian parents who emigrated to Italy from Nigeria in 1983, settling in the city of Cassino in the central part of the country, but managed to obtain Italian citizenship only after his 18th birthday.[4]

On 22 December 2008, Ogbonna survived a car accident near Turin after he lost control of his Smart car and drove off a bridge into a torrent at around 5:00 AM.[5]

Honours

Club

Juventus

Club Statistics

As of 16 November 2012 (2012-11-16)

Team Season Domestic
League		 Domestic
Cup		 European
Competition1		 Other
Tournaments2		 Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Torino 2006–07 4 0 0 0 0 0 – 4 0
2008–09 19 0 4 0 0 0 – 23 0
2009–10 28 1 1 0 0 0 – 29 1
2010–11 35 0 2 0 0 0 – 37 0
2011–12 39 0 2 0 0 0 – 41 0
2012–13 18 0 1 0 0 0 – 19 0
Career Total 142 1 10 0 0 0 0 0 152 1

References

  1. ↑ "OGBONNA RINNOVA FINO AL 2016". Torino FC (in Italian). 2 February 2012. Retrieved 9 February 2012. 
  2. ↑
  3. ↑
  4. ↑ "All Black Italians". Italia-Razzismo. 20 October 2009. Retrieved 26 November 2011. 
  5. ↑ "Che paura per Ogbonna! Giù da un ponte con l'auto" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 2008-12-22. Archived from the original on 23 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-22. 

External links

Italy squad – UEFA Euro 2012 Runners-up
Italy
Juventus F.C. – current squad
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