Ikechukwu Uche

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Ikechukwu Uche
Personal information
Full nameIkechukwu Uche
Date of birth (1984-01-05) 5 January 1984
Place of birthAba, Nigeria
Height1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Playing positionStriker
Club information
Current clubVillarreal
Number8
Youth career
Amanze United
2000–2001Iwuanyanwo Nationale
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2002–2003Racing Ferrol28(2)
2003–2007Recreativo133(50)
2007–2009Getafe55(11)
2009–2011Zaragoza18(1)
2011–Villarreal49(26)
2011–2012→ Granada (loan)34(3)
National team‡
2007–Nigeria44(18)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20 January 2014.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10 February 2013

Ikechukwu Uche (born 5 January 1984) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays for Villarreal CF in Spain, as a striker.

Known for his acrobatic goal celebrations,[1] he spent most of his professional career in Spain, having arrived in the country before the age of 20.

Club career

Early years

Born in Aba, Abia, Uche's career began in his country with Amanze United and Iwuanyanwu Nationale. Aged just 18 he moved to Racing de Ferrol in the Spanish second division, appearing in 24 games in his second season, which ended in relegation for the Galician team.

Uche then joined another club in the country's second level, Recreativo de Huelva, for a fee of US$300,000, and scored 12 goals in his first year, becoming the league's top scorer in the 2005–06 campaign at 20 in just 28 appearances (with five braces), as the Andalusians returned – as champions – to La Liga after a three-year absence.

In his first top flight season Uche scored on eight occasions. Notably, he netted in three consecutive matches in November 2006 (with wins at Celta de Vigo and against CA Osasuna), helping Recre finish eight.

For 2007–08 Uche joined Madrid's Getafe CF, mainly being used as a substitute. On 29 November 2008, also from the bench, he scored in a 3–1 home win over Real Madrid.[2]

Zaragoza

In July 2009 Real Zaragoza, recently returned to the top flight, agreed terms to sign Uche, subject to medical.[3] He was presented officially on the 22nd, and signed a four-year contract;[4] in only his second match, a 1–4 loss at Sevilla FC, he suffered a severe knee injury, going on to miss seven months.[5]

Uche recovered fully for Zaragoza's 2010–11 pre-season. However, he soon suffered another knee injury, being ruled out for another six months;[6] his return to action took place on 19 February 2011 as he played 20 minutes in a 0–1 home loss against Atlético Madrid, hitting David de Gea's bar in the dying minutes of the game, after an individual effort.[7]

On 2 March 2011 Uche made his first start of the season, at home against Athletic Bilbao. On the 55th minute, he scored the final 2–1 for the Aragonese – his first goal since May 2009 – and cried profusely as he celebrated.[8]

Villarreal

In the last day of the 2011 summer transfer window Uche was purchased by Villarreal CF, being immediately loaned out to fellow top-divisioner Granada CF. On 17 September he scored the game's only goal against the team that held his rights, in a home fixture.[9]

Subsequently returned to the Yellow Submarine, Uche led his team in scoring as it returned to the top division in 2013. Highlights included braces in home wins over CD Mirandés (2–0),[10] Sporting de Gijón (2–1),[11] Girona FC (4–1)[12] and at Racing de Santander (3–0).[13] On 6 January 2014, back in the main category, he scored his first hat-trick as a professional to help to a 5–2 away routing of Rayo Vallecano.[14]

International career

Uche made his debut for Nigeria in 2007. He was part of the squad that competed in the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana, helping the Super Eagles to the quarterfinals.

Uche was called up to the 23-man squad for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.[15]

International goals

Scores and results table. Nigeria's goal tally first:

Correct as of 13 October 2012

Honours

Club

Recreativo

Country

Individual

Personal

  • Uche's older brother, Kalu Uche, is also a footballer. Also a forward, he too spent most of his senior career in Spain (they are not related to two other players, Uche Okechukwu and Ikechukwu Kalu).[1]
  • His name, Ikechukwu, means "God's Power" in Igbo.[16]
  • Uche made a cameo appearance in the music video for Touchin Body, by J. Martins and Dj Arafat.[17]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "La liga de los hermanos Uche" [The league of Uche brothers] (in Spanish). Marca. 29 September 2005. Retrieved 18 November 2012. 
  2. ↑ "Miserable return for Schuster". ESPN Soccernet. 29 November 2008. Retrieved 31 August 2011. 
  3. ↑ "Principio de acuerdo por Uche" [Early agreement on Uche] (in Spanish). Real Zaragoza. 18 July 2009. Retrieved 18 July 2009. 
  4. ↑ "Uche se presenta ante dos mil aficionados" [Uche presented before 2,000 fans] (in Spanish). Real Zaragoza. 22 July 2009. Retrieved 27 July 2009. 
  5. ↑ "Nigeria admit Uche blow". MTN Football. 7 October 2009. Retrieved 7 April 2010. 
  6. ↑ "Uche se perderá media temporada" [Uche will miss half of the season] (in Spanish). Marca. 30 July 2010. Retrieved 30 July 2010. 
  7. ↑ "Aguero earns vital win for Atletico". ESPN Soccernet. 19 February 2011. Retrieved 21 February 2011. 
  8. ↑ "Athletic Club lose 2–1 at Real Zaragoza, extend losing streak to four". EITB. 2 March 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2011. 
  9. ↑ "Uche sees off Villarreal". ESPN Soccernet. 17 September 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2011. 
  10. ↑ "Villarreal 2–0 Mirandés: Ikechukwu Uche da alas al Submarino" [Villarreal 2–0 Mirandés: Ikechukwu Uche gives wings to the Submarine] (in Spanish). Goal.com. 27 October 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2014. 
  11. ↑ "El Villarreal tumba al Sporting con un gol de Uche en el tiempo de descuento (2–1)" [Villarreal downs Sporting with Uche goal in injury time (2–1)] (in Spanish). El Mundo. 10 March 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2014. 
  12. ↑ "4–1. El Villarreal golea al Girona y pone la directa hacia la liga BBVA" [4–1. Villarreal routs Girona and accelerates towards Liga BBVA] (in Spanish). El Mundo Deportivo. 19 May 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2014. 
  13. ↑ "El Submarino hunde al Racing" [Submarine sinks Racing] (in Spanish). Marca. 17 November 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2014. 
  14. ↑ "Five-star Villarreal sink Rayo". ESPN FC. 6 January 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014. 
  15. ↑ Oluwashina Okeleji (10 January 2013). "Nations Cup 2013: Nigeria pick six locally-based players". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 January 2013. 
  16. ↑ Name meaning at Nigerian.name
  17. ↑ "J. Martins featuring Dj Arafat – Touchin Body (Official Video)". YouTube. Retrieved 15 September 2013. 

External links

Villarreal CF – current squad
Nigeria squad – 2008 Africa Cup of Nations
Nigeria
Nigeria squad – 2013 Africa Cup of Nations Winners (3rd title)
Nigeria
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