Odafa Onyeka Okolie
 Okolie with Churchill Brothers in 2011 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Odafa Onyeka Okolie | ||
| Date of birth | 6 June 1985 | ||
| Place of birth | Nigeria | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2003–2004 | Mohammedan | 40 | (10) |
| 2004–2005 | Muktijoddha | 28 | (34) |
| 2005–2011 | Churchill Brothers | 155 | (106) |
| 2011–2014 | Mohun Bagan | 92 | (91) |
| 2014–2016 | Churchill Brothers | 22 | (22) |
| 2015 | → Sporting Goa (Loan) | 12 | (9) |
| 2017 | Southern Samity | 9 | (9) |
| 2017 | Gokulam Kerala | 3 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Odafa Onyeka Okolie (born 6 June 1985) is a Nigerian professional footballer[1] who spent most of his career for clubs in India.[2] He last played for Gokulam Kerala in the I-League.[3] He was the highest paid footballer in I-league history, earning INR 1.4 crore per year in 2011.[4] Odafa is second in the list of all-time leading goalscorer in the I-League and National Football League history with 179 goals,[5] and has been the top goal scorer on three consecutive editions.[6]
He also holds the record for scoring the most hat-tricks in I-League and National Football League combined, with 14 hat-tricks across all seasons, including 13 of those in the I-League.[7][8]
Club career
Churchill Brothers
After a lackluster start to his career which saw him play for Indian club Mohammedan,[9] and Bangladeshi club Muktijoddha SKC where he only made nil and 28 appearances respectively and scored 34 goals with SKC, Odafe went back to India and signed for Churchill Brothers in the I-League in 2005. It took him till the 2006–07 season to break out though as he scored 12 goals that season with Churchill. Then during the 2007–08 season, Odafa scored 22 goals in 16 games and was top scorer in the new I-League. Odafa was the all-time leading scorer in the I-League after three seasons and is undoubtedly one of the deadliest strikers ever to have played in India. He was also the former captain of Churchill Brothers.[10]
Mohun Bagan AC
On 1 June 2011, he signed a one-year deal with Mohun Bagan A.C. for approximately $600,000.[4] On 23 October 2011, Odafa scored a hat-trick in his debut for Bagan in a 3–1 victory over Pailan Arrows.[11]
Churchill Brothers
On 13 May 2014, Odafe signed for Churchill Brothers.
Sporting Goa
In March 2015, he signed for I-League strugglers Sporting Clube de Goa. He helped the club narrowly avoid relegation and was subsequently retained for another season.[12]
Southern Samity
In March 2017, odafa signed for I-League 2nd Division side Southern Samity. He scored a goal in his first match for samity against NEROCA FC In the 2016–17 I-League 2nd Division final round.
Honours
Churchill Brothers
- I-League: 2008–09; runner-up 2007–08[13]
- Durand Cup: 2007, 2009
Muktijoddha SKC
- Federation Cup (Bangladesh) runner-up: 2005
Individual
- National Football League (India) Golden Boot: 2006–07 (18 goals)[7][9]
- I-League top scorer: 2007–08,[14][15] 2008–09,[16] 2009–10
References
- ^ "From the history book, roll of honour". the-aiff.com. All India Football Federation. 10 January 2015. Archived from the original on 9 January 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
- ^ Sengupta, Somnath (13 July 2011). "Tactical Evolution Of Indian Football: Part Four – Modern Era (1999—2011)". thehardtackle.com. Kolkata: The Hard Tackle. Archived from the original on 18 September 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ "Player profile of Odafe". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 2 May 2012. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
- ^ a b Mohun Bagan sign Odafe for record Rs 3 crore one-year deal
- ^ By the numbers: Mohun Bagan soar past 600 goals in national league Archived 27 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine ESPN.in
- ^ Mohun Bagan signs Odafe for record Rs. 3 crore one-year deal[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b "From the History Book". All India Football Federation. the-aiff.com. Archived from the original on 17 July 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
- ^ "NFL Champions and Goalscorers". Rediff. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- ^ a b "Leading Goal Scorers". Rediff.com. 14 May 2004. Archived from the original on 28 August 2004. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
- ^ I-League 2008-2009 points table and statistics Archived 22 July 2021 at the Wayback Machine worldfootball.net. Retrieved 22 July 2021
- ^ "Goal.com, Match statistics between Mohun Bagan and Pailan Arrows". Archived from the original on 27 December 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
- ^ "Sporting Clube de Goa seek Odafa's scoring touch". Sportingclubedegoa. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
- ^ Chaudhuri, Arunava. "1st "ONGC" I-League – Division 1 2007/08". IndianFootball.com. Archived from the original on 16 March 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
- ^ "ONGC I - LEAGUE 2007 - 2008 :Kolkatafootball.com". www.kolkatafootball.com. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
- ^ "I-League 2007–08". Indian Football. 24 November 2011. Archived from the original on 16 March 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
- ^ "I-League 2008–09". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 22 September 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
Bibliography
- Kapadia, Novy (2017). Barefoot to Boots: The Many Lives of Indian Football. Penguin Random House. ISBN 978-0-143-42641-7.
- Mukhopadhay, Subir (2018). সোনায় লেখা ইতিহাসে মোহনবাগান (transl. Mohun Bagan in the history written in gold). ISBN 978-93-850172-0-9.
- Banerjee, Argha; Basu, Rupak (2022). মোহনবাগান: সবুজ ঘাসের মেরুন গল্প (transl. Mohun Bagan: Green fields' Maroon stories). Shalidhan. ISBN 978-81-954667-0-2.
- Dineo, Paul; Mills, James (2001). Soccer in South Asia: Empire, Nation, Diaspora. London, United Kingdom: Frank Cass Publishers. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-7146-8170-2. Archived from the original on 25 July 2022.
- Martinez, Dolores; Mukharji, Projit B (2009). Football: From England to the World: The Many Lives of Indian Football. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-138-88353-6. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022.
- Nath, Nirmal (2011). History of Indian Football: Upto 2009–10. Readers Service. ISBN 9788187891963. Archived from the original on 22 July 2022.
External links
- Odafa Onyeka Okolie at FBRef
- {{FootballDatabase.eu}} template missing ID and not present in Wikidata.
- Odafa Onyeka Okolie at GSA (archived)
- Webarchive template wayback links
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- Articles with dead external links from September 2022
- Articles with permanently dead external links
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- Articles without Wikidata item
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- 1985 births
- Living people
- Nigerian footballers
- Expatriate footballers in India
- Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in India
- Churchill Brothers FC Goa players
- Expatriate footballers in Bangladesh
- I-League players
- Mohun Bagan AC players
- Sporting Clube de Goa players
- Muktijoddha Sangsad KC players
- Nigerian expatriate footballers
- Association football forwards
- Calcutta Football League players