Daniel Amokachi

Daniel Amokachi

Personal information
Full name	Daniel Owefin Amokachi
Date of birth	30 December 1972 (1972-12-30)
Place of birth	Kaduna, Nigeria
Height	1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1989–1990	Ranchers Bees
1990–1994	Club Brugge	81	(35)
1994–1996	Everton	43	(10)
1996–1999	Besiktas	77	(19)
2002	Colorado Rapids	0	(0)
2005	Nasarawa United	?	(?)
National team
1990–1999	Nigeria	42	(14)
Teams managed
2006	Nasarawa United
2007	Nigeria (Assistant Coach)
2008	Enyimba
2008–	Nigeria (Assistant Coach)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Daniel Owefin Amokachi nicknamed "The Bull" (born December 30, 1972 in Kaduna) is a former football striker from Nigeria who hails from Benue State.

Career

While playing for Ranchers Bees, Amokachi was discovered by Nigerian national team coach Clemens Westerhof, who brought the talented player to the 1990 African Nations Cup, and soon Amokachi moved to play for Club Brugge in Belgium. He competed in the new format of the Champions League, and became the first player to score in the competition, after his goal secured a 1–0 win in the opening match in the group stage against CSKA Moscow. Performing well in Belgium and at the 1994 World Cup, Everton became interested in Amokachi and their manager Mike Walker signed him for a fee of £3,000,000 ($4,700,000).

He went on to win the FA Cup with Everton in 1995, famously infuriating manager Joe Royle by bringing himself on as a substitute then proceeding to score two goals in the semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur. He appeared in the final only briefly, late on, as a substitute but is remembered fondly for his beret wearing celebrations.

He remained at Everton until the end of the 1995–96 season, when he was transferred to Beşiktaş of Turkey for a fee of £1.75million. He had failed to make the impact at Goodison Park that many fans had been hoping for, and had been unable to win a regular place in the first team, as Paul Rideout and Duncan Ferguson were firmly established as Everton's two strikers at this stage. He did, however, stand in for Ferguson while he spent six weeks in prison during the autumn of 1995 for an offence committed in Scotland 18 months earlier.

Managerial career

Amokachi managed Nigerian club Nasarawa United F.C. and later Enyimba Aba. In April 2007 he quit his role as assistant coach of the Nigeria national team. On April 10, 2008 Amokachi was re-appointed to Nigeria's national team, the Super Eagles, as assistant coach to Shuaibu Amodu.

Controversy

As a Pundit Made Controversial Comments about Zambian team : Amokachi As a pundit in reference to Zambia’s 2-1 win against the Senegalese said the Zambians should have been asking the Senegalese players for autographs. He also said the Zambians looked like orphans sitting in their dressing room .. He was seen to be bullying Dennis Lota on live TV in an arrogant manner

Statistics

Club performance			League
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals
Belgium			League
1990/91	Brugge	First Division	3	0
1991/92			26	12
1992/93			23	9
1993/94			28	14
1994/95			1	0
England			League
1994/95	Everton	Premier League	18	4
1995/96			25	6
Turkey			League
1996/97	Beşiktaş	First League	30	7
1997/98			27	8
1998/99			20	4
Country	Belgium		81	35
	England		43	10
	Turkey		77	19
Total			201	64

Nigeria national team
Year	Apps	Goals
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998	4	0
1999	1	0
Total

International

Olympic medal record
Competitor for Nigeria
Men's Football
Gold	1996 Atlanta	Team Competition

He played many international matches for Nigeria, and was part of the team that participated in the 1994 FIFA World Cup and 1998 FIFA World Cup and won the 1994 African Nations Cup. He also helped win the Olympic gold medal in 1996, scoring in the Gold Medal game itself against Argentina.

Amokachi sustained an injury just ahead of the 1998 FIFA World Cup, played one game, but struggled with knee problems thereafter. After leaving Beşiktaş in 1999, his playing career more or less ended. He signed with 1860 Munich, but the contract was cancelled after he failed a medical test. In turn he was rejected by Tranmere Rovers for the same reason. Amokachi trained with French second division side US Créteil, but the deal was hampered by injuries. American MLS team Colorado Rapids signed him in 2002, but seeing as he was not fit enough they released him before a single match was played. He went to play in the United Arab Emirates, but was denied again due to his medical condition.

References

• "Daniel Amokachi". Nigerian Players. Archived from the original on 30 November 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071130045319/http://www.nigerianplayers.com/player.asp?pID=190. 
• "Amokachi just wants a club". BBC Sport. 30 March 2001. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/africa/1245955.stm. Retrieved 23 March 2010.