Victor Anichebe

Victor Anichebe

Personal information
Full name	Victor Chinedu Anichebe
Date of birth	23 April 1988 (1988-04-23)
Place of birth	Lagos, Nigeria
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position	Striker, Right Winger, Attacking Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Everton
Number	28
Youth career
2003–2006	Everton
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2006–	Everton	98	(10)
National team‡
2008	Nigeria U-23	5	(1)
2008–	Nigeria	11	(1)
Honours Competitor for Nigeria Men's Football Silver 2008 Beijing Team Competition
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:25, 4 February 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 6 September 2011

Victor Chinedu Anichebe (born 23 April 1988 in Lagos, Lagos State) is a Nigerian footballer who plays for Everton. He has been described as a fast and powerful player, in the mould of a "traditional" centre forward, although has played on the right of midfield.

Early life

Anichebe was born in Nigeria but moved to Liverpool aged one, his family lived initially in Toxteth before settling in Crosby. He is a cousin of former professional football player Iffy Onuora, Olympian Anyika Onuora and professional basketball player Chiz Onuora.

Club career

Anichebe made his reserve team debut as a 15 year-old and his first team debut less than two years later on 27 February 2006, as a substitute in the 89th minute of Everton's FA Cup 4th round tie against Chelsea, replacing Simon Davies. He signed his first professional contract with Everton, a two-year deal, in April 2006.^{[citation needed]} On 7 May 2006, he scored his first Premier League goal against West Bromwich Albion. He was awarded Everton's Reserve Player of the Season for the 2005–06 season.

Anichebe scored his first two Premier League goals of the 2006–07 campaign in a 3–0 win against Newcastle United on 30 December 2006. His contract was extended by four years towards the end of the season as Everton qualified for the UEFA Cup. In the UEFA Cup Anichebe scored four times, against Metalist Kharkiv, Larissa, FC Nuremberg and SK Brann of Norway after coming on as a late second half substitute in many of the games.^{[citation needed]} At the end of the season he was voted by Everton fans as their Young Player of the Season.

On 22 February 2009, in a game against Newcastle United, a tackle from Kevin Nolan left Anichebe injured and unable to play for 11 months. Nolan, who received a straight red card for the foul, later settled out of court when Anichebe sued for loss of earnings. He returned to first team action in January 2010, in a 2–0 victory over Sunderland. His first goal on rejoining the squad came two months later in a 2–2 draw with Birmingham City. In January 2011, he signed a new four-and-a-half-year contract with Everton along with fellow teammate Seamus Coleman.

Anichebe suffered a groin injury while on international duty in September and did not play for the rest of 2011. He made his return as a second half substitute on 1 January 2012, against West Bromwich Albion and scored in the 87th minute to give Everton a 1–0 away win. He continued his comeback by coming off the bench to score the equaliser in a 1–1 with Aston Villa on 14 January. Anichebe continued his goalscoring form by scoring his 3rd goal of the season as a substitute in a 1–1 with Wigan Athletic on 4 February.

International career

Anichebe made his debut for Nigeria on 26 March 2008 in an Olympic games qualifying match against South Africa. Anichebe came off the bench to score the final goal in a 3–0 victory for Nigeria. He made his first start for Nigeria alongside fellow Everton player Yakubu in a friendly against Austria on 27 May 2008 being replaced at half time.

He was selected to represent Nigeria at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and on 10 August 2008 he scored Nigeria's second goal in their match against Japan. Nigeria eventually reached the final, which they lost 1–0 to Argentina, with Anichebe receiving a silver medal.

He was not selected on the final 23-man roster for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa despite a good performance^{[citation needed]} during a friendly against Saudi Arabia. He scored his first senior team goal in the March 2011 friendly against Kenya. Anichebe suffered a groin injury during a 2012 African Cup of Nations qualifying match against Madagascar in September 2011, with Nigeria's coach Samson Siasia blaming the poor pitch. The Super Eagles won the match 2-0, but would miss out on qualification for the tournament a month later, with the injured Anichebe unable to take part in the deciding group game against Guinea.

Statistics

As of match played 4 February 2012.

Club performance			League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
2005–06	Everton	Premier League	2	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	3	1
2006–07			19	3	1	0	3	1	0	0	23	4
2007–08			27	1	1	0	4	0	9	4	40	5
2008–09			17	1	3	0	0	0	2	0	22	1
2009–10			11	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	11	1
2010–11			15	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	18	0
2011–12			6	3	2	0	1	1	0	0	9	4
Everton total			98	10	11	0	8	2	11	4	128	16
Career total			98	10	11	0	8	2	11	4	128	16

External links

• Victor Anichebe career stats at Soccerbase
• Victor Anichebe – FIFA competition record
• Victor Anichebe – UEFA competition record
• Premier League profile
• Everton profile