Victor Anichebe

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Victor Anichebe
Personal information
Full name	Victor Anichebe
Date of birth	April 23, 1988 (1988-04-23) (age 20)
Place of birth	Lagos, Nigeria
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Everton
Number	28
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2006–	Everton	440 (5)
National team
2008	Nigeria U23	10 (1)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:15, 12 April 2008 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Victor Anichebe (born April 23, 1988 in Lagos, Nigeria) is a young footballer currently playing for Everton.

Anichebe was born in Lagos, Nigeria, but moved to Liverpool, England as an infant, his family lived initially in Toxteth before settling in Crosby. He has been described as a fast and powerful player, in the mould of a "traditional" centre forward, and is a product of Everton's Youth Academy.

[edit] Everton

Having made his reserve team debut as a 15 year-old, Anichebe made his first team debut less than two years later on January 28, 2006, as a substitute in the 89th minute of Everton's FA Cup 4th round tie against Chelsea, replacing Simon Davies.

Victor signed his first professional contract with Everton in April 2006, putting pen to paper on a deal that would keep him at Goodison Park until 2008.

His second Everton appearance came on April 22, 2006 when he was brought on with 5 minutes to go against Birmingham City. May 2006 saw Victor Anichebe pick up the 'Reserve Player of the season Award' for the 2005/06 season.

On May 7, Victor Anichebe scored his first Premiership goal against West Bromwich Albion. The 18-year-old turned his man and shot through the legs of Albion keeper, Tomasz Kuszczak.^[1]

Victor quickly became a fan favourite at Everton as he topped the 06/07 pre-season scoring chart with four goals in six appearances including a brace at Bury.

Anichebe scored his first two Premiership goals of the 2006/07 campaign in a 3-0 win against Newcastle United on December 30, 2006. He struck his third Premiership goal of the season in a 4-1 victory over Fulham on Good Friday of 2007.

On May 2, 2007, it was announced that Anichebe had extended his current contract with Everton until the summer of 2011.

In the 2007/08 season, Anichebe became somewhat of a secret weapon in the UEFA Cup for Everton. The teenage striker struck four times in the competition, against Metalist Kharkiv, Greek side Larissa, German's 1. FC Nürnberg and SK Brann of Norway.

On the 7th of May, Anichebe was voted by the everton faithful to be the young player of the season for the 2007/08 campagin in which he was often used a super sub in the UEFA Cup campaign and in the Premier League.

[edit] International career

In February 2006, Anichebe, nicknamed "The Pharaoh"[1], highlighted his ambition to one day play for Nigeria,

"I would want to represent Nigeria because that is where I'm from. I go back every year for Christmas and have a lot of family there. We moved to England when I was just one year old, but I still feel Nigerian."

However Victor did not appear for the country of his birth until 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.

[edit] Statistics

[edit] References

1. ^ Everton FC Victor Anichebe's first Everton goal

http://www.evertonfc.com/news/28143/young-player-of-the-season.html

[edit] External links

• Victor Anichebe career stats at Soccerbase