Wilfred Agbonavbare

Wilfred Agbonavbare

Personal information
Date of birth	October 5, 1966 (1966-10-05)
Place of birth	Lagos, Nigeria
Height	1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	Retired
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1983–1989	New Nigeria Bank	?	(?)
1990	BCC Lions	?	(?)
1990–1996	Rayo Vallecano	177	(0)
1996–1997	Écija	23	(0)
National team
1983–1994	Nigeria	?	(?)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Wilfred Agbonavbare (born 5 October 1966 in Lagos) is a retired Nigerian footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

Club career

In his country, Agbonavbare played for New Nigeria Bank F.C. and the BCC Lions. In 1990, he moved to Spain, where he would the remain for the rest of his career, starting with Rayo Vallecano in Segunda División.

In his second season with the Madrid outskirts team, Agbonavbare appeared in all 38 league games (3,332 minutes of action, 27 goals conceded, second-best in the competition) as the club finished second and returned to La Liga after two years of absence. He continued to be first-choice in the following years, contributing with 31 matches to another top flight promotion in 1995.

In 1995–96, Agbonavbare lost his starting position to Spanish international Abel Resino. In the following summer, he signed for second level club Écija Balompié, being the most used player in his position but suffering team relegation; after one year in his country training to remain fit, he retired due to lack of offers, aged only 31, subsequently settling in the Community of Madrid.

International career

Agbonavbare appeared with the Nigerian under-20s at the 1983 FIFA World Youth Championship in Mexico. He played for more than one decade with the full side, being selected for the 1994 African Cup of Nations and that year's FIFA World Cup, backing up Peter Rufai on both occasions.

External links

• BDFutbol profile
• Wilfred Agbonavbare at National-Football-Teams.com
• Wilfred Agbonavbare – FIFA competition record