Victor Obinna

Victor Obinna

Personal information
Full name	Victor Nsofor Obinna
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	Internazionale
Number	21
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 October 2009

Olympic medal record
Representing Nigeria
Men's Football
	2008 Beijing	Team Competition

Victor Nsofor Obinna (born March 25, 1987 in Jos, Nigeria) is a Nigerian footballer who plays as a striker for Internazionale.

Biography

His name, Obinna in Igbo, literally means "Father´s heart". He played for Chievo in Italy's Serie B, having played regularly in Serie A with the club until their relegation in 2007. He made his full international debut for Nigeria at the 2006 African Cup of Nations, scoring once in three appearances as his side were eliminated in the semifinals.

Club career

Enyimba

Obinna played for Nigerian clubs Plateau United and Kwara United, before signing for then-African champions Enyimba in 2005. In the same year, he went on trials with Italian clubs Inter Milan, Perugia and Juventus before signing with Brazilian club Internacional Porto Alegre, but international clearance problems meant that the transfer was never finalised. He rejoined Enyimba to take part in their domestic league campaign and CAF Champions League defence.

Chievo Verona

Obinna was signed by Italian club Chievo on a three-year contract in July 2005.. In his first season with Chievo, Obinna scored 6 goals in 26 games, including a goal on his Serie A debut against Parma in a 1-0 win, 11 September, 2005. In the first months of the 2006 season, Obinna was suspended for having signed a contract with both Internacional and Chievo in 2005. Chievo were relegated at the end of the 2006-07 season, casting some doubt over Obinna's future; however, the club successively chose to keep Obinna into the squad to help them earn promotion back to Serie A.

On October 4, 2007, Obinna was involved in a car accident on his way home from training in which he swerved away from a vehicle that tried to overtake him around a bend, escaping with only a few bruises and shock. The car flipped several times and was totally destroyed. He lost consciousness and was taken to hospital. The accident occurred approximately 100 metres away from where former Chievo player Jason Mayélé was killed in a car accident in 2002.

Internazionale

In August 2008 Obinna moved to Internazionale Milano F.C. signing a four year deal. English club Everton attempted to immediately sign him on loan, but were unable to secure a work permit for the player.

His new number is 21. He scored his first goal on the 19. October against A.S. Roma with a 25 yards screamer. Inter won the game 4-0.

National team

Obinna was called up to the Nigerian senior squad at the 2006 African Cup of Nations, scoring once before his side's semifinal elimination.

In August 2008, he was named amongst Nigeria's squad for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Obinna scored Nigeria's first goal in a 2–1 win against Japan the "Super Eagles' winning goal in the final group match against the USA, ensuring that Nigeria qualified for the quarter-finals. Nigeria were drawn against Ivory Coast who they beat 2–0, with Obinna scoring a penalty and setting up Peter Odemwingie for the other goal. He later captained the Nigerian team and produced a remarkable display of football artistry when they beat Belgium 4 - 1 in the semi-final match. Nigeria then had Argentina and history was hoping to be made again like in 1996, Nigeria ended up losing the match 0-1 however Nigeria claimed a silver olympic medal.

External links

• FootballDatabase.com profile
• Soccernet.com profile
• NigerianPlayers.com profile
• Victor Obinna – FIFA competition record (archived)