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Odion Ighalo

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Odion Ighalo
Ighalo with Watford in 2014
Personal information
Full name Odion Jude Ighalo
Date of birth (1989-06-16) 16 June 1989 (age 35)
Place of birth Lagos, Nigeria
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Watford
Number 24
Youth career
2000–2005 Prime
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2006 Prime 5 (0)
2006–2007 Julius Berger 10 (5)
2007–2008 Lyn 20 (9)
2008–2014 Udinese 6 (1)
2009–2010 → Granada (loan) 26 (16)
2010–2011 → Cesena (loan) 3 (0)
2011–2014 → Granada (loan) 95 (17)
2014 → Watford (loan) 8 (3)
2014– Watford 64 (32)
International career‡
2009 Nigeria U20 3 (0)
2015– Nigeria 11 (3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 00:00, 16 May 2016 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 31 May 2016

Odion Jude Ighalo (born 16 June 1989) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays for English club Watford and the Nigerian national team as a striker.[2]

After starting his career at Prime and Julius Berger, he moved to Norway's Lyn in 2007. A year later he was signed by Udinese, spending most of his tenure loaned out, notably at Granada, before signing for Watford in 2014.

Ighalo made his international debut for Nigeria in 2015.

Club career

Early years / Lyn

Born in Lagos and raised in Edo, and Lagos.[3] Ighalo played in his country with Prime F.C. and Julius Berger FC, where he was discovered by FIFA agent Marcelo Houseman who recommended him to Atta Aneke, being subsequently taken on trial by Norway's Lyn Fotball.

He made his Tippeligaen debut on 16 September 2007 at the age of just 18, scoring in a 2–0 home win against Viking FK. He scored six goals in 13 games in his second year to help his team to the seventh position, and subsequently arose interest from other clubs in the country, with SK Brann reporting Lyn to the Football Association of Norway for unfairness in the negotiation process.[4]

Udinese / Granada

On 30 July 2008 Ighalo signed for Udinese Calcio in Italy, moving alongside teammate Jo Inge Berget and agreeing to a five-year contract.[5] He appeared rarely in Serie A in his debut season, scoring against Cagliari Calcio in a 6–2 home routing –[6] four of his five league appearances came as a late substitute.

Ighalo was loaned to Granada CF in the 2009 summer, as part of the partnership agreement between Udinese and the Spaniards.[7][8][9] He scored 17 times in his first year (playoffs included)[10] and five in the second, as both seasons ended in promotion;[11][12] this was interspersed with a brief loan stint back in Italy with A.C. Cesena.[13]

Ighalo continued playing with Granada in the following years, still owned by the Udine side.[14][15] He played his first La Liga match on 27 August 2011, starting and playing the full 90 minutes in a 0–1 home loss to Real Betis.[16]

Watford

Ighalo joined Watford on a season-long loan deal from Udinese, on 29 July 2014.[17] He made his debut for the English club in the first round of the Football League Cup at Stevenage on 12 August, and scored his first goal against Brentford on 30 September by tucking the ball home after his initial penalty was saved by David Button.

On 24 October 2014 Watford terminated Ighalo's loan, and re-signed him on a permanent deal the same day after Udinese released him from his contract.[18] Exactly three months later, he scored four second half goals and was voted Man of the match in a 7–2 home routing of Blackpool, who led 0–2 at half time;[19] he took his league tally to 14 on 10 February 2015, after netting a brace to help his team come from behind at Brentford to win it 2–1 – his second came through an injury time header.[20]

Ighalo scored in his Premier League debut on 8 August 2015, replacing José Manuel Jurado 16 minutes from time and putting the visitors ahead 2–1 in an eventual 2–2 draw away against Everton for the season opener.[21] He netted twice in a 2–0 home win over West Ham United on 31 October, reaching seven goals for the season and becoming the highest club scorer in the competition after just 11 matches.[22]

On 20 December 2015, Ighalo scored in a Watford victory for the fourth consecutive time, netting a brace in a 3–0 win over Liverpool.[23] His five-goal haul earned him December's Premier League Player of the Month, while his manager Quique Sánchez Flores won the equivalent award.[24]

Ighalo broke a 599-minute personal scoring drought on 13 March 2016, with a goal in a 2–1 win at holders Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, putting the Hornets into the last four for the first time in nine years.[25]

On 12 August 2016, he signed a new five-year contract.[26]

International career

On 24 March 2015, after a series of strong performances for Watford, newly appointed Nigeria interim coach Daniel Amokachi selected Ighalo for the first time, and the latter stated, "I feel good because it is my dream to play for my country".[27] He gained his first cap two days later, starting in a 0–1 friendly home loss to Uganda.[28]

Ighalo was one of three overage players named in Nigeria's squad for the 2016 Olympic tournament in Brazil.[29]

International goals

As of 31 May 2016 (Nigeria score listed first, score column indicates score after each Ighalo goal)[30]
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 13 June 2015 Ahmadu Bello, Kaduna, Nigeria 3  Chad 2–0 2–0 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
2 11 October 2015 Edmond Machtens, Brussels, Belgium 5  Cameroon 3–0 3–0 Friendly
3 31 May 2016 Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg 11  Luxembourg 3–1 3–1 Friendly

Personal life

Ighalo is known to be a devout Christian who also often dedicates part of his wages for Nigerian charitable organisations to help impoverished children, schools and widows below the poverty line.[31]

Club statistics

As of 15 May 2016[32]
Club Season League Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Prime 2005[33] Nigeria National League 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
Julius Berger 2006[33] Nigeria Premier League 10 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 5
Lyn 2007[33] Tippeligaen 7 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 3
2008[33] Tippeligaen 13 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 6
Udinese 2008–09[33] Serie A 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 1
Granada (loan) 2009–10[33] Segunda División B 26 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 26 16
Cesena (loan) 2010–11[32] Serie A 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Granada (loan) 2010–11[32] Segunda División 25 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 25 5
2011–12[32] La Liga 30 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 31 6
2012–13[32] La Liga 28 4 2 1 0 0 0 0 30 5
2013–14[32] La Liga 16 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 18 4
Watford 2014–15[32] Championship 35 20 1 0 2 0 0 0 38 20
2015–16[32] Premier League 37 15 5 2 0 0 0 0 42 17
Career total 241 83 12 5 2 0 0 0 255 88

References

  1. ^ "Watford FC player profiles: Odion Ighalo". Watford F.C. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  2. ^ "Odion Ighalo: Journey and rise to a Barclays Premier League star". Wolexis. 10 November 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  3. ^ "Odion Ighalo: Watford striker to be honoured by Edo State". Pulse. 18 December 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  4. ^ "Lyn, Brann og Odion Ighalo" (in Norwegian). FC Lyn. 30 July 2008. Retrieved 15 January 2010. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |trans_title= (help) [dead link]
  5. ^ "Blir trist å forlate Lyn" (in Norwegian). FC Lyn. 30 July 2008. Retrieved 15 January 2010. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |trans_title= (help) [dead link]
  6. ^ "Udinese-Cagliari 6–2: Quagliarella saluta nella festa del goal" (in Italian). Goal.com. 31 May 2009. Retrieved 13 November 2013. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ "Apuesta de futuro por el Granada CF" (in Spanish). Granada CF. 10 July 2009. Retrieved 17 August 2009. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help) [dead link]
  8. ^ "Pistoletazo de salida al Granada C.F. 2009/2010" (in Spanish). Granada CF. 23 July 2009. Archived from the original on 29 July 2009. Retrieved 20 August 2009. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ "Odion Ighalo, nuevo jugador del Granada C.F." (in Spanish). Granada CF. 22 August 2009. Retrieved 22 August 2009. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help) [dead link]
  10. ^ "El Granada, a medio palmo del ascenso" (in Spanish). Ideal. 16 May 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2013. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ "Granada, en Primera 35 años después" (in Spanish). Marca. 18 June 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2013. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ "Ighalo, el goleador oportuno" (in Spanish). El País. 19 June 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2013. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ "Ufficiale: Ighalo al Cesena" (in Italian). Tutto Mercato Web. 16 July 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2013. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ "Ighalo vuelve cedido a Granada" (in Spanish). Marca. 31 August 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2013. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ "Ighalo jugará en el Granada su quinta campaña consecutiva cedido por Udinense [sic]" (in Spanish). Ideal. 24 August 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2013. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ "Rubén Castro hace justicia" (in Spanish). El País. 28 August 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2013. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ "Udinese striker Odion Ighalo agrees one-year loan switch to Watford". Watford Observer. 29 July 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  18. ^ "Official: Ighalo signs permanent deal". Watford F.C. 24 October 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  19. ^ "Watford 7–2 Blackpool". BBC Sport. 24 January 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  20. ^ "Brentford 1–2 Blackpool". BBC Sport. 10 February 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  21. ^ "Watford hold Everton to point on return to Premier League". ESPN FC. 8 August 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  22. ^ "STAT ATTACK: Watford 2 West Ham 0 – Ighalo becomes Watford's highest-ever Premier League scorer". Yahoo! Sports. 31 October 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  23. ^ "Watford 3 Liverpool 0: Ighalo double stuns Klopp's visitors". Yahoo! Sports. 20 December 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  24. ^ McVitie, Peter (15 January 2016). "Watford's Ighalo and Flores win Premier League awards". Goal.com. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  25. ^ Jennings, Patrick (13 March 2016). "Arsenal 1–2 Watford". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  26. ^ "Odion Ighalo: Nigerian striker 'honoured' by new Watford deal". BBC Sport. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  27. ^ "Nigeria: Watford striker, Ighalo, happy to play for Super Eagles". All Africa. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  28. ^ "Uganda Cranes edge Nigeria Super Eagles in international build up". Kawowo. 26 March 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  29. ^ "EXCLUSIVE: Siasia picks Mikel, Ighalo, Akpeyi for Olympics; Iwobi doubtful". Complete Sports. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  30. ^ "O. Ighalo – Matches". Soccerway. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  31. ^ Walters, Mike (16 October 2015). "Watford's Odion Ighalo discusses his heart of Gold and hopes of reuniting with Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  32. ^ a b c d e f g h "O. Ighalo". Soccerway. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  33. ^ a b c d e f "Odion Ighalo". National Football Teams. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
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