Alex Tayo Akande
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alexander Oluwatayo Akande | ||
| Date of birth | 9 February 1989 | ||
| Place of birth | Lagos, Nigeria | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Kitchee | ||
| Number | 8 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2006–2007 | Eastbourne Borough | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2007–2008 | Waltham Forest | 16 | (10) |
| 2008 | Advance Tai Chung | 18 | (7) |
| 2009 | Eastern | 15 | (9) |
| 2009–2010 | Kitchee | 9 | (4) |
| 2009–2010 | → Tai Chung (loan) | 12 | (3) |
| 2010–2011 | Tai Chung | 19 | (3) |
| 2011–2012 | Biu Chun Rangers | 4 | (2) |
| 2012 | → HK Sapling (loan) | 12 | (9) |
| 2012–2013 | Wofoo Tai Po | 30 | (19) |
| 2013– | Kitchee | 48 | (23) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2015– | Hong Kong | 4 | (1) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14 February 2014 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 24 March 2016 | |||
Alexander Oluwatayo Akande (Chinese: 艾力士; born 9 February 1989), more commonly known as Alex Akande, is a Hong Kong footballer who currently plays as a forward in Hong Kong Premier League for Hong Kong club Kitchee.
Club career
Akande arrived in Hong Kong from England after a year with Waltham Forest[1] at 18. He played for Advance Tai Chung in the Hong Kong second division which piqued the interest of first division side Eastern Hong Kong and they signed Alex in January 2009.[2]
Akande spent two weeks training with Premier League club Blackpool and played in their last pre-season friendly against Hibernian and a weekend with Football League Two club Accrington Stanley.[3]
Wofoo Tai Po | Season 2012-13
He joined another Hong Kong First Division club "Wofoo Tai Po" in season 2012-13, in which he played one of his best seasons in his career. He scored 5 goals including a hat-trick against Tuen Mun FC in the quarter-final for the 2012-13 Senior Shield that contributed the team's first ever title-triumph in the tournament. He finished the season with a tally of 19 goals in all competitions.
His performance also earned him a place in the Hong Kong League XI for the 2013 Lunar New Year Cup where he played against Busan I'Park from Korea and Muangthong United from Thailand in this annual International tournament.
However, despite his prolific performance up front, the team's vulnerable defense cost them the place in the top-tier league. Tai Po were involved in a relegation battle-turmoil in which 6 teams were all fighting to avoid relegation on the final day of the league fixture. He opened the score for Tai Po in a huge battle against Yokohama FC, one of the teams in this turmoil. Yet the team conceded a heart-breaking final-second goal which equalized their lead and sent them to relegation dramatically.
Kitchee SC | Season 2013-14
Following the relegation of Tai Po FC, Alex joined his former club Kitchee SC. Kitchee began the season with an exhibition match with Manchester United. Not only did he get the chance to play against the defending English Premier League Champions, he also scored a brilliant goal in the 2-5 defeat as he turned Chris Smalling inside out before firing home.
Alex also got his first chance in continental competition as he was chosen as one of the 4 foreign players for the AFC Cup quarter-final match against Al-Faisaly from Jordan. He equalized the score to 1-1 just minute after the 2nd half whistle in the 1st leg at home. However the match ended in a 1-2 defeat for Kitchee and they were eliminated with the same scoreline in the 2nd leg.
This season ended well for both Kitchee and Alex, as Kitchee had an invincible season as the league Champions with 16 points above the runners-up Sun Pegasus, while Alex added 10 more to his goal tally in all local competitions.
Kitchee SC | Season 2014-15
Kitchee began their new season with another International exhibition match. It was Kitchee versus Paris Saint Germains at Hong Kong Stadium on 2014 July 29. Alex once again found the back of the net against an European giant in this 2-6 defeat in which Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored a hat-trick.
This season Kitchee appointed former Spanish International and Atletico Madrid goalkeeper José Francisco Molina as the head coach. Aiming for higher success in the 2014 AFC Cup and the 2015 AFC Champions League Playoffs. However Alex injured his ACL in a training session in early season that forced him to miss the rest of the season. After a successful surgery to repair his ACL, he went to the United States to begin his rehab with specialized physical therapy. The rehab was a success. He was ready to return for the next season.
Kitchee SC | Hong Kong national team | Season 2015-16
Akande returned from his ACL injury in season 2015/16. On late October, after 7 years of residency, he became a naturalized Hong Kong citizen and immediately called up by the Hong Kong national team for the FIFA friendly match against Myanmar on 7 November 2015 at Mongkok Stadium. Akande made his international debut in this match and scored his first international goal for Hong Kong in the 5-0 victory.
International career
Akande was born and raised in Nigeria, but became a naturalized Hong Kong citizen after years of residency. Akande made his international debut and scored his first goal for Hong Kong against Myanmar on 7 November 2015.
Career statistics
As of 28 April 2016.
| League | Club | Season | League | Cups | AFC Cup | International
Exhibition matches |
Hong Kong
International matches |
Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Hong Kong
2nd Division League |
Advance | 2008–09 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3 | – | – | – | 10 | 10 | |||
| Hong Kong
Premier League |
Eastern | 13 | 3 | 3 | 3 | – | – | – | 16 | 6 | ||||
| Tai Chung | 2009–10 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | 12 | 4 | ||||
| Kitchee | 9 | 4 | 1 | 0 | – | 2 | 1 | – | 12 | 5 | ||||
| Tai Chung | 2010-11 | 17 | 3 | 3 | 0 | – | – | – | 20 | 3 | ||||
| Biu Chun | 2011-12 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 4 | 2 | ||||
| Hong Kong | 10 | 7 | 2 | 2 | – | – | – | 12 | 9 | |||||
| Tai Po FC | 2012–13 | 18 | 13 | 12 | 6 | – | 2 | 0 | – | 32 | 19 | |||
| Kitchee SC | 2013-14 | 16 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | 24 | 12 | ||
| Kitchee SC | 2014-15 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 1 | 1 | – | 3 | 1 | |||
| Kitchee SC | 2015–16 | 12 | 6 | 9 | 4 | – | – | 21 | 10 | |||||
| Total | 166 | 81 | ||||||||||||
- ^ Waltham Forest 0 – 1 Redbridge
- ^ Malaysians easy targets in AFC Cup without foreign firepower
- ^ "Blackpool 1 Hibernian 2". Daily Record. 9 August 2010. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
External links
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- 1989 births
- Living people
- Hong Kong footballers
- Hong Kong international footballers
- Yoruba sportspeople
- Nigerian footballers
- Sportspeople from Lagos
- Expatriate footballers in Hong Kong
- Nigerian expatriates in Hong Kong
- Hong Kong First Division League players
- Eastern AA players
- Kitchee SC players
- Eastbourne Borough F.C. players
- Hong Kong Sapling footballers
- Association football forwards