Isaac Okoronkwo
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | May 1, 1978 | ||
Place of birth | Nbene, Nigeria | ||
Height | 1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in) | ||
Position(s) | Centre back | ||
Youth career | |||
FC Lagos | |||
Julius Berger | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1994 | Enyimba | 13 | (4) |
1995 | Iwuanyanwu Nationale | 26 | (7) |
1996–1997 | Julius Berger | 25 | (5) |
1997–1998 | Al-Rayyan | ? | (?) |
1998 | Iwuanyanwu Nationale | 25 | (6) |
1998–2000 | Sheriff Tiraspol | 41 | (1) |
2000–2003 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 53 | (0) |
2003–2004 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 7 | (0) |
2005 | Alania Vladikavkaz | 22 | (0) |
2006–2009 | Moscow | 64 | (2) |
2010–2013 | Rostov | 62 | (1) |
International career‡ | |||
2001–2008 | Nigeria | 26 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 25 June 2016 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 25 June 2016 |
Isaac Okoronkwo (born May 1, 1978 in Nbene, Nigeria) is a former professional football player who last played as a defender for FC Rostov in Russia.
Career
Okoronkwo started his career at FC Lagos before moving to the Nigerian club Julius Berger. His first club outside Nigeria was a six-month spell at Al-Rayyan in Qatar, but the club could not afford to keep him beyond this period and he returned home, to Iwuanyanwu Nationale. He spent one season there before again heading abroad with Moldovan club Sheriff Tiraspol for two seasons. In the summer of 2000, he signed for Shakhtar Donetsk in the Ukraine.
With Shakhtar he played in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup, and won the Ukrainian Cup in 2001 and the league title in 2002. After his contract expired in 2003, several Premier League and Bundesliga clubs like Schalke 04 and Borussia Mönchengladbach tried to sign him. He eventually signed a one-year deal with newly promoted Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers. Okoronkwo's time in England did not prove a success though as he was unable to break into the team until the closing months of the season, by which time the club faced almost certain relegation. After they suffered the drop, Okoronkwo was released and eventually moved to play in Russia with Alania Vladikavkaz. Alania folded under financial problems in 2005 and he signed with FC Moscow in 2006, soon becoming an important member of the starting line-up at his new club. That season he was voted the club's player of the season, alongside Hector Bracamonte.
International career
Okoronkwo played 25 games for the Nigeria national team after making his debut on 13 January 2001, against Zambia. He played in the 2002 and 2004 African Cup of Nations (finishing third both times) and in the Olympics Games in 2000. He also played in every minute of Nigeria's 2002 World Cup campaign, where they failed to progress beyond the group stage.
External links
- 1978 births
- Living people
- Nigerian footballers
- Nigerian expatriate footballers
- FC Sheriff Tiraspol players
- FC Shakhtar Donetsk players
- Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players
- FC Spartak Vladikavkaz players
- FC Moscow players
- Ukrainian Premier League players
- Premier League players
- Nigerian expatriates in Russia
- 2002 African Cup of Nations players
- 2004 African Cup of Nations players
- 2002 FIFA World Cup players
- Igbo sportspeople
- Footballers at the 2000 Summer Olympics
- Olympic footballers of Nigeria
- Nigeria international footballers
- Nigerian expatriates in Moldova
- Russian Premier League players
- Enyimba International F.C. players
- Al Rayyan SC players
- Expatriate footballers in Russia
- Expatriate footballers in Qatar
- Iwuanyanwu Nationale players
- Expatriate footballers in Moldova
- Expatriate footballers in Ukraine
- Expatriate footballers in England
- FC Rostov players
- Association football defenders