Ogenyi Onazi
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Ogenyi Eddy Onazi Template:For loop (born 25 December 1992) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Italian Serie D club Avezzano.
He has also played for the Nigeria national team, with whom he won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2013.
Club career[edit]
Early years in Nigeria[edit]
Onazi began playing football in the streets of Jos in 1998. His football skills and abilities drew a lot of attention to him and afforded him the opportunity to play in some academies in the city.
His footballing abilities came to prominence when he moved to the city of Lagos to play for My People.[3]
Lazio[edit]
Onazi joined Lazio in 2011,[4] alongside his teammate, Sani Emmanuel.[5] The pair trialled in England, Greece and Italy[3] following appearances at the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup, in which Nigeria reached the final on home soil, losing to Switzerland.
Onazi was first promoted to the Lazio first team during the 2011–12 season after appearing at youth level.[6] He made his Serie A debut as a substitute in the penultimate match of the season, replacing Senad Lulić in the 90th minute. Lazio recorded a 2–0 victory over Atalanta at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia in Bergamo.[5][7]
In the following 2012–2013 season, Onazi was granted more playing time Under coach Vladimir Petković featuring in a defensive midfielder role alongside Cristian Ledesma. Notably, he started in a UEFA Europa League match against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane,[5] which ended in a 0–0 draw.[8] On 7 March 2013, he scored his first goal for Lazio against Stuttgart in the last sixteen of the Europa League.[9][10] He scored his first Serie A goal in a 3–1 win over Inter Milan on 8 May 2013.[11]
On 13 April 2014, he scored his second Serie A goal for Lazio in a 4–2 defeat to Napoli.[12]
On 22 September 2014, Onazi signed a two-year contract extension with Lazio until 2018. Lazio had previously received transfer enquiries in the summer transfer window by three Premier League clubs Everton, Southampton and Sunderland with interest from German, French, Spanish and Russian clubs also being reported.[4] On 31 May 2015, his 88th-minute goal for the final score of 3–2 in Lazio's win over Napoli helped secure the last Champions League place for the club.[13]
Trabzonspor[edit]
On 2 August 2016, Onazi moved to Trabzonspor for €3.5 million.[14][15][16]
Denizlispor[edit]
On 15 January 2020, Denizlispor confirmed the arrival of Onazi from Trabzonspor, another club of Turkey's top-tier football league, on a free transfer. it was said that Onazi and Denizlispor reached an agreement for a six-month contract with an option for a further one year.[17] He had a contract with Trabzonspor until May 2020.
SønderjyskE[edit]
On 4 October 2020, Onazi joined Danish Superliga team SønderjyskE on a deal for the 2020–21 season with an option to extend the deal with two further years.[18] He was released by the club on 5 January 2021, three months after arriving.[19][20]
Žalgiris[edit]
On 18 February 2021, Onazi signed for Lithuanian champions Žalgiris. On 13 July 2021, he scored his first goal for the club against Linfield in the Champions League qualifying stage.[21]
On 18 August 2021, he left FK Žalgiris.[22] In 2021 A Lyga he played 19 matches and scored two goals.
Denizlispor[edit]
On 20 August 2021, Onazi joined Turkish side Denizlispor.[23][24]
Al-Adalah[edit]
On 19 January 2022, Onazi joined Saudi side Al-Adalah.[25]
Casertana[edit]
On 29 August 2022, Onazi returned to Italy after six years, as he officially joined Serie D side Casertana.[26][27]
Kitchee[edit]
On 12 July 2023, Onazi joined Hong Kong Premier League club Kitchee.
Avezzano[edit]
In December 2023 he joined Italian Serie D team Avezzano Calcio.
International career[edit]
As a 16-year-old, Onazi represented his country at the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup, where Nigeria finished runners-up.[3] However, he was overlooked for selection at the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup two years later, despite participating in the training camps in Portugal and Panama.[3]
He made his debut for the senior Nigeria national team in an African Cup of Nations qualification match against Liberia. His first goal came in his second international match, a 3–1 friendly win over Venezuela in Florida.[5]
Onazi was called up to Nigeria's 23-man squad for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.[28] He came on as a substitute in Nigeria's first match of the tournament against Burkina Faso, whom they would eventually face again in the final, before going to on to play every minute of all Nigeria's games in the knockout phase, including the final.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Category handler/data' not found.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Category handler/data' not found.[<span title="Script error: No such module "delink".">citation needed]
He was selected for Nigeria's squad at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup.[29] but missed out of the tournament as he suffered a slight knee knock a few weeks before the competition.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Category handler/data' not found.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Category handler/data' not found.[<span title="Script error: No such module "delink".">citation needed]
Onazi was named in Nigeria's final squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil and started in all four games as Nigeria were eliminated by France in the round of 16.[4] He was also part of the squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia,[30] though he did not figure in any of the team's three matches. Onazi was expectedly left out of the national teams provisional squad to AFCON 2019 after failing to fully recover from an Achilles injury suffered in December 2018 while playing for his club in Turkey.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Category handler/data' not found.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Category handler/data' not found.[<span title="Script error: No such module "delink".">citation needed]
Personal life[edit]
In November 2019, Onazi said he would help pay for Sani Emmanuel's medical expenses.[31]
Career statistics[edit]
Club[edit]
- As of match played 23 December 2018[32]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Lazio | 2011–12 | Serie A | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 1 | – | 28 | 2 | |||
| 2013–14 | 29 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 2 | ||
| 2014–15 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 19 | 1 | ||||
| 2015–16 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 2 | ||
| Total | 76 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 25 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 110 | 7 | ||
| Trabzonspor | 2016–17 | Süper Lig | 32 | 2 | 6 | 0 | – | – | 38 | 2 | ||
| 2017–18 | 21 | 2 | 2 | 1 | – | – | 23 | 3 | ||||
| 2018–19 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 16 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 69 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 77 | 7 | ||
| Career total | 145 | 10 | 15 | 1 | 25 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 187 | 14 | ||
International[edit]
- As of match played 22 June 2018[33]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | 2012 | 2 | 1 |
| 2013 | 15 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 13 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 51 | 1 | |
Honours[edit]
Lazio
Trabzonspor
Nigeria
- African Cup of Nations: 2013
Orders
Member of the Order of the Niger[34]
References[edit]
- ↑ "2018 FIFA World Cup: List of players" (PDF). FIFA. 23 June 2018. p. 19. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
- ↑ Template:FIFA player
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Audu, Samm (11 October 2012). "Eaglet Onazi soars to fly with the Super Eagles". African Football. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3
- ↑
- ↑ Audu, Samm (6 May 2012). "Onazi Ogenyi finally debuts for Lazio". African Football. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑ Alaka, Babajide (9 May 2013). "Nigerians Abroad: Ogenyi Onazi scores a rocket against Inter as Moses comes on as a sub in Chelsea draw". Goal. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
- ↑
- ↑ "Lazio Ogenyi Onazi winner vs Napoli ensures Champions League". ESPNFC. 31 May 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
- ↑ "RELAZIONE FINANZIARIA SEMESTRALE CONSOLIDATA AL 31 DICEMBRE 2016" (PDF) (in italiano). S.S. Lazio. 30 March 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
- ↑
- ↑ "Onazi joins Turkish club". Punch Newspapers. 2 August 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- ↑ Amosu, Adeboye (15 January 2020). "Onazi Joins Turkish Club Denizlispor". Complete Sports. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- ↑ Navnkundig nigerianer til SønderjyskE, soenderjyske.dk, 4 October 2020
- ↑ Ravn, Jacob (5 January 2021). "Onazi stopper i SønderjyskE". soenderjyske.dk (in dansk). SønderjyskE Fodbold. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
- ↑
- ↑ "Ogenyi Onazi: Lithuanian champions Zalgiris sign Super Eagles midfielder | Goal.com".
- ↑ "O. Onazi persikėlė į kitą klubą | A Lyga | Aukščiausia Lietuvos futbolo lyga".
- ↑ "O.Onazi jau pasirašė sutartį su Turkijos klubu".
- ↑ "Hoş Geldin Ogenyi Onazi » Haberler | Denizlispor Kulübü Resmi İnternet Platformu".
- ↑ "الاداره العدلاويه تعزز خط وسط فريقها الكروي بالنيجيري اوجينا اونازي".
- ↑ "Onazi: "Avevo dato la mia parola al presidente. Qui per vincere!"". www.casertanafc.it (in italiano). 29 August 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
- ↑ Torrisi, Antonio (29 August 2022). "La Lazio, la Turchia e la Serie D, Onazi torna in Italia: giocherà nella Casertana". Goal.com. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
- ↑ Oluwashina Okeleji (10 January 2013). "Nations Cup 2013: Nigeria pick six locally-based players". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
- ↑ "Nigeria to take new-look squad to Confederations Cup". BBC Sport. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
- ↑ "Revealed: Every World Cup 2018 squad – Final 23-man lists | Goal.com".
- ↑
- ↑ "Ogenyi Onazi".
- ↑ "Ogenyi Onazi". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 23 June 2018.Script error: No such module "WikidataCheck".
- ↑
External links[edit]
- Ogenyi Onazi at SoccerwayScript error: No such module "EditAtWikidata".
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