Oghenekaro Peter Etebo (born 9 November 1995) is a Nigerian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for Turkish club Gençlerbirliği. Etebo started out at Warri Wolves where he spent three years before moving into European football with Portuguese side

Feirense Clube Desportivo Feirense, commonly known as CD Feirense or just Feirense, is a Portuguese football club based in Santa Maria da Feira. Founded on 18 March 1918, Feirense play in the LigaPro, the second tier of Portuguese football. Their chairma ...

. He helped the side gain promotion to the

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

and established themselves as a top-flight club. Etebo had a six-month loan spell at Spanish side

Las Palmas Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital city of the Canary Islands (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife) and the m ...

in the 2017–18 season. Etebo joined English side

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

in June 2018 for a fee of £6.35 million.

Club career

Warri Wolves

Etebo joined Warri Wolves in 2012, Etebo was announced as a member of the senior squad for the 2013 Nigeria Premier League season. However, due to his school studies and a delayed start to the league season, he only got to make his professional debut on 14 April 2013, announcing himself to Nigerian fans by scoring the first hat-trick of the season. With his goals in the 4th, 9th and 37th minutes and another by Joseph Osadiaye in the 12th minute as Wolves were up by four goals in the first half against

El-Kanemi Warriors El-Kanemi Warriors Football Club is a football team based in Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria. Their play ground is the El-Kanemi Stadium, Maiduguri. The club is on a positive rebound having gained promotion to the 2024–25 Nigeria Premier Footb ...

. His excellent debut season continued when he scored the fastest hat-trick in the league in a 3–1 win against Wikki Tourists, scoring all three goals within 22 minutes of play. Etebo opened scoring for Wolves in the seventh minute of the game, but the celebrations had yet to die down when Waziri Christopher equalized for Wikki. Etebo struck again in the 12th minute to restore Wolves' lead, and he completed his hat-trick in the 29th minute, after the hosts were awarded a spot kick. In March 2014, he scored his first continental goal against

Union Douala Union Sportive de Douala is a Cameroonian professional football club based in Douala Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region (Cameroon), Littoral Region. It was hom ...

in the

2014 CAF Confederation Cup The 2014 CAF Confederation Cup (also known as the 2014 Orange CAF Confederation Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 11th edition of the CAF Confederation Cup, Africa's secondary club football competition organized by the Confederation of African F ...

. His performances in the

CAF Confederation Cup The CAF Confederation Cup, known as the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual association football football team, club competition established in 2004 and organized by Confederation of African Football, CAF ...

got the attention of Tunisian club Espérance and Egyptian side

Zamalek Zamalek ( , ''al zamalek'') is a ''qism'' (ward) within the West District (''hayy gharb'') in the Western Area of Cairo, Egypt. It is an affluent district on a man-made island which is geologically a part of the west bank of the Nile River, wit ...

, sparking a fight over his signature. In May 2014 Etebo had a trial at Italian club

Udinese Udinese Calcio (; "Udinese Football") is a professional football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. The team currently competes in the Serie A, the first tier of Italian football. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sport ...

. In 2015 Etebo received the Glo Wondergoal award, for the best goal of the 2015 Nigeria Professional Football League season, which was scored against Bayelsa United. On 7 January 2016, he won the Most Promising Talent of the Year award at the

CAF Awards The CAF Awards is an awards evening held to honour the best African association football players. It is conferred by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). History The CAF Awards was first awarded in the year 2000. It is an award conteste ...

Abuja, Nigeria Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...

. In total Etebo scored 23 goals in 64 league games for Warri Wolves in his three years with the club.

Feirense

Etebo joined Portuguese

LigaPro The Liga Portugal 2 (), also known as Liga Portugal Meu Super for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division of the Portuguese football league system. At the end of each season, the two top-finishing teams are promoted to the top-tier ...

club

in early 2016, he played four times in 2015–16, scoring once helping them to gain promotion to the

. He played 27 times in 2016–17 as Feirense finished in eight position narrowly misses out on a European place by two points.

Las Palmas (loan)

On 31 January 2018, Etebo was loaned to

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

side

UD Las Palmas Unión Deportiva Las Palmas S.A.D. is a professional association football, football club based in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain. The club will compete in Segunda División, the 2nd division in the Spanish football league syst ...

for six months, with a buyout clause. Etebo played 14 matches with Las Palmas but was unable to prevent them being relegated. Etebo earned praise for his performances with the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

side.

Stoke City

On 11 June 2018, Etebo signed for

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, it is the highest divi ...

side

for €7.2million (£6.35 million) from

on a five-year deal. He became new manager

Gary Rowett Gary Rowett (born 6 March 1974) is an English professional football manager and former player who is head coach of club Oxford United. As a player, he was a defender, and played in the Premier League for Everton, Derby County, Leicester City ...

's first signing at Stoke, who described him as an 'energetic midfielder'. Etebo revealed that he turned down offers from

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

clubs before joining Stoke. He made his Stoke debut on 5 August 2018 against

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

. Etebo played 37 times in 2018–19 and was one of the teams's better performers as Stoke finished in 16th position. He scored twice both of which were powerful strikes against

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

and

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

. Etebo had a delayed start to the 2019–20 season due to his involvement with Nigeria at the

2019 Africa Cup of Nations The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (abbreviated as AFCON 2019 or CAN 2019), known as the Total SE, Total 2019 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 32nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's associati ...

. Stoke began the season in terrible form and found themselves in the Championship relegation places which cost manager Nathan Jones his job in November 2019. Under new manager Michael O'Neill, Etebo was dropped from the squad with O'Neill critical of his efforts in training. This lead him to being linked with a move away from the club in January 2020. In January 2020, Etebo joined

side

Getafe Getafe () is a municipalities in Spain, municipality and a city in Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 180,747, the region's sixth most populated municipality. Getafe is located 13 km south of Madrid's city c ...

on loan for the remainder of the 2019–20 season with an option to purchase. Etebo played 11 times for Getafe scoring once against

SD Eibar Sociedad Deportiva Eibar (in ) is a Spanish football league teams, Spanish professional football club based in Eibar, Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country. Founded on 30 November 1940, the men’s te ...

but the club decided against activating their purchase option. On 9 September 2020, Etebo joined Turkish side

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Galatasaray and familiarly as Cimbom, is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul including basketball, wheelchair ...

on loan for the 2020–21 season. He played 29 times for Galatasary as they finished in second place, missing out on the title to

Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 18 km2 and its population is 175,190 (2022). It is located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and ...

on goal difference. On 9 July 2021, Etebo joined newly promoted

side

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

on a season-long loan deal with an option to buy. On 14 August 2021, he made his competitive debut for Watford in their league opener against

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

, where Watford won 3–2. Etebo struggled with injuries in 2021–22, making ten appearances for the Hornets as they suffered relegation from the Premier League and at the end of the season they decided against signing him on a permanent basis.

Aris

On 15 September 2022, Etebo joined

Greek Super League The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

side

Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Konstantinidis, Greek architect * ...

on a permanent deal.

International career

Etebo made his international debut on 27 July 2013 against Côte d'Ivoire in a 2–0 loss in

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N'ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the largest city and the former capital of Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of the overall population ...

during the

2014 African Nations Championship The 2014 African Nations Championship, known as the 2014 CHAN for short and as the Orange S.A., Orange African Nations Championship for sponsorship purposes, was the 3rd edition of the biennial association football tournament organized by Confed ...

qualification Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

campaign for home-based players. He also played against Jordan in an international friendly on 23 October 2013. In December 2015, he helped the Nigerian U-23 Team to the U-23 Africa Cup of Nations triumph in

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

; finishing top scorer with five goals, including a brace in a 2–1 win against

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

in the final. Both goals were characterized by deep runs from his team's own half. Having almost single-handedly guaranteed Nigeria's qualification to the Olympic games, he was subsequently selected by Nigeria in the 35-man provisional squad for the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

. Following a tumultuous arrival in Brazil, he scored four goals against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

in Nigeria's opening group match. The game ended 5–4 to Nigeria. Injured in the third game of the tournament, he played a lessened part in the run of the team to a bronze medal finish. Etebo is a member of the full Nigeria national team. Etebo was named in Nigeria's 23-man squad for the

2018 World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded the hosting rights in l ...

in Russia. He started all three of Nigeria's group matches which saw them beat

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

but lose to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

which meant that they failed to progress to the knock-out stages.

Career statistics

Club

International

FWC 2018 - Group D - NGA v ISL - Photo 44

:''Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Etebo goal.''

Honours

Nigeria U23 *

Olympic Bronze Medal Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Etebo, Oghenekaro Living people 1995 births Men's association football midfielders Footballers from Lagos Nigerian men's footballers Nigeria men's international footballers C.D. Feirense players Warri Wolves F.C. players UD Las Palmas players Stoke City F.C. players Getafe CF footballers Galatasaray S.K. footballers Watford F.C. players Aris Thessaloniki F.C. players Gençlerbirliği S.K. footballers Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Nigeria Professional Football League players La Liga players English Football League players Süper Lig players Super League Greece players TFF 1. Lig players Footballers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for Nigeria Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Nigerian expatriate men's footballers Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Nigeria Olympic medalists in football African Games bronze medalists for Nigeria African Games bronze medalists in football 2018 FIFA World Cup players Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in England Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Footballers at the 2015 African Games 2019 Africa Cup of Nations players Premier League players 21st-century Nigerian sportsmen