Raphael Onyedika Nwadike (; born 19 April 2001) 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 Belgian club

Club Brugge (), known simply as Club Brugge (in English also: ''Club Bruges''), is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges, Belgium. It was founded in 1891 and its home ground is the Jan Breydel Stadium, which has a capacity of 29,042. They pl ...

and the Nigeria national team.

Club career

Midtjylland

Onyedika used to play street football before joining Nigerian club F.C. Ebedei's academy at the age of 15. After three years in Ebedei, Onyedika joined the academy of

FC Midtjylland Football Club Midtjylland (, "Central Jutland") is a Danish professional football club based in Herning and Ikast. The club is the result of a merger between Ikast FS and Herning Fremad. Midtjylland competes in the Danish Superliga, which they ...

in Denmark, an affiliate club to FC Ebedei, shortly after his 18th birthday. In his first full season in FC Midtjylland, he impressed in the U19 League and in the

UEFA Youth League The UEFA Youth League is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) since 2013. In its current format, it is contested by the under-19 teams of the clubs competing in the UEFA Champions Le ...

with his physique, speed and playing style. On 1 July 2020, he signed his first five-year professional contract with the club until June 2025. To gain more experience, Onyedika was loaned out to Midtjylland's affiliate club,

Danish 1st Division The 1st Division (''1. Division'') is the second-highest football league in Denmark, also known as NordicBet Liga for sponsorship reasons. From 1945 to 1991, the 1. Division was the name of the highest level of football in Denmark. With the for ...

-side

FC Fredericia Fodbold Club Fredericia af 1991 (), simply known as FC Fredericia, is a professional association football club based in the town of Fredericia, Denmark, that competes in the Danish 1st Division, the second tier of the Danish football league syste ...

, on 19 August 2020 for the whole 2020–21 season. Onyedika did well on his loan spell, playing 28 games and scoring three goals. The season went well enough for the Nigerian to be named in

TV3 Sport TV3 Sport is a Danish sports television channel, owned by Viaplay Group and operated by TV3 SPORT. The channel originally broadcast as TV 2 SPORT and was a joint-venture between TV 2 and Modern Times Group. MTG launched a dedicated Danish versio ...

's team of the year in the Danish 1st Division. Onyedika returned to Midtjylland in the summer 2021 and was promoted to the first team squad. He got his official debut for Midtjylland on 16 July 2021 against

Odense Boldklub Odense Boldklub (; also known as Odense BK or the more commonly used OB) is a Danish professional football club based in the city of Odense, in southern Denmark. The club has won three Danish championships and five Danish Cup trophies. OB play ...

, the first game of the

2021–22 Danish Superliga The 2021–22 Danish Superliga (officially the 3F Superliga for sponsorship reasons) was the 32nd season of the Danish Superliga. Brøndby were the defending champions. The season began on 16 July 2021 and ended on 29 May 2022. Teams Lyngby Bol ...

, where he was in the starting line-up and played the whole game.

Club Brugge

On 28 August 2022, Onyedika signed a five-year contract with

in Belgium.

International career

In September 2022, Raphael Onedika was first called up with the Nigeria national team by coach José Peseiro. He honours his first selection at this gathering on 27 September 2022 in a friendly match 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 ...

. He came into play in place of

Frank Onyeka Ogochukwu Frank Onyeka (born 1 January 1998) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for club Brentford and the Nigeria national team. Early life and career Onyeka was born on 1 January 1998 in Benin City, Ed ...

in this match lost by the Nigerians (2-1 final score). On 29 December 2023, he was selected in the list of 25 Nigerian players selected by José Peseiro to compete in the

2023 Africa Cup of Nations The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, known in short as the 2023 AFCON or CAN 2023 and for sponsor (commercial), sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, was the 34th edition of the biennial Africa Cup of Nations tournam ...

Career statistics

Club

International

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

Honours

Club Brugge *

Belgian Pro League The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023 ...

: 2023–24 *

Belgian Cup The Belgian Cup (; ; ) is the main knockout football competition in Belgium, run by the Royal Belgian FA. The competition started in 1908 with provincial selections as the "Belgian Provinces Cup". Starting from 1912 only actual clubs were allowed ...

: 2024–25 Nigeria *

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

runner-up:

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Individual
EaglesTracker Midfielder of the Season
2023-24 Orders * Order_of_the_Niger_civil_division_ribbon

Member of the

Order of the Niger The Order of the Niger (OON) is the second highest Award, national award in Nigeria. It was instituted in 1963 and is junior to the Order of the Federal Republic, the highest order of merit in the country. Award The two highest honours, the Gr ...

References

External links

Raphael Onyedika
at the Club Brugge KN website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Onyedika, Raphael Living people 2001 births Footballers from Imo State Nigerian men's footballers Nigeria men's international footballers Men's association football midfielders Danish Superliga players Danish 1st Division players Belgian Pro League players F.C. Ebedei players FC Midtjylland players FC Fredericia players Club Brugge KV players Nigerian expatriate men's footballers Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium 2023 Africa Cup of Nations players Members of the Order of the Niger 21st-century Nigerian sportsmen