Amaechi Ottiji (28 December 1969 – 25 December 2004) was a Nigerian
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 played as a
forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
*Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Smal ...
for clubs in Nigeria, Greece and Germany.
Club career
Born in
Enugu
Enugu () verbally pronounced as "Enụgwụ" by the Igbo indigenes is a state in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by the states of Benue and Kogi, Ebonyi State to the east and southeast, Abia State to the so ...
, Ottiji began playing football for
Calabar Rovers. He played for
Enugu Rangers
Rangers International Football Club, commonly known as Enugu Rangers, is a Nigerian professional association football team founded in 1970. Based in Enugu, the Rangers play their home games at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium. Enugu Rangers are one ...
and
BCC Lions
BCC Lions Football Club (Benue Cement Company Lions Football Club) was a Nigerian football team based in Gboko, Benue State. It competed at various levels in the Nigerian League system, including the Nigeria Amateur League and the Nigeria Profes ...
, winning the 1989
Nigerian FA Cup
The Nigeria Federation Cup is the main football (soccer), football single-elimination tournament in Nigeria contested by 74 teams, representing the States of Nigeria, 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria, FCT of Nigeria. It is the ...
with BCC.
In 1990, Ottiji joined
Greek Superleague
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
Panachaiki F.C. for 5.5 seasons appearing in 110 league matches and scoring 50 goals for the club. He transferred to
Ionikos F.C.
Ionikos Football Club () is a Greek football club based in Nikaia, Greece, competing in the Gamma Ethniki. It is part of the multi-sport club Ionikos Nikaias.
From 1989 to 2007 Ionikos spent 16 out of 18 seasons in the Alpha Ethniki/Super Leag ...
in December 1994, and would play 2.5 seasons for the club in the Greek Superleague.
He moved to German
Regionalliga
A (, plural ) is a regional league in numerous Sports governing body, sports governing bodies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, usually located in the upper or middle tiers of the sports leagues.
The term is often associated with the Germa ...
side
SV Darmstadt 98
Sportverein Darmstadt 1898 e.V., commonly known as Darmstadt 98 (), is a German professional association football club based in Darmstadt, Hesse. The club was founded on 22 May 1898 as FC Olympia Darmstadt. Early in 1919, the association was bri ...
in 1998, but could not prevent the club from being relegated despite scoring 12 league goals. He spent the remainder of his career in the lower levels of German football, playing in the Regionalliga for
Sportfreunde Siegen
Sportfreunde Siegen is a German association football club based in Siegen, North Rhine-Westphalia. After going through insolvency in 2008, the first team was forcibly relegated to the fifth-tier NRW-Liga. Promotion to fourth division Regionallig ...
and
SV Elversberg
SpVgg 07 Elversberg is a Football in Germany, German association football club, located in Spiesen-Elversberg, Saarland. The club plays in the 2. Bundesliga from the 2023–24 2. Bundesliga, 2023–24 season following promotion from the 3. Liga ...
.
International career
Ottiji made one appearance for the
Nigeria national team, in a friendly against Iran in 1998.
Death
He died in Colombia in 2004, during a shooting between rival gangs.
References
External links
*
*
Mention of Amaechi Ottiji's death
1969 births
2004 deaths
Men's association football forwards
Nigerian men's footballers
Nigeria men's international footballers
Rangers International F.C. players
BCC Lions F.C. players
Panachaiki F.C. players
Ionikos F.C. players
SV Darmstadt 98 players
FC Gütersloh players
Sportfreunde Siegen players
VfB Oldenburg players
SV Elversberg players
Nigerian expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in Greece
Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Greece
Expatriate men's footballers in Germany
Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Germany
Super League Greece players
Regionalliga players
Footballers from Enugu
20th-century Nigerian sportsmen
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