Bartholomew Owogbalor Ogbeche (born 1 October 1984) is a Nigerian former 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 played as a striker. He was the all-time top scorer in

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is a professional association football league in India and the highest level of the Indian football league system. Administered by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner Football Sport ...

history until 2024. Having started his career in France with

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

, he played his club football in the United Arab Emirates, Spain, Greece, England, the Netherlands and India. He is the all-time top scorer for

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

in the Indian Super League, having previously held the top scorer position for

NorthEast United NorthEast United Football Club is an Indian professional Association football, football club based in Guwahati, Assam that competes in the Indian Super League (ISL), the top flight of Football in India, Indian football. The club was founded on ...

and

Kerala Blasters Kerala Blasters Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Blasters, is an Indian professional football club based in Kochi, Kerala, that competes in the Indian Super League (ISL), the top tier of football in India. The club was esta ...

. Ogbeche represented

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

at the

2002 World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

Club career

Ogbeche was born in

Ogoja Ogoja is a Local Government Area in Cross River State, Nigeria. Its headquarters is Ogoja town in the northeast of the area near the A4 highway at . It has an area of 972 km² and a population of 171,901 at the 2006 census. Its St. Bened ...

. Still a youngster, he was signed by French

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

club

, making his debut with the main squad during the 2001–02 season. However, he failed to settle, also suffering a

thigh In anatomy, the thigh is the area between the hip (pelvis) and the knee. Anatomically, it is part of the lower limb. The single bone in the thigh is called the femur. This bone is very thick and strong (due to the high proportion of bone tissu ...

injury and serving two six-month loans to fellow league sides

Bastia Bastia ( , , , ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. It is located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It also has the second-highest popu ...

and

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

; for the former, he scored in a 4–1 home win against

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

on 7 March 2004– the

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

ns secured their top-flight status, and he left PSG for good in June 2005. After a brief time in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

, Ogbeche moved to Spain, first with Alavés in

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

. Although he posted good individual numbers, the

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

team failed to return 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 ...

but he joined another club in the former tier,

Real Valladolid Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Real Valladolid (), is a Spanish professional List of football clubs in Spain, football club based in Valladolid, Castile and León that will compete from the 2025–26 season in the . The club ...

, making his debut on 26 August 2007 in a 1–0 away victory over

Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as RCD Espanyol, is a Spanish professional sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The club competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spa ...

(12 minutes played). In late August 2009, after two seasons of intermittent use, Ogbeche arranged a one-year deal with

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

of the second division. He finished the campaign as team top scorer, but they finished in 19th position and were relegated. After one year in Greece with

Kavala Kavala (, ''Kavála'' ) is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala regional unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos and on the A2 motorway, a one-and ...

, Ogbeche joined

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, i ...

side

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

on 18 October 2011, signing until the end of the season. He scored his first goal for his new club on 17 December, against

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

in a 3–2 away win. On 5 March 2012, he came on as a substitute towards the end of the home game against

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

, lobbing the ball over Luke Steele for the final 2–0. Ogbeche moved clubs and countries again in January 2014, signing for Cambuur in the Netherlands after a very brief spell back in Spain with

Xerez Xerez Club Deportivo S. A. D. is a Spanish football club based in the city of Jerez de la Frontera. It was founded in 1947 and plays in . History Due to the link between Jerez de la Frontera and the United Kingdom created by the exports of sherr ...

. He scored once and provided an assist in his

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

debut, helping to a 3–1 home defeat of

Heerenveen Heerenveen (, ) is a town and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Friesland (Fryslân), in the Northern Netherlands. In 2021, the town had a population of 29,790 (1 January) while the m ...

. On 25 August 2018, Ogbeche joined

. He made his

debut on 1 October, scoring once in the 2–2 draw against

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

. Later that month, he became the first player to manage a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

during the campaign after achieving the feat in ten minutes away to

Chennaiyin Chennaiyin Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The club competes in the Indian Super League (ISL), the top flight of Indian football. The club was founded in August 2014 during the inaugural seas ...

. Ogbeche continued competing in the Indian top division the following years, with

(becoming their all-time top scorer but being surpassed by

Dimitrios Diamantakos Dimitrios Diamantakos (; born 5 March 1993) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a striker for Indian Super League club East Bengal. Club career Olympiacos Diamantakos started his career at Atromitos Piraeus, from which he moved to ...

in November 2023),

Mumbai City Mumbai City Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is part of the City Football Group. The club competes in the Indian Super League, the top tier of the Indian football league system. They are ...

and

. On 31 January 2022, following a brace against NorthEast United, he became the competition's all-time top scorer at 49 goals; Hyderabad eventually won the championship, and he was also crowned top scorer. On 29 September 2024,

Sunil Chhetri Sunil Chhetri (, born 3 August 1984) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Indian Super League club Bengaluru and captains the India national team. He is the all-time top scorer in Indian Super League history. He is ...

scored his 64th ISL goal to surpass Ogbeche as the first in that individual department. The latter had announced his retirement aged 39 the previous year.

International career

A Nigerian international from the age of 17, Ogbeche was selected for the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

, and appeared in two matches in a group-stage exit. He scored two of his three goals for the national side on 29 May 2004, in a 3–0 win against the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

in the

Unity Cup The Unity Cup is an international football tournament held in London. Nigeria are the defending champions after a penalty shootout win against Jamaica. The competitors are countries with large diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is ...

Charlton, London Charlton is an area of southeast London, England, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east of Greenwich and west of Woolwich, on the south bank of the River Thames, southeast of Charing Cross. An ancient parish in the county of Kent, i ...

Career statistics

Club

International

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

Honours

Mumbai City *

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

*Indian Super League Winners Shield: 2020–21 Hyderabad *Indian Super League: 2021–22 Nigeria *

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Individual *

Indian Super League Golden Boot The Indian Super League Golden Boot is an annual association football award presented to the leading goalscorer in a season of Indian Super League, the top tier Indian Football System. For sponsorship purposes, it was known as the Alto K10 Gol ...

: 2021–22 *Indian Super League Hero of the Month: January 2022 *Indian Super League top scorer (63 goals)

References

External links