Benjamin Onwuachi (born 9 April 1984 in
Lagos
Lagos ( Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 f ...
) is 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 ...
who plays as a
striker. Onwuachi started his career in the youth ranks of
Reggiana Reggiana may refer to:
* A.C. Reggiana 1919, a football club
* ASDCF Reggiana, a women's football club
* Pallacanestro Reggiana
Pallacanestro Reggiana, also known for sponsorship reasons as UnaHotels Reggio Emilia, is an Italian professional bas ...
. He continued in the academies of
Juventus
Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football league system. Founded in ...
where he didn't manage to establish himself in the first team. He then moved to
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
to play for
Standard Liège
Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège (; nl, Standard Luik ; german: Standard Lüttich ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège.
They are one of the mo ...
. After a season in Belgium he moved to
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...
in 2006, where he played for several clubs having also spells in
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic
The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the ...
and
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...
.
Club career
He began his career in
Reggiana Reggiana may refer to:
* A.C. Reggiana 1919, a football club
* ASDCF Reggiana, a women's football club
* Pallacanestro Reggiana
Pallacanestro Reggiana, also known for sponsorship reasons as UnaHotels Reggio Emilia, is an Italian professional bas ...
academies in Italy in 2002. In 2003, he played only a game scoring one goal for
Juventus
Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football league system. Founded in ...
(he was purchased by Juventus for €420,000
). In the 2004–2005 season he went on loan to
Salernitana
Unione Sportiva Salernitana 1919, commonly referred to as Salernitana, is
an Football in Italy, Italian football club based in Salerno, Campania. The original club was founded in 1919 and has been reconstituted three times in the course of its hi ...
where he played 18 games and scored 6 goals. The 2005–06 season he signed a 2-year deal with Belgian side
Standard Liège
Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège (; nl, Standard Luik ; german: Standard Lüttich ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège.
They are one of the mo ...
but failed to play a single match.
Ionikos
The 2006–07 season, he went to Greece and joined the team at
Nikaia
Nicaea, also known as Nicea or Nikaia (; ; grc-gre, Νίκαια, ) was an ancient Greek city in Bithynia, where located in northwestern Anatolia and is primarily known as the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea (the first and sev ...
of
Ionikos. He noted 42 participations and had 7 goals. That same season
Ionikos fell in the Second National Division of Greece,
Beta Ethniki 2007-08
Beta (, ; uppercase , lowercase , or cursive ; grc, βῆτα, bē̂ta or ell, βήτα, víta) is the second letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 2. In Modern Greek, it represents the voiced labiod ...
, and he decided to leave the club. The administration of
Ionikos did not agree with this, but unfortunately they did not manage to change his decision.
In October 2007, he returned to
Nikaia
Nicaea, also known as Nicea or Nikaia (; ; grc-gre, Νίκαια, ) was an ancient Greek city in Bithynia, where located in northwestern Anatolia and is primarily known as the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea (the first and sev ...
, at
Ionikos, at a point where the club campaigned for a promotion in the
Super League Greece
The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...
. That year he played in 27 games and had 14 goals, so that he ranked 3rd in the scorerlist of the division! Unfortunately the club did not achieve promotion to the first division. In the match against
PAS Giannena
PAS Giannina Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ ΠΑΣ Γιάννινα 1966), or with its full name Panepirotikos Athlitikos Syllogos Giannina ( el, Πανηπειρωτικός Αθλητικός Σύλλογος Γιάννινα, ''Panepirotic Athleti ...
which
Ionikos won 4–1, Onwuachi scored 2 goals.
APOEL
The next year the budget of
Ionikos fell and in July 2008, Onwuachi went on loan to
APOEL
APOEL FC ( el, ΑΠΟΕΛ; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, ''Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias'', literally "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") ...
. For
APOEL
APOEL FC ( el, ΑΠΟΕΛ; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, ''Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias'', literally "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") ...
he played in 23 games in the championship and scored 8 goals helping the team to win the
Cypriot First Division
The Cypriot First Division ( el, Πρωτάθλημα Α΄ Κατηγορίας) is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. Since February 2016, it is sponsored by Cyta and is thus official ...
and the
Super Cup
A super cup is a competition, usually but not exclusively in association football, which often forms the ' curtain raiser' to a season, and typically involves only two teams who have qualified through success in other competitions during the pre ...
of season 2008–09. In May 2009, the player and the chairman of
APOEL
APOEL FC ( el, ΑΠΟΕΛ; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, ''Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias'', literally "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") ...
, Phivos Erotokritou, did not agree on signing a new contract and Onwuachi returned to Greece to
Ionikos.
Kavala
On 20 August 2009, he signed a 4-years contract with the newly promoted in
Super League Greece
The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...
team of
Kavala
Kavala ( el, Καβάλα, ''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 Egnati ...
. His first season with his new team, was excellent because he became 4th in top scorers of Super League Greece, scoring 10 goals. In August 2011,
FIFA canceled his contract with the club after they failed to pay his salary for two consecutive months.
AEL Limassol
On 25 August 2011, he signed with
AEL Limassol
Athlitiki Enosi Lemesou ( el, Αθλητική Ένωση Λεμεσού, translation=Athletic Union of Limassol) commonly known as AEL, is a Cypriot sports club based in the city of Limassol, most famous for its football team.
AEL also maintain ...
in Cyprus, but he was released from the club in January 2012.
Panetolikos
On 26 January 2012, he returned to Greece and signed a 6-month contract with
Panetolikos
Panetolikos Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Παναιτωλικός), or with its full name Panetolikós Yimnastikós Filekpedeftikós Síllogos ( el, Παναιτωλικός Γυμναστικός Φιλεκπαιδευτικός Σύλλογος'' ...
. On 26 April 2012, after the conclusion of the season, Onwuachi and Panetolikos parted their ways, as he could not fit into the team.
Skoda Xanthi
On 6 June 2012, Onwuachi signed a contract with
Xanthi
Xanthi ( el, Ξάνθη, ''Xánthi'', ) is a city in the region of Western Thrace, northeastern Greece. It is the capital of the Xanthi regional unit of the region of East Macedonia and Thrace.
Amphitheatrically built on the foot of Rhodope m ...
.
Iraklis 1908
On 19 July 2013, Onwuachi signed a contract with
Iraklis.
He made his league debut for Iraklis on 30 September 2013 in an away loss against
Kavala
Kavala ( el, Καβάλα, ''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 Egnati ...
. He scored his first goal for the club on 13 January 2013, in an away win against
Ethnikos Gazoros.
Statistics
''Last updated 1 June 2012''
Honours
APOEL
APOEL FC ( el, ΑΠΟΕΛ; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, ''Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias'', literally "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") ...
*
Cypriot First Division
The Cypriot First Division ( el, Πρωτάθλημα Α΄ Κατηγορίας) is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. Since February 2016, it is sponsored by Cyta and is thus official ...
:
2008–09
*
Cypriot Super Cup
The Cypriot Super Cup is a Cypriot football trophy, contested in an annual match between the previous season's Cypriot First Division champions, and the Cypriot Cup winners. The match is contested at the beginning of the football season, and is u ...
: 2008
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Onwuachi, Benjamin
1984 births
Living people
Nigerian men's footballers
Nigerian expatriate men's footballers
Serie B players
Super League Greece players
Football League (Greece) players
Cypriot First Division players
Juventus FC players
US Salernitana 1919 players
Standard Liège players
APOEL FC players
Ionikos F.C. players
Kavala F.C. players
AEL Limassol players
Panetolikos F.C. players
Iraklis F.C. (Thessaloniki) players
ASC Oțelul Galați players
Liga I players
Expatriate men's footballers in Greece
Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Greece
Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus
Expatriate men's footballers in Romania
Expatriate men's footballers in Italy
Men's association football forwards