Efe Ambrose
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Efe Eric Ambrose (born 18 October 1988) 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 defender for club
Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town is at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast, south-west of Carlisle and north-east of Whitehaven. At the 2021 census the ...
. Ambrose has previously played for Kaduna United, Bayelsa United, Israeli club
Ashdod Ashdod (, ; , , or ; Philistine language, Philistine: , romanized: *''ʾašdūd'') is the List of Israeli cities, sixth-largest city in Israel. Located in the country's Southern District (Israel), Southern District, it lies on the Mediterranean ...
, Scottish clubs
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...
, Hibernian, Livingston, St Johnstone and
Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently compete in the after winning the 2022–23 Scottish League One title. Dunfermline play at ...
, Greenock Morton and English club
Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...
. Ambrose has also played for the
Nigeria national football team The Nigeria national football team represents Nigeria in Men's international Association football, football. Governed by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), they are three-time Africa Cup of Nations (Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON) winners, w ...
, and he has represented Nigeria at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup, the
Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...
, the
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 ...
, and the
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
.


Club career


Early career

Ambrose started his professional career at Kaduna United in 2006 and two years later, he was loaned to Bayelsa United for the 2008–09 season but remained with Kaduna United after helping them win promotion.


FC Ashdod

Ambrose joined
Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League (, Ligat HaAl, ) is a professional association football league in Israel and the highest level of the Israeli football league system. The league is contested by 14 clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and rele ...
club FC Ashdod in June 2010 and left in 2012.


Celtic

Ambrose joined
Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...
club
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...
on the summer 2012 transfer deadline day, signing a three-year contract. After joining the club, Ambrose praised his new teammates at Celtic for helping him settle down in Glasgow quickly. Ambrose also revealed he studied British football in order to join Celtic by watching both
Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...
and
English 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 ...
games on TV upon hearing about Celtic's interest in him. Ambrose made his debut on 22 September 2012 as a substitute for Celtic captain Scott Brown against
Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...
in the Scottish Premier League, a 2–0 victory. He made his full début against Raith Rovers in the
Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...
, in a 4–1 victory. He scored his first goal for Celtic in a 5–0 win over St Mirren on 20 October 2012, celebrating the goal with a quadruple somersault. Ambrose went on to make his Champions League debut for Celtic, where he played 90 minutes in a 3–2 win over Spartak Moscow. On 4 November 2012, Ambrose headed in an own goal, in a 2–2 draw against
Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...
. After the match, Ambrose said he let himself down and felt that he could have cleared the ball away. On 7 November 2012, ahead of a Champions League game against
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
, Ambrose made a vow to give his best ever performance for the club. After a stunning performance by the Celtic players, they won 2–1 and Ambrose said that winning against Barcelona was the 'perfect way to celebrate Celtic's 125th anniversary. At the end of the Champions League group stage campaign, Celtic qualified for the knock-out stages and faced the Italian side
Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...
. In the first leg, Ambrose was named in the squad ahead of the match, only 3 days after
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, ...
had won the
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 ...
, Ambrose had played the full 90 minutes in the final. However, Ambrose made several mistakes during the match, allowing Alessandro Matri (first goal) and Mirko Vučinić (third goal) to score with ease. He also missed the club's best chance to score late in the game. His performance was criticized by teammate Kris Commons. Though criticized, Ambrose was defended by Kelvin Wilson, who believed that Ambrose would bounce back from his disappointing performance. Ambrose made amends in the next league game when he scored Celtic's opener in a 6–2 win over
Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...
. Ambrose's (along with Commons) performance was praised by
Neil Lennon Neil Francis Lennon (born 25 June 1971) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He currently manages Scottish Championship club Dunfermline Athletic. During his playing career he represe ...
. Three days later, he scored again, in a 1–1 draw against St Johnstone. Ahead of the second leg against Juventus, Ambrose said that Commons' criticism inspired him to become a better player. After the match, which Juventus won 2–0 and progressed to the quarter finals,
Neil Lennon Neil Francis Lennon (born 25 June 1971) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He currently manages Scottish Championship club Dunfermline Athletic. During his playing career he represe ...
stated that Ambrose was late for training and missed the team bus from the hotel and was left to catch up by taxi. Lennon also stated that Ambrose needed to "sort himself out." Ambrose came under strong criticism from fans and pundits alike for frequent poor performances and errors which led to opposition goals. On 31 August 2016, after becoming frozen out of the first-team at Celtic under new manager Brendan Rodgers, Celtic accepted a bid of £300,000 for Ambrose from
Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège ( ; ; ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most successful clubs in Belgium, having won t ...
, but the deal fell through after he opted to stay at Celtic Park. In February 2017, Ambrose's proposed loan move to
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 ...
fell through, after the club was unable to obtain a work permit.


Hibernian

On 28 February 2017, Ambrose joined Hibernian on loan for the rest of the season. Ambrose scored his first goal for Hibs on 25 March, the opening goal of a 2–1 win in the
Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association footb ...
against
Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...
. He won the Scottish Championship player of the month award for March 2017. After his contract with Celtic expired at the end of the season, Ambrose signed a two-year contract with Hibernian. Ambrose exercised a clause in his contract and left Hibernian in January 2019, despite the club offering him a new deal.


Derby County

In February 2019, Ambrose went on trial with
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 ...
club
Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...
. Later that month he signed a short-term contract with the club. He was released by Derby County at the end of the 2018–19 season.


Livingston

After several months without a club, Ambrose signed for Livingston in February 2020. In May 2021, Ambrose was one of a few players who were released by Livingston at the end of the 2020–21 season.


St Johnstone

In September 2021, Ambrose signed with
Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...
side St Johnstone.


Dunfermline

On 4 February 2022, Ambrose joined
Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association footb ...
side
Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline Athletic Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dunfermline, Fife. Founded in 1885, the club currently compete in the after winning the 2022–23 Scottish League One title. Dunfermline play at ...
on loan until the end of the 2021–22 season.


Greenock Morton

Ambrose signed for Greenock Morton on 26 October 2022 in a deal until the end of the season. Ambrose would make his debut against Inverness Caledonian Thistle, notably being named man of the match after Morton's subsequent 4–0 victory. Ambrose also scored his first and only goal for Morton in a 2–1 home victory against Partick Thistle. Ambrose made a total of 14 appearances for Morton in all competitions, before it was announced that he would be leaving the club upon the expiration of his contract.


Queen of the South

On 25 July 2023, Ambrose signed for Queen of the South until 31 December 2023.


Bury

On 8 June 2024, Ambrose joined
North West Counties Football League The North West Counties Football League is a association football, football league in the North West England, North West of England. Since 2019–20, the league has covered the Isle of Man, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, ...
Premier Division side Bury. On 23 August 2024, Bury announced that Ambrose would be departing the club after their
FA Vase The Football Association Challenge Vase, also known as the Isuzu FA Vase for sponsorship reasons, is an annual football competition run by and named after The Football Association (The FA), for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English Nation ...
fixture the following day. Having continued to live in Scotland, the commute to Bury no longer proved to be a viable option for Ambrose and his family.


Workington

On 26 August 2024, Ambrose joined
Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...
Premier Division club
Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town is at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast, south-west of Carlisle and north-east of Whitehaven. At the 2021 census the ...
.


International career

Ambrose was a member of the
Nigeria national under-20 football team The Nigerian men's national under-20 football team represents Nigeria in men's international association football, football also known as the Nigeria Under-20s or nicknamed the ''Flying Eagles.'' The Flying Eagles is the youth team for the nat ...
at
2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 16th edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup (formerly called the FIFA World Youth Championship), hosted by Canada from 30 June to 22 July 2007. Argentina defeated the Czech Republic in the title game by the scor ...
in Canada. He later represented Nigeria U-23 and played two games at the
2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...
. He was called up to Nigeria's 23-man squad for the
2013 Africa Cup of Nations The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange S.A., Orange Africa Cup of Nations South Africa 2013 for sponsorship reasons, held from 19 January to 10 February 2013, was the 29th Africa Cup of Nations, the Association football, footbal ...
. In the Africa Cup of Nations, Ambrose played five out of six games for Nigeria, playing in the right-back position, including the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
which he started. After the tournament, Ambrose was named in the 2013 African Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament. Ambrose says winning the Africa Cup of Nations was his biggest achievement and one of the greatest moments of his life. He was selected for Nigeria's squad at the
2013 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup was the ninth FIFA Confederations Cup, which was held in Brazil from 15 to 30 June 2013 as a prelude to the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The most recent winners of the six continental championships appeared in the tourn ...
and the
2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...
. Ambrose has not been selected since 2016, due to him losing his place at
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...
. He played regularly for Hibernian during the 2017–18 season, but was not recalled for the
2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...
squad. This decision was criticized by former Nigeria manager Samson Siasia, who felt that Ambrose's experience would have been useful.


Style of play

Ambrose often played as a defensive midfielder for the
Nigeria national football team The Nigeria national football team represents Nigeria in Men's international Association football, football. Governed by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), they are three-time Africa Cup of Nations (Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON) winners, w ...
and can also play as a centre back or right back, doing so in the
Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League (, Ligat HaAl, ) is a professional association football league in Israel and the highest level of the Israeli football league system. The league is contested by 14 clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and rele ...
at FC Ashdod. A ball playing centre-half, Efe is known for his composure in possession. He normally performs a somersault after scoring a goal.


Career statistics


Club


International appearances


International goals

:''Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first.''


Honours

Bayelsa * Nigerian Premier League: 2008–09 Kaduna United *
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 ...
: 2010 Celtic *
Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...
: 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16 *
Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,2012–13 *
Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...
: 2014–15 Hibernian *
Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association footb ...
: 2016–17 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 ...
:
2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
Individual * UEFA Champions League Team of the Week: (Week 3, 2012–13) *
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 ...
Team of the Tournament:
2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
Orders * 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


I will score more goals for Eagles – Ambrose
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ambrose, Efe 1988 births Living people Footballers from Kaduna Men's association football defenders Men's association football fullbacks Nigerian men's footballers Nigeria men's international footballers Nigeria men's under-20 international footballers Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for Nigeria Olympic silver medalists for Nigeria Kaduna United F.C. players Bayelsa United F.C. players F.C. Ashdod players Celtic F.C. players Hibernian F.C. players Derby County F.C. players Livingston F.C. players St Johnstone F.C. players Dunfermline Athletic F.C. players Greenock Morton F.C. players Queen of the South F.C. players Bury F.C. players Workington A.F.C. players Scottish Premier League players Scottish Professional Football League players Israeli Premier League players North West Counties Football League players Olympic medalists in football Nigerian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Israel Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Expatriate men's footballers in England 2013 Africa Cup of Nations players Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2014 FIFA World Cup players Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Israel Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in England Africa Cup of Nations–winning players Members of the Order of the Niger 21st-century Nigerian sportsmen