Ifeanyi Udeze (born 21 July 1980) is a Nigerian

pundit A pundit is a person who offers opinion in an authoritative manner on a particular subject area (typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport), usually through the mass media. The term pundit describes both women and men, altho ...

, sports broadcaster and 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 defender. He is currently a football analyst at Brila FM, in

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

. He participated in 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 ...

, and played mainly as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

, he is also used as

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

Early life

Udeze was born in

Ajegunle Ajegunle, popularly known as "AJ City" or simply "AJ", is a neighbourhood located in the heart of Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria. It is located in the Ajeromi-Ifelodun Local government areas of Nigeria, local government area of Lagos. Ajegunle in ...

, Lagos, Nigeria.

Club career

Udeze played for clubs such as Bendel Insurance FC, AO Kavalas (Greece) and

PAOK Thessaloniki PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...

, before joining

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

in 2003. In his first season with the Albion, he played in the

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 ...

, joining the club on loan in the latter stages of the season after which Albion were relegated. He was released from

AEK Athens A.E.K. (; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople'') is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelfeia, Attica. The club is more commonly known in European competitions as A.E.K. Athens. Establishe ...

in January 2007, six months after signing a three-year contract on 11 August 2006. On 4 July 2007, he returned to PAOK FC, signing a two-year deal. A niggling knee injury prevented him from grabbing a first team spot and he was released after a year at the club.

International career

Udeze first came into international limelight at the inaugural UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup held in Portugal in 1997, a tournament where Spain's

Xavi Xavi () is a Catalan given name, usually used as a nickname for Xavier. Notable people with the name include: Football * Xavi Hernández (born 1980), Spanish football manager and former player * Xavi Andorrà (born 1985), Andorran footballe ...

and Portugal's Simao made their mark. He was a member of the Fanny Amun-led

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, ...

n squad that beat Spain 3–2 to win the tournament. Some members of the squad included Rabiu Afolabi, Joseph Enakarhire,

Bright Igbinadolor Bright Igbinadolor (born 16 December 1980) is a Nigerian international footballer who plays professionally in Myanmar for Southern Myanmar United, as a midfielder. Career Igbinadolor has played professionally in Nigeria, Spain, Switzerland, Fin ...

, Chijioke Nwankpa, Hashimu Garba, and Mohammed Aliyu Datti. Having made his full international debut in 2001, Udeze went on to feature for Nigeria at the

2002 African Cup of Nations The 2002 African Cup of Nations was the 23rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was hosted by Mali. Just like in 2000, the field of sixteen teams was split into four groups of four. Ca ...

and 2004, and the

, playing two games. At the

held in Mali, he was selected among the CAF Team of the Tournament. In 2004, Udeze announced his decision to end his international career. Ifeanyi Udeze last featured for Nigeria in a 2006 World Cup qualifier against

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

in 2005.

Playing style

Udeze was noted for his feistiness, intelligent marking and remarkable recovery rate. He was Nigeria's most fouled defender in games he featured in.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Udeze, Ifeanyi 1980 births Living people Footballers from Lagos Nigerian men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Nigeria men's international footballers 2002 FIFA World Cup players 2002 African Cup of Nations players 2004 African Cup of Nations players Premier League players Super League Greece players Bendel Insurance F.C. players PAOK FC players Kavala F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players AEK Athens F.C. players Nigerian expatriate men's footballers Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England 21st-century Nigerian sportsmen