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Reuben Omojola Folasanje Agboola (born 30 May 1962) is a former footballer who played at left back. He made 268 league appearances in a 13-year career in the Football League, and made nine appearances for
Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya 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 G ...
between 1991 and 1993, appearing at the
1992 Africa Cup of Nations The 1992 African Cup of Nations was the 18th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was hosted by Senegal. The field expanded to twelve teams, split into four groups of three; the top two teams in ea ...
. He began his career as an amateur at
Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...
in July 1978, after leaving youth side Cheshunt F.C. He turned professional with the "Saints" in April 1980, and helped the club to reach the FA Cup Semi-finals and to achieve a second-place finish in the First Division in 1983–84. He was sold to Sunderland in January 1985 for £150,000. The club struggled, and he was loaned out to Charlton Athletic in 1986. After regaining his first team spot, he helped Sunderland win back their top-flight status following promotions in 1987–88 and 1989–90. Loaned out to Port Vale in November 1991, he was allowed to move on to
Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...
twelve months later. He ended his career following spells with non-league clubs Woking and
Gosport Borough Gosport Borough Football Club is a professional football club based in Gosport, Hampshire, England. The club is affiliated to the Hampshire Football Association and is an FA Charter Standard Community Club. They are currently members of the an ...
.


Club career


Southampton

Agboola was born in
Camden Camden may refer to: People * Camden (surname), a surname of English origin * Camden Joy (born 1964), American writer * Camden Toy (born 1957), American actor Places Australia * Camden, New South Wales * Camden, Rosehill, a heritage res ...
, London. His family moved to Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire when he was a schoolboy where he played for Cheshunt's youth teams whilst also attending Southampton's London Selection Centre. In July 1978, he joined Southampton as an amateur before signing as a professional in April 1980, having made his reserve team debut in April 1979. His first team debut came at
Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after We ...
on 29 November 1980, in the same match as Danny Wallace, when the "Saints" held Manchester United to a 1–1 draw.saintsplayers.co.uk After the match manager Lawrie McMenemy said: ''"I was thrilled coming to Old Trafford ... knowing I would put the two youngsters in. And why not?
Matt Busby Sir Alexander Matthew Busby (26 May 1909 – 20 January 1994) was a Scottish football player and manager, who managed Manchester United between 1945 and 1969 and again for the second half of the 1970–71 season. He was the first manager of a ...
showed everyone about playing kids at Old Trafford years ago. Even if we had lost I would have enjoyed the game for their sake."'' He retained his position in the team for the next few games before the fit again
Nick Holmes Nicholas John Arthur Holmes (born 7 January 1971) is an English singer, best known as the lead vocalist of British gothic metal/doom metal band Paradise Lost (band), Paradise Lost and Swedish death metal band Bloodbath. History and style Holm ...
regained his place. In his first two seasons as a professional he made only eleven appearances, but in November 1982 he eventually claimed the number 3 shirt as his own, ousting Steve Baker, where he formed a partnership with
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
international Mick Mills. In 1983 McMenemy decided to adopt the continental idea of a
sweeper Sweepers are small, tropical marine (occasionally brackish) perciform fish of the family Pempheridae. Found in the western Atlantic Ocean and Indo-Pacific region, the family contains about 26 species in two genera. One species (''Pempheris xanth ...
, and Agboola's "quick and alert defending" ideally suited him to the role, to such good effect that in 1983–84 Southampton recorded their highest-ever final position, second place behind
Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
, as well as reaching the
FA Cup Semi-final The FA Cup semi-finals are played to determine which teams will contest the FA Cup Final. They are the penultimate phase of the FA Cup, the oldest football tournament in the world. Location The semi-finals have always been contested at neut ...
at Highbury where they lost 1–0 to Everton in
extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only ...
. He won the club's Best Away Player award. After the first six games of the following season he was replaced by Kevin Bond and after a few sporadic appearances, he was sold to Sunderland in January 1985 for £150,000. During his five years as a professional with the Saints, Agboola made a total of 112 appearances in all competitions.


Sunderland

He made his official debut for Sunderland on 29 January 1985 in a 1–0 defeat at his former club, Southampton. He had started in an earlier match at Roker Park against
Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
, but this match was abandoned because of a frozen pitch and was expunged from the records. He initially found it difficult to hold down a regular first team place as Sunderland struggled in vain to avoid relegation from the First Division at the end of his first season. As Sunderland continued to struggle (now under the management of Agboola's mentor, Lawrie McMenemy), Agboola spent a part of the 1986–87 season on loan at Charlton Athletic. In the following season he had his best season for Sunderland, as (now under manager Denis Smith) they stormed back into the Second Division as champions of the
Third Division In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...
. This success was followed two years later by a return to the top flight; the "Black Cats" finished sixth and lost 1–0 to Swindon Town in the
play-off Final The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
at Wembley, however Swindon were found to have made illegal payments to their players and so Sunderland were promoted instead. Sunderland again struggled at the highest level and Agboola was loaned out to Port Vale in November 1990. He played nine games for John Rudge's "Valiants" in 1990–91. He left Roker Park in November 1991, having played 170 games for Sunderland in league and cup competitions.


Later career

Agboola joined
Frank Burrows Frank Burrows (30 January 1944 – 24 November 2021) was a Scottish football player and manager who played as a central defender. Life and career Frank Burrows began his football career at Scottish club Raith Rovers. In 1965 he moved south ...
's
Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club (; cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Dinas Abertawe) is a professional football club based in Swansea, Wales that plays in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their ho ...
in November 1991 and made 28 appearances before retiring from professional football. The "Swans" battled against relegation in 1991–92, before reaching the play-offs in
1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since th ...
, losing to
West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional Association football, football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English foo ...
at the semi-final stage. He subsequently turned out for Woking of the Conference in the 1993–94 season after signing for
Geoff Chapple Geoff Chapple (born November 1945) is an English a former non-league football manager. His achievements include winning the FA Trophy five times in seven years with Woking (1994, 1995 & 1997) and Kingstonian (1999 & 2000). Career Chapple playe ...
's side in August 1993. He later ended his career at non-league club
Gosport Borough Gosport Borough Football Club is a professional football club based in Gosport, Hampshire, England. The club is affiliated to the Hampshire Football Association and is an FA Charter Standard Community Club. They are currently members of the an ...
.


International career

Agboola was eligible to represent
Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya 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 G ...
due to his father. He was first selected by coach Clemens Westerhof for Nigeria whilst with Sunderland, appearing in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against
Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...
on 13 April 1991 thus becoming one of the first non-Nigerian born players to represent his native country. He was born in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
to a Nigerian father and English mother. The "Super Eagles" qualified for the
1992 Africa Cup of Nations The 1992 African Cup of Nations was the 18th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was hosted by Senegal. The field expanded to twelve teams, split into four groups of three; the top two teams in ea ...
in Senegal, and made it to the semi-finals, where they were defeated by Ghana; Nigeria then beat
Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west- central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; th ...
in the third place play-off. He made a total of nine appearances for Nigeria, seven in the Nations Cup and two in World Cup qualifying matches.


Later life

He returned to
Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...
where he became the landlord at the "Sporting View" bar at the
Southampton Sports Centre Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Por ...
before moving to Majorca in 2004 to run a bar.


Career statistics

Source:}Sunderland career details


Honours

Sunderland * Football League Third Division champion: 1987–88 *
Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third t ...
play-offs: 1989–90 Nigeria * Africa Cup of Nations third-place finish: 1992


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Agboola, Reuben 1962 births Footballers from Camden Town Living people English people of Nigerian descent Black British sportspeople English people of Yoruba descent Yoruba sportspeople Nigerian footballers Nigeria international footballers Association football fullbacks Cheshunt F.C. players Southampton F.C. players Sunderland A.F.C. players Charlton Athletic F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Swansea City A.F.C. players Woking F.C. players Gosport Borough F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players 1992 African Cup of Nations players