Udochukwu Nwoko (born 15 October 1984) is a retired 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 ...

who last played for Cypriot Third Division side MEAP Nisou as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. Born in Nigeria, he represented the Malta national team.

Playing career

Born in Abia,

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 ...

, Nwoko moved to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

at the age of 14 in the hope that it could one day lead him to one of the top leagues in Europe. He started his career at Hibernians. His main break came during the 2002–03 season, where he made 16 appearances for the club, but failed to find the net. He then moved to Xewkija Tigers of the Gozo Football League in 2004, and transformed into a predator in front of goal. Nwoko hit 18 goals in just 25 appearances, and became one of the hottest prospects in Maltese football. Following the successful spell with Xewkija Tigers, Nwoko found himself back in the Maltese Premier League joining Mosta for the 2005–06 season. He made 27 appearances and scored 10 goals for the club, but it wasn't enough to save the club, and they were relegated by the difference of a point. Despite the relegation, Nwoko's form hadn't gone unnoticed and was re-signed by his first club Hibernians for the 2006–07 season, getting another chance to play in the Maltese Premier League. He made 17 appearances with the club and scored 5 goal. He then moved on loan to fellow Maltese Premier League side

Marsaxlokk Marsaxlokk () is a small, traditional fishing village in the South Eastern Region of Malta. It has a harbour, and is a tourist attraction known for its views, fishermen and history. As at March 2014, the village had a population of 3,534. The ...

for the remainder of 2007. He made 18 appearances, and score 3 goals; he did however finish the season as a part of the 2006–07 championship-winning squad and won his first ever Maltese Premier League. In 2007, he moved to Portuguese club Leixões, where he marked his debut with a goal against giants Benfica. He was linked to a £1.25m transfer to the Premiership club

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in January 2008, but an unfortunate injury at the short transfer window stopped the transfer. . Nwoko recently terminated his contract with Portuguese club Leixoes. He signed a short contract with a Brazilian top league club, on 21 March 2009

Clube Náutico Capibaribe Clube Náutico Capibaribe (), or simply Náutico, is a Football in Brazil, Brazilian Sports club, multi-sport club based in Recife, Pernambuco. The club is most notable for its association football team, that plays in the Campeonato Brasile ...

in Brazil. In summer 2009, he signed for Panthrakikos F.C. in the Greek Super League, and left at the end of the season when the club was relegated. In January 2010, he signed for Doxa Katokopia in the Cypriot First Division, staying there for just 6 months before in June 2010, he signed for Pas Hamedan in the Iran Pro League. He signed for Floriana in January 2013. On 27 June 2014 he signed with

Gudja United Gudja United Football Club is a Malta, Maltese professional football (soccer), football club from the south-eastern village of Gudja that currently plays in the Maltese Premier League. Gudja United plays in blue and white striped jerseys. Their ...

. After one season with Gudja he signed a one-year contract with St. George's on 15 July 2015. On 17 March 2017 Udo signed with

MFK Topvar Topoľčany MFK Topvar Topoľčany is a Slovak football team, based in the town of Topoľčany. The club was founded in 1912. Current squad Notable players Had international caps for their respective countries. Playe ...

from the

3. Liga The 3. Liga is a professional association football league and the third division in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2. Bundesliga and the fourth-tier Regionalliga. The modern 3. Liga was formed for t ...

in Slovakia. He won 8 caps and scored 1 goal.

International career

Nwoko was called up by

for the first time ahead of a

UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA ( ...

qualifying matches against

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...

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on 13 October 2007 and also played at home to

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnist ...

four days later. He was available for selection after being granted

Maltese Maltese may refer to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to Malta * Maltese alphabet * Maltese cuisine * Maltese culture * Maltese language, the Semitic language spoken by Maltese people * Maltese people, people from Malta or of Malte ...

citizenship in August 2007.

Honours

* Maltese Premier League (1): ** 2006–07

References

External links