Adolphus Ofodile (born December 15, 1979) is a Nigerian 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 ...
who played as a
forward.
Career
After beginning his career with
Udoji United
Udoji United was a Nigerian football team founded in 1990 in Enugu before moving to Awka in 1993. It was owned by Oscar Udoji, Owner and CEO of Solgas Petroleum Limited and Superior Motors Limited and son of former businessman/administrator Chief ...
, Ofodile first came to
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
with the Belgian club
Eendracht Aalst. After spending two years on loan with German amateur club
SC Kapellen-Erft, he signed for
1. FC Magdeburg of the
Regionalliga Nordost
The Regionalliga Nordost is the fourth tier of German football league system, German football in the states of Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony and Thuringia. These comprise the states of former East Germany ...
in 1999. Magdeburg finished 10th in Ofodile's first season with the club, which, due to a restructuring of the
Regionalliga, meant relegation to the fourth tier
NOFV-Oberliga Süd
The NOFV-Oberliga Süd is the fifth tier of the German football league system in the southern states of the former East Germany. It covers the German states of Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Saxony and southern Brandenburg. It is one of fourteen Oberl ...
. Magdeburg had a hugely successful 2000–01 at this level - with a frontline including Ofodile,
Josef Ivanovic,
David Mydlo and
Vlado Papic Vlado () is a Slavic masculine given name. Notable people with the given name include:
*Vlado Babić (born 1960), Serbian politician
* Vlado Badžim (born 1964), Slovenian football player and football coach
*Vlado Bagat (1915–1944), Croatian and ...
, they won the title, and promotion, scoring 120 goals, and had a memorable cup run, beating
1. FC Köln,
Bayern Munich (who would go on to be European champions) and
Karlsruher SC
Karlsruher SC is a German association football club, based in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg that currently plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football. Domestically, the club was crowned German champion in 1909, and won the DF ...
before losing in the quarter-finals to eventual winners
FC Schalke 04.
Ofodile left Magdeburg in the summer of 2001, moving to England to sign for
First Division side
Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield.
Walsall is th ...
. After a disappointing year, in which he only made one league appearance, as a late substitute for
Darren Byfield
Darren Asherton Byfield (born 29 September 1976) is a former professional footballer. He is currently a coach of Crawley Town.
Byfield won six caps for Jamaica in 2003, and has scored 110 goals in 484 appearances across all domestic competitions ...
in a 2–2 draw with
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...
, and one in the
Football League Cup, he returned to
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
to sign for
FC St. Pauli
Fußball-Club St Pauli von 1910 e.V., commonly known as simply FC St Pauli (), is a German professional football club based in the St. Pauli district of Hamburg, that competes in the 2. Bundesliga.
The football department is part of a larger sp ...
of the
2. Bundesliga
The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...
.
Ofodile scored twice on his debut for St. Pauli, after coming on for
Tobias Kurbjuweit in a 7–1 over
Eintracht Braunschweig, but only made ten further appearances, all in the first half of the season, without getting on the scoresheet, and left the club in July 2003. He spent two years with
Hallescher FC
Hallescher FC, sometimes still called by its former popular name Chemie Halle, is a German association football club based in Halle an der Saale, Saxony-Anhalt. The club currently plays in the 3. Liga, the third highest level in the German footb ...
and one with
Grün-Weiß Piesteritz before returning to Nigeria.
In 2012, he returned to Germany for a brief spell with
SC Herford
SC Herford is a German association football club based in Herford, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club was formed out of the merger of several local sides in the late 1960s and early 1970s and then went on to enjoy a short turn in second division ...
of the seventh tier
Landesliga Westfalen
The Landesliga Westfalen is a German amateur football division administered by the Westphalian Football and Athletics Association, one of the 21 German state football associations. Being the third level of the Westphalian state association, the La ...
.
References
External links
*
*
*
1979 births
Living people
Association football forwards
Nigerian footballers
S.C. Eendracht Aalst players
1. FC Magdeburg players
Walsall F.C. players
FC St. Pauli players
Hallescher FC players
{{Nigeria-footy-forward-stub