Anthony "Tony" Nwakaeme (born 21 March 1989) 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 le ...

and currently plays as a

left winger 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 ...

for Saudi club Al-Fayha in

Saudi Professional League The Saudi Pro League (SPL for short) ( ar, دوري المحترفين السعودي, link=no, ''Dawriyy al-Muḥtarifayni as-Suʿūdī''), known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL for short) for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of associat ...

Club career

In 2008 Tony played for Kristianstad BoIS which is a team in the lower divisions. He was already then a very solid player with outstanding skills. He didn’t get signed up by Kristianstad FF. He also stayed with his trainer at his home, who helped him when he got sick.

Arieșul Turda

Anthony Nwakaeme began his career in 2010 at Romanian club Arieșul Turda of the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

, on loan from

Universitatea Cluj Fotbal Club Universitatea Cluj (), commonly known as Universitatea Cluj or simply as U Cluj, is a Romanian professional association football, football club based in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, that competes in the Liga I, the first ...

. He played eight games and scored five goals.

Universitatea Cluj

In January 2011, he returned to Universitatea Cluj and his most productive season came in 2011–12, when he appeared in 28 matches and scored seven goals.

Petrolul Ploiești

In the 2012–13 season, he spent the first half at Petrolul Ploiești, playing just three matches.

Return to Universitatea Cluj

In February 2013, he returned to Universitatea Cluj and appeared in ten matches and scored two goals.

Hapoel Ra'anana

On 13 August 2013, Nwakaeme signed for

Hapoel Ra'anana Hapoel Ra'anana Association Football Club ( he, עמותת הפועל רעננה מחלקת כדורגל, ''Amutat Hapoel Ra'anana Mahleket Kaduregel'') is an Israeli football club based in the city of Ra'anana. They currently play in Liga Alef ...

. On 31 August, he scored a goal on his

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League ( he, ליגת העל, ''Ligat Ha`Al'', ), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested b ...

debut, a 1–1 draw against

Hapoel Haifa Hapoel Haifa Football Club ( he, מועדון הכדורגל הפועל חיפה, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Haifa'') is an Israeli football club located in the city of Haifa. The club won one championship (1998–99) and 4 Israeli cups ( ...

Hapoel Be'er Sheva

On 24 June 2015, Nwakaeme signed to

Hapoel Be'er Sheva Hapoel Be'er Sheva Football Club ( he, מועדון הכדורגל הפועל באר שבע, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Be'er Sheva'') is an Israeli football club from the city of Be'er Sheva, that competes in the Israeli Premier League. The cl ...

. On 3 October 2015, he scored his debut goal for Be'er Sheva. This goal was also the debut goal in

Turner Stadium The Turner Stadium ( he, אצטדיון טרנר), officially the Yaakov Turner Toto Stadium Be'er Sheva, is a football stadium in Be'er Sheva, Israel. It is the home ground of Hapoel Be'er Sheva. It was named after former Be'er Sheva mayor Yaa ...

. Nwakaeme won the

best player trophy in 2017. Along with Nigerian midfielder

John Ogu Ugochukwu John Ogu (born 20 April 1988) is a Nigerian professional association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for Israeli club Maccabi Kabilio Jaffa F.C., Maccabi Jaffa and the Nigeria national football team, Nigeria national team ...

and Israeli strikers

Ben Sahar Ben Sahar ( he, בן שׂהר, changed the Hebrew spelling of his surname from ; born 10 August 1989) is an Israeli professional footballer who plays as a striker for Maccabi Haifa and the Israel national team. At 16, Sahar was the equivalent ...

and

Elyaniv Barda Elyaniv Barda (or Elianiv, he, אליניב ברדה; born 15 December 1981) is an Israeli former football forward and winger, And the current manager of Hapoel Be'er Sheva. His former clubs include Hapoel Be'er Sheva, Maccabi Haifa, Hapoel Tel ...

, he led

to a historical series of three Israeli championship titles in a row in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

Trabzonspor

In August 2018, Nwakaeme joined Turkish

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

side

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Trabzon. Formed in 1967 through a merger of several local clubs, the men's football team has won seven Süper Lig championships. Trabzonspor also have a women's football team, ...

International career

On 10 November 2017, he made his debut for Nigeria national team against

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

in 1–1 draw counting for the

2018 World Cup qualifiers Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the short s ...

. In April 2019, he said he deserved to make a further appearance for Nigeria.

Personal life

Anthony Nwakaeme is the younger brother of professional footballer Dickson Nwakaeme.

Career statistics

Honours

Hapoel Be'er Sheva *

: 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18 *

Toto Cup The Israel Toto Cup ( he, גביע הטוטו, ''Gvia Ha'Toto'') is an association football tournament that features clubs in the two highest divisions in Israel: the Israeli Premier League ( Ligat Ha'Al), and the second division Liga Leumit. Fro ...

: 2016–17 *

Israel Super Cup The Israel Super Cup, also known as the Champion of Champions ( he, אלוף האלופים, Aluf HaAlufim), is an Israeli association football club competition played as a single match between the winner of the latest Israeli top league champion ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

Trabzonspor *

: 2021–22 *

Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup ( Turkish: ''Türkiye Kupası'') is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupası ...

: 2019–20 *

Turkish Super Cup The Turkish Super Cup ( Turkish: ''TFF Süper Kupa''), as it is currently known, is the annual super cup football match contested between the previous season's Süper Lig champions and the Turkish Cup winners in Turkey. It was originally known a ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

References

External links

*
Player profile on Liga1.ro
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nwakaeme, Anthony 1989 births Living people Sportspeople from Lagos Nigerian footballers Association football forwards FC Universitatea Cluj players ACS Sticla Arieșul Turda players FC Petrolul Ploiești players Hapoel Ra'anana A.F.C. players Hapoel Be'er Sheva F.C. players Trabzonspor footballers Al-Fayha FC players Liga I players Liga II players Israeli Premier League players Süper Lig players Saudi Professional League players Nigerian expatriate footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark Expatriate footballers in Romania Expatriate footballers in Israel Expatriate footballers in Turkey Expatriate footballers in Saudi Arabia Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Romania Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Israel Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia