Benjamin Onwuachi (born 9 April 1984 in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

) is a Nigerian

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 ...

who plays as a striker. Onwuachi started his career in the youth ranks of Reggiana. He continued in the academies of

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...

where he didn't manage to establish himself in the first team. He then moved to

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

to play for

Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège (; nl, Standard Luik ; german: Standard Lüttich ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most ...

. After a season in Belgium he moved to

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

in 2006, where he played for several clubs having also spells in

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

and

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

Club career

He began his career in Reggiana academies in Italy in 2002. In 2003, he played only a game scoring one goal for

(he was purchased by Juventus for €420,000). In the 2004–2005 season he went on loan to

Salernitana Unione Sportiva Salernitana 1919, commonly referred to as Salernitana, is an Italian football club based in Salerno, Campania. The original club was founded in 1919 and has been reconstituted three times in the course of its history, most recentl ...

where he played 18 games and scored 6 goals. The 2005–06 season he signed a 2-year deal with Belgian side

but failed to play a single match.

Ionikos

The 2006–07 season, he went to Greece and joined the team at

Nikaia Nicaea, also known as Nicea or Nikaia (; ; grc-gre, Νίκαια, ) was an ancient Greek city in Bithynia, where located in northwestern Anatolia and is primarily known as the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea (the first and seve ...

of Ionikos. He noted 42 participations and had 7 goals. That same season Ionikos fell in the Second National Division of Greece, Beta Ethniki 2007-08, and he decided to leave the club. The administration of Ionikos did not agree with this, but unfortunately they did not manage to change his decision. In October 2007, he returned to

, at Ionikos, at a point where the club campaigned for a promotion in the

Super League Greece The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...

. That year he played in 27 games and had 14 goals, so that he ranked 3rd in the scorerlist of the division! Unfortunately the club did not achieve promotion to the first division. In the match against

PAS Giannena PAS Giannina Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ ΠΑΣ Γιάννινα 1966), or with its full name Panepirotikos Athlitikos Syllogos Giannina ( el, Πανηπειρωτικός Αθλητικός Σύλλογος Γιάννινα, ''Panepirotic Athleti ...

which Ionikos won 4–1, Onwuachi scored 2 goals.

APOEL

The next year the budget of Ionikos fell and in July 2008, Onwuachi went on loan to

APOEL APOEL FC ( el, ΑΠΟΕΛ; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, ''Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias'', literally "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") ...

. For

he played in 23 games in the championship and scored 8 goals helping the team to win the

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division ( el, Πρωτάθλημα Α΄ Κατηγορίας) is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. Since February 2016, it is sponsored by Cyta and is thus officially ...

and the

Super Cup A super cup is a competition, usually but not exclusively in association football, which often forms the 'curtain raiser' to a season, and typically involves only two teams who have qualified through success in other competitions during the prev ...

of season 2008–09. In May 2009, the player and the chairman of

, Phivos Erotokritou, did not agree on signing a new contract and Onwuachi returned to Greece to Ionikos.

Kavala

On 20 August 2009, he signed a 4-years contract with the newly promoted in

team of

Kavala Kavala ( el, Καβάλα, ''Kavála'' ) is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala regional unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos and on the Egnat ...

. His first season with his new team, was excellent because he became 4th in top scorers of Super League Greece, scoring 10 goals. In August 2011,

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

canceled his contract with the club after they failed to pay his salary for two consecutive months.

AEL Limassol

On 25 August 2011, he signed with

AEL Limassol Athlitiki Enosi Lemesou ( el, Αθλητική Ένωση Λεμεσού, translation=Athletic Union of Limassol) commonly known as AEL, is a Cypriot sports club based in the city of Limassol, most famous for its football team. AEL also maintain ...

in Cyprus, but he was released from the club in January 2012.

Panetolikos

On 26 January 2012, he returned to Greece and signed a 6-month contract with

Panetolikos Panetolikos Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Παναιτωλικός), or with its full name Panetolikós Yimnastikós Filekpedeftikós Síllogos ( el, Παναιτωλικός Γυμναστικός Φιλεκπαιδευτικός Σύλλογος'' ...

. On 26 April 2012, after the conclusion of the season, Onwuachi and Panetolikos parted their ways, as he could not fit into the team.

Skoda Xanthi

On 6 June 2012, Onwuachi signed a contract with

Xanthi Xanthi ( el, Ξάνθη, ''Xánthi'', ) is a city in the region of Western Thrace, northeastern Greece. It is the capital of the Xanthi (regional unit), Xanthi regional unit of the modern regions of Greece, region of East Macedonia and Thrace. A ...

Iraklis 1908

On 19 July 2013, Onwuachi signed a contract with

Iraklis Gymnasticos Syllogos Iraklis ( el, Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Ηρακλής, en, Gymnastics Club Heracles), commonly referred to as Iraklis, is a Greek multi-sports club based in Thessaloniki. The club was founded in 1908 as "Mace ...

. He made his league debut for Iraklis on 30 September 2013 in an away loss against

. He scored his first goal for the club on 13 January 2013, in an away win against Ethnikos Gazoros.

Statistics

''Last updated 1 June 2012''

Honours

: 2008–09 *

Cypriot Super Cup The Cypriot Super Cup is a Cypriot football trophy, contested in an annual match between the previous season's Cypriot First Division champions, and the Cypriot Cup winners. The match is contested at the beginning of the football season, and is us ...

: 2008

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Onwuachi, Benjamin 1984 births Living people Nigerian men's footballers Nigerian expatriate men's footballers Serie B players Super League Greece players Football League (Greece) players Cypriot First Division players Juventus FC players US Salernitana 1919 players Standard Liège players APOEL FC players Ionikos F.C. players Kavala F.C. players AEL Limassol players Panetolikos F.C. players Iraklis F.C. (Thessaloniki) players ASC Oțelul Galați players Liga I players Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Expatriate men's footballers in Romania Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Men's association football forwards