Dominic Oduro (born 13 August 1985) is a Ghanaian 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 plays as a forward.

Early career and education

Oduro started his playing career in Ghana, playing for both

Prempeh College Prempeh College is a public secondary boarding school for boys located in Kumasi, the capital city of the Ashanti Region, Ghana. The school was founded in 1949 by the Asanteman traditional authority, the British Colonial Government, the Metho ...

and the

University of Ghana The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It the oldest and largest of the thirteen Ghanaian national public universities. The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the Br ...

before transferring to

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virginia ...

in 2004. He appeared in 41 matches for VCU, scoring 18 goals and earning five assists, and being honoured with the 2004 Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year award and a Third Team All-American spot. Oduro helped the Rams reach the quarterfinals of the 2004 NCAA Tournament, VCU's highest ever appearance. He also played for

Richmond Kickers Future Richmond Kickers Future was an American soccer team based in Richmond, Virginia, United States. Founded in 2002 as part of the development system of the Richmond Kickers USL Second Division franchise, the team played in the USL Premier Develop ...

in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syst ...

in 2005, scoring 16 goals in 13 games.

Club career

FC Dallas

Oduro was selected in the second round (22nd overall) of the

2006 MLS SuperDraft The 2006 MLS SuperDraft, held in Philadelphia on January 20, 2006, was the seventh incarnation of the annual Major League Soccer SuperDraft. The first selection originally belonged to Chivas USA, but they traded it to the MetroStars for the fift ...

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise began play in 1996 as a charter club of the le ...

. He made his first team debut on 28 June 2006, as a substitute for

Kenny Cooper Kenneth Scott Cooper Jr. (born October 21, 1984) is an American former soccer player who played as a forward. He began his soccer career with Manchester United but failed to break through to the first team. He went on to play for clubs in P ...

and scored his first MLS goal on 8 July 2006 against

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

. During his three-year stay in Dallas, Oduro impressed fans and coaches with his blazing speed and effort. He was primarily used as a second-half substitute, to provide a spark to the clubs attack, and ultimately appeared in 70 league matches for FC Dallas, with his most productive season coming in 2008 in which he netted 5 goals in 25 matches.

New York Red Bulls

He was traded to

on 12 January 2009, while

Dave van den Bergh Dave van den Bergh (; born 7 May 1976) is a Dutch football coach and former player who played as a left winger. Career Europe A product of the famed AFC Ajax youth program, Van den Bergh played for Ajax from 1995 to 1997, winning one league ti ...

went in the other direction to

. In the deal, New York also acquired the #11 and #18 picks in the

2009 MLS SuperDraft The 2009 MLS SuperDraft took place on January 15, 2009 in St. Louis, Missouri. It was the tenth annual Major League Soccer SuperDraft. The first selection was owned by the expansion Seattle Sounders FC. Unlike previous years, the SuperDraft w ...

while Dallas acquired the No. 14 pick.

Houston Dynamo

Less than five months later, New York traded Oduro to Houston Dynamo on 27 May 2009 for a first-round pick in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft and a second-round pick in the

2011 MLS SuperDraft The 2011 MLS SuperDraft was the twelfth annual SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. It was held on January 13, 2011 in Baltimore, Maryland, during the 2011 NSCAA Convention at the Baltimore Convention Center. The 2011 SuperDraft consiste ...

. Oduro made his first start for the Houston Dynamo on 1 July 2009 against the

USL-1 The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's Association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States ...

side Austin Aztex. The game was the third round of the

Lamar Hunt US Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The 2023 U.S. Op ...

. Houston won the match, played at Nelson Field in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, 2–0. Oduro stayed with Houston through the 2009 and 2010 MLS seasons. After the 2010 season, he decided to make a move overseas but was unsuccessful in securing a contract and re-signed with Houston on 2 March 2011.

Chicago Fire

After missing a sitter in the opening game of the 2011 season, Oduro was traded to Chicago Fire in exchange for

Calen Carr Calen Carr (born October 4, 1982) is an American former professional soccer player. He played in Major League Soccer for the Chicago Fire and Houston Dynamo as a forward and winger. He currently works for MLS as a web show host of The Movement ...

on 23 March 2011. Oduro performed well with Chicago, scoring 12 goals during his first season with the team. For his outstanding play in 2011 he was awarded the Supporters Player of the Year award by Section 8 Chicago, the supporters section of the Chicago Fire.

Columbus Crew

Oduro was traded to

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...

on 1 February 2013 in exchange for Dilly Duka. He featured for the club for two seasons from 2013 to 2014, playing 43 matches and scoring 13 goals in all competitions.

Toronto FC

Oduro was traded to

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...

on 6 June 2014 for winger Alvaro Rey.

Montreal Impact

He was traded to Montreal Impact on 27 January 2015 for allocation money. He played from 2015 to 2018, playing 108 matches and scoring 18 goals in all competitions.

San Jose Earthquakes

Oduro was traded to San Jose Earthquakes on 8 August 2018 for

Quincy Amarikwa Quincy Obinna Amarikwa ( ; born October 29, 1987) is an American soccer player. Career College and Amateur Amarikwa attended Liberty High School. He was a member of the Bakersfield Alliance club soccer team and played college soccer at UC Da ...

Charlotte Independence

On 15 February 2019, Oduro signed with

Charlotte Independence Charlotte Independence is an American soccer team based in Charlotte, North Carolina that plays in the USL League One, the third tier of the American soccer pyramid. The Independence currently play their home games at American Legion Memorial ...

of the

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, p ...

. He was released by Charlotte at the end of the 2019 season.

International career

On 26 February 2012, Oduro was called up to the

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 the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

squad to face

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. Oduro made his Ghana debut against Chile on 29 February 2012 at

PPL Park Subaru Park (formerly known as PPL Park and Talen Energy Stadium) is a soccer-specific stadium located in Chester, Pennsylvania, located next to the Commodore Barry Bridge on the waterfront along the Delaware River. The venue is home to the Ph ...

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is the only city in Delaware County and had a population of 32,605 as of the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1682, Chester i ...

Personal life

Oduro holds a U.S. green card which qualifies him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.

Career statistics

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oduro, Dominic 1985 births Living people Ghanaian footballers Association football forwards Ghana international footballers Major League Soccer players USL Championship players USL League Two players VCU Rams men's soccer players FC Dallas draft picks Richmond Kickers Future players FC Dallas players New York Red Bulls players Houston Dynamo FC players Chicago Fire FC players Columbus Crew players Toronto FC players CF Montréal players San Jose Earthquakes players Charlotte Independence players Ghanaian expatriate footballers Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Canada Expatriate soccer players in Canada Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States