Emeka Ezeugo (born 16 December 1965) 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 le ...
who played 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 ...
. He debuted as a professional footballer for Indian club
East Bengal FC
East Bengal Club, commonly referred to as East Bengal (), is an Indian professional multi-sport club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. It is best known for its professional men's football team that competes in the Indian Super League, the top fl ...
, has also represented the
Nigeria national team in the
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
. He last managed
Abia Warriors FC as a football coach.
Club career
Ezeugo was born in
Aba. He played professionally for clubs in five different continents during a 15-year playing career after starting his career at
East Bengal
ur,
, common_name = East Bengal
, status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan
, p1 = Bengal Presidency
, flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg
, s1 = East ...
.
He started for another Bangladeshi club,
Mohammedan
''Mohammedan'' (also spelled ''Muhammadan'', ''Mahommedan'', ''Mahomedan'' or ''Mahometan'') is a term for a follower of Muhammad, the Islamic prophet. It is used as both a noun and an adjective, meaning belonging or relating to, either Muham ...
, towards the end of the 1980s. He then moved to the Danish League with middle of the table club
Lyngby BK
Lyngby Boldklub () is a Danish professional football club founded in 1921. It is based at Lyngby Stadion in Kongens Lyngby, Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality, a northern suburb of Copenhagen. From 1994 to 2001 the club was known as Lyngby FC. The clu ...
and prospered so much that he made it to the Nigerian national team for the
1994 FIFA World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States ...
. He came to India for a short spell in 1997 to play a few matches for
Mohun Bagan AC
Mohun Bagan Athletic Club is an Indian professional sports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, its football section is one of the oldest in India and Asia. The club is most notable for its victory over East Yorkshire Regiment ...
.
International career
Ezeugo first played for the
Nigeria national team at the
1988 Summer Olympics
The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...
in
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
, South Korea. Nicknamed "Emmy", he obtained 11 caps for the national team between 1992 and 1994, and was a member of the team that competed at the
1994 FIFA World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States ...
.
Coaching career
Ezeugo holds a US Soccer Federation coaching license and a KNVB Netherlands international license. Ezeugo has an envious coaching record over the past seven years, as he successfully completed his transition from player to coach that included a stint as the head coach at CoT NYs
Borough of Manhattan Community College
The Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) is a public community college in New York City. Founded in 1963 as part of the City University of New York (CUNY) system, BMCC grants associate degrees in a wide variety of vocational, busines ...
in 2002. In 2003 coached the
Deportivo Municipal
Club Centro Deportivo Municipal, commonly known as Deportivo Municipal, is a Peruvian football club based in Lima, Peru. They are among Peru's most recognizable clubs and enjoy considerable popularity. The bulk of their success was won a few ye ...
, Lima for two seasons before coming back to the United States, on 15 August 2005 was named as the new men's soccer coach at
New York City College of Technology
The New York City College of Technology (City Tech) is a public college in New York City. Founded in 1946, it is the City University of New York's college of technology.
History
City Tech was founded in 1946 as The New York State Institute of ...
, here was between 2008.
Ezeuga spent summers 2004 to 2006 coaching at Camp Chateaugay, a summer camp located in New York's
Adirondack Mountains
The Adirondack Mountains (; a-də-RÄN-dak) form a massif in northeastern New York with boundaries that correspond roughly to those of Adirondack Park. They cover about 5,000 square miles (13,000 km2). The mountains form a roughly circular ...
for kids ages 7 to 15.
On 19 April 2008, he returned to India and signed a contract as head coach by his former club
Churchill Brothers SC
Churchill Brothers FC Goa, or simply known as Churchill Brothers, is an Indian professional football club based in Margao, Goa, that competes in the I-League, alongside Goa Professional League. Founded in 1988 in Margao, the club usually parti ...
on 5 September 2008 was released from his contract.
He was then the chief coach of
Heartland
Heartland or Heartlands may refer to:
Businesses and organisations
* Heartland Bank, a New Zealand-based financial institution
* Heartland Inn, a chain of hotels based in Iowa, United States
* Heartland Alliance, an anti-poverty organization i ...
, a position he assumed less than a month ago.
On 31 October 2013, he was named the head coach of the newly promoted
Nigeria Premier League
The Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) is the highest level of the Nigerian football league system, for the Nigerian club-football championships.
The Nigerian league has suffered, like many others, from the financial impact and dwindl ...
team
Abia Warriors.
Personal life
Emeka's brother
Valentine Ezuego, a former footballer in India, recommended the former Nigerian World Cupper to Churchill Bros patron
Churchill Alemao
Churchill Braz Alemao (born 16 May 1949) is a former Chief Minister and former MP of the 14th Lok Sabha of India. He was the MLA of Benaulim constituency in the state of Goa.
Political career
Alemao was chief minister of Goa for a brief peri ...
.
Conversion
In February 2012, while he was coach of Mohammedan Sporting Club of Bangladesh, he converted to
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
.
Honours
Individual
*
Nehru Centenary Club Cup – Taj Bengal Trophy for player of the tournament: 1990
References
External links
*
Aalborg BK Oldtimers profile(in Danish)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ezeugo, Emeka
1965 births
Living people
People from Aba, Abia
Nigerian Muslims
Nigerian footballers
Association football midfielders
Nigeria international footballers
1992 African Cup of Nations players
1994 FIFA World Cup players
Olympic footballers of Nigeria
Footballers at the 1988 Summer Olympics
Danish Superliga players
Nemzeti Bajnokság I players
East Bengal Club players
Rangers International F.C. players
Sri Pahang FC players
Lyngby Boldklub players
Boldklubben Frem players
AaB Fodbold players
Budapest Honvéd FC players
Fremad Amager players
Deportivo Fabril players
Mohammedan SC (Dhaka) players
Mohun Bagan AC players
Churchill Brothers FC Goa players
Hershey Wildcats players
Porthmadog F.C. players
Nigerian football managers
Abia Warriors F.C. managers
Nigerian expatriate footballers
Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in India
Expatriate footballers in India
Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Bangladesh
Expatriate footballers in Bangladesh
Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Malaysia
Expatriate footballers in Malaysia
Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Denmark
Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark
Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Hungary
Expatriate footballers in Hungary
Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Spain
Expatriate footballers in Spain
Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Expatriate soccer players in the United States
Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Wales
Expatriate footballers in Wales
Expatriate footballers in Peru
Converts to Islam
Deportivo Municipal managers