Fanendo Adi (born 10 October 1990) 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 Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...

Club career

Europe

Following his transfer from AS Trencin, Adi scored a goal in his F.C. Copenhagen debut against

FC Vestsjælland FC Vestsjælland, also known as FCV Vikings, was a professional Danish association football club that played in the Danish 1st Division until its closure in 2015. They played their home matches at Harboe Arena Slagelse in Slagelse, which has a cap ...

on 25 August, despite not having his work and residency permit. In January 2011, Adi, then 20 years old, was invited for a trial by Ajax for the second time.

Portland Timbers

On 13 May 2014, Adi went on loan with the option to buy to

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

. He made his debut coming on as a substitute against Columbus Crew and got the game tying assist, a feat which earned him a start in the following match. In his first start for the club, on 28 May 2014 against Chivas USA, Adi scored his first and second goals for the club. On 7 June he received his second start and scored two goals in the first half against Real Salt Lake. Adi was signed permanently by the Portland Timbers on 23 June 2014. He became the club's fourth ever Designated Player. He was the top scorer with 18 goals in both 2015 and 2016. On 8 April 2017, after scoring a penalty kick against the

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 201 ...

, Adi became the Timbers' all-time leading goalscorer, with 46 goals.

FC Cincinnati

Adi was traded from Portland Timbers to MLS expansion side FC Cincinnati on 30 July 2018 for a deal worth up to $1,000,000 in allocation money. He played the remainder of the 2018 season with FC Cincinnati in the United Soccer League ahead of the club's move up to Major League Soccer. Adi started in the first three matches of FC Cincinnati's inaugural MLS season. However, in the third match on 17 March (Cincinnati's home opener against Portland Timbers), he was injured after a collision with

Larrys Mabiala Larrys Mabiala Destin (born 8 October 1987) is a professional footballer who plays for the Portland Timbers, having previously played for Turkish Süper Lig club Kayserispor as a defender, Paris Saint-Germain, Plymouth Argyle, and Nice. Born ...

late in the first half, and was subbed out at halftime. He remained on the bench with a left ankle injury the next two matches. At approximately 3:45am on 31 March 2019, Adi was pulled over by the Ohio State Highway Patrol and cited for operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol (OVI), speeding, and not possessing a valid driver's license. According to the police, Adi was driving 102 mph in a 65 mph zone, showed a blood alcohol content of 0.124 in a breathalyzer test, and possessed only a Ukrainian driver's license. Adi was suspended by FC Cincinnati and entered MLS' Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health program. Adi was cleared from suspension on 24 April and began practicing with the team the following day; however, his minutes remained limited as his ankle was still recovering. He made his first appearance since the injury in the final 11 minutes of a

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

match on 4 May. He played another 26 minutes as a substitute in the following two matches. On 25 May, Adi started for the first time since 17 March and played a full 90 minutes. Adi scored his first goal of 2019 in a

U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in men's Soccer in the United States, soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing nati ...

match against Louisville City FC on 12 June. He scored his first goal in the 2019 MLS season on July 13 against the Chicago Fire. It gave FC Cincinnati the lead and victory, 2–1. Following a tumultuous season with Cincinnati, Adi was waived by the club on 17 January 2020, ahead of the 2020 season.

Columbus Crew

On 27 January 2020, Columbus Crew SC announced that it had claimed Adi off the

Waiver List. Adi's contract with Columbus expired following their 2020 season.

Minnesota United

Minnesota United FC Minnesota United FC is an American professional soccer club based in Saint Paul, Minnesota that plays in the Western Conference of Major League Soccer. The club began play in 2017 as the league's 22nd club, and replaced the North American Socc ...

signed Adi to a one year deal with a one year option on 27 August, 2021.

International career

Adi was called up to Nigeria's U23 team twice in 2011. He was also called up to the senior Nigeria squad to face Egypt in a

2017 Africa Cup of Nations The 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (abbreviated as AFCON 2017 or CAN 2017), known as the Total 2017 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 31st edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's football champions ...

qualifier in March 2016 but did not play.

Honors

Portland Timbers * MLS Cup:

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

* Western Conference championship (in playoffs): 2015 FC Cincinnati * USL regular season:

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Columbus Crew * MLS Cup:

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

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Adi, Fanendo 1990 births Living people Nigerian footballers Nigerian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Slovakia Expatriate footballers in Ukraine Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine Expatriate footballers in Denmark Expatriate soccer players in the United States Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Slovakia Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Association football forwards AS Trenčín players FC Metalurh Donetsk players FC Dynamo Kyiv players SC Tavriya Simferopol players F.C. Copenhagen players Portland Timbers players FC Cincinnati players Columbus Crew players Minnesota United FC players Slovak Super Liga players Ukrainian Premier League players Danish Superliga players Major League Soccer players Designated Players (MLS) USL Championship players Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in the United States