Ikechukwu Kalu (born 18 April 1984 in
Kaduna
Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade Centre and a major transportation hub as the gateway to northern Nige ...
) 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 ...
who plays as a
striker. His name, Ikechukwu, means "Power of God".
Football career
He started his career at
Jasper United in Nigeria. He was signed by
U.C. Sampdoria
Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa.
The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, ...
in summer 2002. After played one season in Genoa,
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional Association football, football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 ...
signed him in summer 2003 in joint-ownership bid for €1 million, and saw
Luca Antonini
Luca Antonini (; born 4 August 1982) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a defender. He is best known for his five–season stint at A.C. Milan, for which he played from 2008 until 2013. During that time, he made 111 app ...
move to opposite direction in joint-ownership deal (for €2 million), and sent him on loan to
Pisa and
Chiasso
Chiasso (; lmo, Ciass ) is a municipality in the district of Mendrisio in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.
As the southernmost of Switzerland's municipalities, Chiasso is on the border with Italy, in front of Ponte Chiasso (a frazione of Co ...
. He scored 28 goals in 44 games in two season in Swiss second division, which saw Sampdoria recall him in summer 2007. He made his Serie A debut on 10 November 2007 against
Empoli F.C.
Empoli Football Club, commonly referred to as Empoli, is an Italian football club based in Empoli, Metropolitan City of Florence. Founded in 1920, the side is part of a select group of Italian football clubs that do not belong to a provincial ...
In June 2008, Sampdoria bought back Kalu from Milan for €250,000 and co-currently signed
Paolo Sammarco
Paolo Sammarco (born 17 March 1983) is an Italian football coach and a former player who played as a midfielder. He is the caretaker head coach of Serie D club Ambrosiana.
Club career Chievo
A product of European giants A.C. Milan's youth syste ...
outright for another €2.5 million. Kalu then sold to the Swiss side
AC Bellinzona
AC Bellinzona is a Swiss football club based in Bellinzona. It was founded in 1904, and won the Swiss Super League in 1948. After being folded in 2013 declaring bankruptcy, the team played the Ticino Group of 2.Liga, the sixth tier of the Swi ...
for €400,000.
[U.C. Sampdoria SpA ''bilancio'' (financial report and accounts) on 31 December 2008 ]
PDF purchased from Italian CCIAA
/ref>
References
External links
Nigerianplayers.com profilefootball.ch profileAC Bellinzona profile
*
Igbo sportspeople
Nigeria international footballers
Nigerian expatriate footballers
Nigerian footballers
U.C. Sampdoria players
Pisa S.C. players
FC Chiasso players
AC Bellinzona players
Serie A players
Swiss Super League players
Association football forwards
Expatriate footballers in Italy
Expatriate footballers in Switzerland
Expatriate footballers in Thailand
1984 births
Living people
Jasper United F.C. players
Sportspeople from Kaduna
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