Michael Okechukwu Uchebo (born 2 February 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

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. He has played for his country,

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, at international level.

Career

Uchebo began his career in

Enugu Rangers Rangers International Football Club, commonly known as Enugu Rangers, is a Nigerian professional association football team. They are based in Enugu and play their home games at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium. Enugu Rangers are one of the three olde ...

.Nigeria Beat Togo 2–0
/ref> He signed a three-year contract with

VVV Venlo VVV-Venlo (, ''VVV'' stands for ''Venlose Voetbal Vereniging'' meaning "Venlo Football Club") is a Dutch football club from Venlo, a city on the border with Germany. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following ...

in October 2009. Venlo's football director Mario Captien described him as a physically very strong striker who is a target man at the front. Dutch

Voetbal International ''Voetbal International'' (VI) is a Dutch football magazine. It is the oldest Dutch football magazine that is still running. History and Profile ''Voetbal International'' was established in 1965. VI was one of the founding members of ESM but l ...

referred to Uchebo as the new

Nwankwo Kanu Nwankwo Kanu (born 1 August 1976) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He was a member of the Nigeria national team, and played for Nigerian team Iwuanyanwu Nationale, Dutch side Ajax, Inter Milan of Italy, and ...

. In November 2011, Venlo's chairman Hai Berden revealed that the club was in talks with English side

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

regarding the transfer of Uchebo. In January 2012 Uchebo joined Stoke City on trial. However, at the end of the trial, the club decided not to sign him. On 25 January, Uchebo joined Rangers on a trial. His trial at the club ended after just one day, with conflicting reports from the player and Rangers. The agent of Uchebo claimed that player cut short his trial due to a poor impression of Rangers after

Ally McCoist Alistair Murdoch McCoist, (; born 24 September 1962) is a Scottish former footballer who has since worked as a manager and TV pundit. McCoist began his playing career with Scottish club St Johnstone before moving to English side Sunderland i ...

did not attend the single training session in question, while McCoist said that it was a club decision. After saving Venlo from relegation with a late goal in extra time of the Eredivisie relegation playoffs second round match against

SC Cambuur SC Cambuur, also known as Cambuur Leeuwarden, or simply Cambuur, () is a Dutch football club from the city of Leeuwarden formed on 19 June 1964. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, after winning the 2020–21 Ee ...

, Uchebo revealed that he won't renew his expiring contract at VVV. On 29 May Venlo announced that they had reached an agreement with

Cercle Brugge Cercle Brugge Koninklijke Sportvereniging () is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges. Cercle have played in the Belgian Pro League since the 2003–04 season, having previously spent several years in the Belgian Second Divisio ...

. Uchebo subsequently signed a two-year deal with Cercle Brugge. On 11 October 2014, Uchebo signed for Boavista on a three-year contract. He scored his first goal on his first match, against Paços de Ferreira, in a 2–1 home loss.

International career

Uchebo was a member of the Nigeria U-20 team and in August 2008 he scored his first goal for Nigeria in a match against Togo in the West African Football Union tournament. He also played at the U-20

2009 African Youth Championship The 2009 African Youth Championship is a football tournament for under 20 players. It was held in Rwanda from 18 January until 1 February 2009. It also served as qualification for the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Qualification Preliminary round ...

tournament, scoring one goal in three matches. He was described in the media as the most sought-after player among the Nigeria squad in the tournament. In June 2011 Uchebo was called up by current Olympic team and National U-23 coach

Austin Eguavoen Augustine Owen Eguavoen (born 19 August 1965) is a Nigerian football manager and former player who thrice served as manager of the Nigeria national team. Playing career Club During his varied career Eguavoen began his career with ACB Lagos i ...

for the crucial return leg of the Olympic qualifiers against

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

. In October 2011 U-23 coach Austin Eguavoen visited the Netherlands and met with officials of VVV Venlo to secure the release of Uchebo to participate in the inaugural edition of the CAF U-23 championship in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

. He received his first call-up to the Nigeria national team in February 2014. Uchebo earned his first senior cap on 6 March, in the 0–0 draw with

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

, playing the first half before being replaced by

Leon Balogun Leon Aderemi Balogun (born 28 June 1988) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Queens Park Rangers and the Nigeria national team. Balogun has previously played for Türkiyemspor Berlin, Hannover 96, Werder Bremen, Fortuna ...

. In the next of Nigeria's matches, a 2–2 draw with

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Craven Cottage Craven Cottage is a football ground in Fulham, West London, England, which has been the home of Fulham F.C. since 1896.According to the club'official website The ground's capacity is 22,384; the record attendance is 49,335, for a game against M ...

, Uchebo played 55 minutes of the match. After Scotland had taken the lead, Uchebo equalised before the break with a mid-range deflected effort. His replacement was

Peter Odemwingie Peter Osaze Odemwingie (born 15 July 1981) is a retired Nigerian professional footballer who played as a forward and winger. Odemwingie grew up in Uzbekistan and Russia and began his career with Bendel Insurance in the Nigeria Premier League. ...

References

External links

Eredivisie stats at Voetbal international
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Uchebo, Michael 1990 births Living people Association football forwards Nigerian footballers Nigerian expatriate footballers Rangers International F.C. players VVV-Venlo players Cercle Brugge K.S.V. players Eredivisie players Belgian Pro League players Nigeria international footballers 2014 FIFA World Cup players Footballers from Enugu Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate footballers in Belgium Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium