Obiorah Emmanuel Odita (; born 14 May 1983) is a Nigerian 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 plays as a striker for Serbian club Železničar Pančevo. He also holds

Serbian citizenship Citizenship of Serbia is regulated by the ''Citizenship Law of the Republic of Serbia'', adopted in 2004 and based primarily on the principle of Jus sanguinis. Article 23 of the citizenship law stipulates that any foreign national with Serbian ...

Club career

Early years

Born in

Enugu Enugu ( ; ) is the capital city of Enugu State in Nigeria. It is located in southeastern part of Nigeria. The city had a population of 820,000 according to the 2022 Nigerian census. The name ''Enugu'' is derived from the two Igbo words ''Énú ...

, Odita started out at local club

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 ...

, before switching to

Udoji United Udoji United was a Nigerian football team founded in 1990 in Enugu before moving to Awka in 1993. It was owned by Oscar Udoji, Owner and CEO of Solgas Petroleum Limited and Superior Motors Limited and son of former businessman/administrator Chief ...

. He subsequently moved to Serbia and Montenegro and joined First League side Javor Ivanjica in the 2003 winter transfer window. Until the end of the 2002–03 season, Odita scored one goal in nine league appearances, as the club suffered relegation to the Second League. He stayed there until the 2005 winter transfer window.

Partizan

In January 2005, Odita was officially transferred to

Partizan Partizan may refer to: Sport * JSD Partizan, a sports society from Belgrade, Serbia, which includes the following clubs: **AK Partizan, athletics ** Biciklistički Klub Partizan, cycling ** Džudo Klub Partizan, judo **FK Partizan, association fo ...

, signing a four-year deal. He marked his competitive debut by scoring both of his team's goals in a 2–2 draw with

Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Football Club Dnipro ( uk, Футбо́льний Клуб «Дніпро́», ) was a Ukrainian football club based in Dnipro. The club was owned by the Privat Group that also owns BC Dnipro and Budivelnyk Kyiv. In 2018 FC Dnipro was forced in ...

in the first leg of the UEFA Cup round of 32. In the

2005–06 UEFA Champions League The 2005–06 UEFA Champions League was the 51st season of UEFA's premier European club football tournament, the UEFA Champions League and the 14th since it was rebranded from the European Cup in 1992. 74 teams from 50 football associations took p ...

Second qualifying round, Odita scored a screamer to give Partizan a 1–0 win against

Sheriff Tiraspol Fotbal Club Sheriff (russian: ФК Шериф Тирасполь), commonly known as Sheriff Tiraspol or simply Sheriff, is a Moldovan professional football club based in Tiraspol, a city located in the unrecognised breakaway state of Transnist ...

. In January 2006, Odita was sent on a six-month loan to Javor Ivanjica. He then returned to Partizan and scored 10 league goals from 23 appearances in the 2006–07 season, while often partnering Stevan Jovetić. In June 2007, Odita moved to the United Arab Emirates and signed a two-year contract with

Al Ain Al Ain ( ar, ٱلْعَيْن, , ) is a city in the western side of Tawam (region), Tuwwam region and the seat of the administrative division of its namesake, Al-Ain Region, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. ...

Westerlo

In January 2008, Odita was loaned to Belgian club

Westerlo Westerlo () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises seven towns: * Westerlo centrum * * Tongerlo * Heultje * Voortkapel * Oosterwijk * In 2021, Westerlo had a total population of 25,288. The ...

. He scored twice in the second half of the 2007–08 season, before returning to Al Ain. In January 2009, Odita moved back to Belgium and signed a permanent contract with Westerlo.

Later years

In the summer of 2010, Odita made a comeback to Serbia by signing with his former club Javor Ivanjica for the 2010–11 season. He later moved to China and signed with

Tianjin Teda Tianjin Jinmen Tiger Football Club is a professional Chinese football club that currently participates in the Chinese Super League under licence from the Chinese Football Association (CFA). The team is based in Tianjin, and their home stadium is t ...

in early 2011. After two seasons with

Taraz Taraz ( kz, Тараз, تاراز, translit=Taraz ; known to Europeans as Talas) is a city and the administrative center of Jambyl Region in Kazakhstan, located on the Talas (river), Talas (Taraz) River in the south of the country near the borde ...

in Kazakhstan, Odita returned to Serbia once again and joined

Voždovac Voždovac ( sr-cyr, Вождовац, ) is a municipality of the city of Belgrade. According to the 2011 census results, the municipality has a population of 158,213 inhabitants. The municipality is located in the south-central part of the urban ...

in the summer of 2014. In June 2016, Odita switched to fellow Serbian club

Mladost Lučani Mladost (meaning "youth" in Slavic languages) may refer to: Placenames *Mladost, Sofia, municipality of Sofia, Bulgaria * Mladost, Varna, municipality of Varna, Bulgaria * Mladost, Obrenovac, municipality of city Obrenovac, Serbia. Association fo ...

. On 14 June 2021, it was announced that Odita has retired, only to be confirmed to have joined his former club Javor Ivanjica for the fifth time, four days later.

Statistics

Honours

;Partizan *

First League of Serbia and Montenegro The First League of Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Прва савезна лига / Prva savezna liga) was the top football league of Serbia and Montenegro, before the country's dissolution in 2006. The league was formed following the breakup of Yu ...

: 2004–05 ;Mladost Lučani *

Serbian Cup The Serbian Cup ( Serbian: Куп Србије, Kup Srbije) is the national football cup of Serbia. The winner of the competition gets a spot in the UEFA Europa League qualifying round. From 2006 to 2010, the competition was known as the Lav Cup ...

: Runner-up 2017–18

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Odita, Obiora Al Ain FC players Association football forwards Belgian Pro League players Chinese Super League players Expatriate footballers in Belgium Expatriate footballers in China Expatriate footballers in Kazakhstan Expatriate footballers in Serbia Expatriate footballers in Serbia and Montenegro Expatriate footballers in the United Arab Emirates FC Taraz players First League of Serbia and Montenegro players FK Javor Ivanjica players FK Mladost Lučani players FK Partizan players FK Voždovac players Footballers from Enugu Kazakhstan Premier League players K.V.C. Westerlo players Naturalized citizens of Serbia Nigerian expatriate footballers Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in China Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Kazakhstan Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Serbia Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Serbia and Montenegro Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Nigerian footballers Serbian SuperLiga players Tianjin Jinmen Tiger F.C. players 1983 births Living people