Oladipupo Olarotimi Martins (12 April 1983 – 9 August 2011) was a professional

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 ...

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 last played 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 ...

for

University of Ado Ekiti Ekiti State University Ado Ekiti is a state government owned and operated Nigerian university, located in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria. It was established as Obafemi Awolowo University, Ado-Ekiti on 30 March 1982 by the administration of Ch ...

, a non professional side. He died of a suspected heart attack at the Dorel Specialist Hospital, Ajah, Lagos on Monday, 8 August 2011, after being admitted complaining of chest pains the previous day. He was 28.

Career

Martins started his European career with Italian side Reggiana before quickly attracting the attention of

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Football in Italy, Italian professional Association football, football ...

whom he signed for in 2001. Unlike his brother, Martins did not thrive at Inter and was released at the end of the 2001–02 season. He returned to

but soon found himself heading back to Europe, this time for a trial with

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

n side

FK Partizan Fudbalski klub Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Партизан, ; en, Partizan Football Club), sometimes known as Partizan Belgrade in English, is a Serbia, Serbian professional football club (association football), football ...

. His hard work was rewarded and in 2003 he signed a professional contract. His opportunities at Partizan were limited and most of his opportunities to play ended up being for the satellite

FK Teleoptik FK Teleoptik () is a professional football club based in Zemun, Belgrade, Serbia. They compete in the Serbian League Belgrade, the third tier of the national league system. History Founded by the manufacturing company of the same name in 1952, t ...

. In 2004, he was released from his contract and returned to

again, this time for an extended period before he finally signing for

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n side Innsbrucker AC in time for the 2007–08 season after a trial periodOladipupo Martins
on

Playerhistory.com Playerhistory.com is an internet association football statistics database, founded in April 2002 by former footballer Håkon André Winther (born 15 September 1969 in Tromsø). Maintained by a team of volunteers from all over the world, it is on ...

and joined

in February 2009.

Personal life

Martins was the older brother of Nigerian international striker

Obafemi Martins Obafemi Akinwunmi Martins (born 28 October 1984) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is known for his speed on the ball. After leaving Nigeria for Italy at age 16, he has since played for a number of top-di ...

References

External links

Oladipupo Martins
at SportBasis {{DEFAULTSORT:Martins, Oladipupo 1983 births 2011 deaths Sportspeople from Lagos Nigerian footballers Nigerian expatriate footballers A.C. Reggiana 1919 players Inter Milan players Expatriate footballers in Italy FK Partizan players FK Teleoptik players Expatriate footballers in Serbia and Montenegro Expatriate footballers in Austria Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Austria Association football forwards Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Serbia and Montenegro NEPA Lagos players