Richard Daddy Owubokiri (born 16 July 1961), commonly known as Ricky, is a Nigerian former 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 played 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 ...

Football career

Born in Port Harcourt,

Rivers State Rivers State, also known as Rivers, is a state in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria (Old Eastern Region). Formed in 1967, when it was split from the former Eastern Region, Rivers State borders include: Imo to the north, Abia and Akwa Ib ...

, Ricky started his career in his native country before playing four seasons in Brazil, where he played for

America Football Club (RJ) America Football Club, usually abbreviated to America-RJ or simply America, is a Brazilian football team based in the city of Rio de Janeiro, in the northern neighborhood of Tijuca. The team compete in Campeonato Carioca, the top tier ...

and

Esporte Clube Vitória Esporte Clube Vitória, commonly referred to as Vitória, is a Brazilian professional club based in Salvador, Bahia founded on 13 May 1899. It competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série B, the second tier of Brazilian football, as well as i ...

, a club he would return to in 1994 in the

Brazilian Série A Brazilian commonly refers to: * Something of, from or relating to Brazil * Brazilian Portuguese, the dialect of the Portuguese language used mostly in Brazil * Brazilians, the people (citizens) of Brazil, or of Brazilian descent Brazilian may also ...

. He had a spell in France with Stade Lavallois and FC Metz. Ricky moved to Portugal to play for S.L. Benfica, in December 1988, but appeared very rarely with the team in the 1988–89 season, scoring only six goals, all in the same

Portuguese Cup Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

fixture against Atlético Riachense. He moved to

C.F. Estrela da Amadora Club Football Estrela da Amadora (), sometimes just Estrela, is a Portuguese sports club (predominantly football) based in Amadora, northwest of Lisbon. It's the successor of Clube de Futebol Estrela da Amadora, founded in 1932 and extinct in ...

, where he played in the 1989–90 and 1990–91 seasons, winning the Taça de Portugal in 1990. He then moved north to

Boavista FC Boavista Futebol Clube, commonly known as Boavista (), is a Portuguese sports club from the city of Porto. Founded on 1 August 1903 by British entrepreneurs and Portuguese textile workers (thus the "FC" being appended – the British way as oppos ...

, for the 1991–92 season. His impact was instant, helping the side finish third in his first season with the addition of the Taça de Portugal, as the player netted 30 times in the

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...

, being the top scorer. Ricky retired in 1997 at the age of 36, after one-year stints with

C.F. Os Belenenses Clube de Futebol Os Belenenses, commonly known as Os Belenenses (), is a Portuguese sports club best known for its football team. Founded in 1919, it is one of the oldest Portuguese sports clubs. It is based in the 25,000-seat Estádio do Rest ...

, Al-Arabi Sports Club and Al-Hilal FC. He had 23 caps for

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 ...

, scoring a single goal. Owubokiri was picked for the

1982 African Cup of Nations The 1982 African Cup of Nations was the 13th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of African nations run by the CAF. It was hosted by Libya. Just like in 1980, there were eight teams, which were split into ...

in Libya, but missed the

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States ...

Career statistics

International goals

:Source:1992 MATCHES AFRICA
/ref>

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ricky Owubokiri 1961 births Living people Sportspeople from Port Harcourt Nigerian men's footballers Men's association football forwards Nigeria Professional Football League players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players Ligue 1 players Saudi Pro League players ACB Lagos F.C. players America Football Club (Rio de Janeiro) players Esporte Clube Vitória players Stade Lavallois players FC Metz players Primeira Liga players S.L. Benfica footballers C.F. Estrela da Amadora players Boavista F.C. players C.F. Os Belenenses players Qatar Stars League players Al-Arabi SC (Qatar) players Al Hilal SFC players Nigeria men's international footballers 1982 African Cup of Nations players Nigerian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Brazil Expatriate men's footballers in France Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Qatar Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Brazil Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in France Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia