Obinze Angelo Ogbonna (; born 23 May 1988) is an Italian 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, rugb ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for club West Ham United. Ogbonna signed for

Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

in 2002, having previously been a member of Nuova Cassino's youth set-up. Ogbonna made his debut in

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

at the age of 18 under Alberto Zaccheroni. After a loan spell at

Crotone Crotone (, ; nap, label= Crotonese, Cutrone or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Calabria, Italy. Founded as the Achaean colony of Kroton ( grc, Κρότων or ; la, Crotona) in Magna Graecia, it was known as Cotrone from the Middle Ages unti ...

Serie C1 Lega Pro Prima Divisione was the third highest football league in Italy. It consisted of 33 teams, divided geographically into two divisions of 16 and 17 teams for group A and B respectively. Until 2008 it was known as Serie C1. Before the 1978 ...

, he returned to Torino, with whom he played for a further five seasons. In July 2013, he transferred to city rivals,

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football league system. Founded in ...

, winning the ''Scudetto'' in 2013–14 and 2014–15, as well as the 2013 Supercoppa Italiana and the

2014–15 Coppa Italia The 2014–15 Coppa Italia, also known as TIM Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the 68th edition of the national cup in Italian football. Napoli were the defending champions, having won the previous year's final, but were eliminated in the semi- ...

. He was a member of the Italian side which finished runners-up at

UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...

, and also represented his nation at

UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...

Club career

Torino

Ogbonna began his early career in the youth set-up of

Cassino Cassino () is a ''comune'' in the province of Frosinone, Southern Italy, at the southern end of the region of Lazio, the last city of the Latin Valley. Cassino is located at the foot of Monte Cairo near the confluence of the Gari and Liri ri ...

, where he played as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either ...

. In 2002, he was noticed by

, which, on the recommendation of Antonio Comi, bought him for €3,000 and assigned him to their youth team. In the 2006–07 season he was regularly called up to the first team and on 11 February 2007 he made his debut in

at age 18, against

Reggina Reggina 1914 S.r.l., commonly referred to as Reggina, is an Italian football club based in Reggio Calabria. Founded in 1914, they currently play in Serie B, and play their home matches at the 27,763 seater Stadio Oreste Granillo. They are ni ...

(1–2), as a starter under coach Alberto Zaccheroni. At the end of season he totalled 4 league appearances. The following August he moved on loan to

, making 22 league appearances in the league and nearly earning promotion to

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had been ...

, losing in the semi-final play-offs. In the

2008–09 Serie A The 2008–09 Serie A (known as the Serie A TIM for sponsorship reasons) was the 107th season of top-tier Italian football, the 77th in a round-robin tournament. It began on 30 August 2008 and ended on 31 May 2009, with the announcement of the ...

season he returned to Torino, collecting 19 league appearances and four in

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

. Torino, however, were relegated to

at the end of the season. Starting from 2009, after the relegation of the club to Serie B, he earned his place as a starter for the ''Granata''. On 17 April 2010, Ogbonna scored his first goal for Torino in the match against

Cesena Cesena (; rgn, Cisêna) is a city and '' comune'' in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, served by Autostrada A14, and located near the Apennine Mountains, about from the Adriatic Sea. The total population is 97,137. History Cesena was ...

, finishing 1–1. On 15 August 2010, in the second round of

against

Cosenza Cosenza (; :it:Dialetto cosentino, local dialect: ''Cusenza'', ) is a city in Calabria, Italy. The city centre has a population of approximately 70,000; the urban area counts more than 200,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Province of Cosen ...

(won 3–1 in extra time), he wore the

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

's armband for the first time. In three Serie B seasons with Torino, Ogbonna made 105 appearances, helping the club return to Serie A after finishing second to Pescara during the 2011–12 season. On 2 February 2012, he renewed his contract with Torino until 30 June 2016.

Juventus

On 11 July 2013, Ogbonna underwent a medical at

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

's Fornaca, Isokinetic and the Istituto di Medicina dello Sport ahead of his proposed cross-town move to

. After passing the medical, he officially signed for Juventus for a transfer fee of €13 million, with an additional €2 million to be paid in future bonuses. He became the first player to become

of the ''Granata'' and transfer to rivals Juventus, sparking much dislike with his old supporters of Torino. He made his Champions League debut in on 17 September 2013, against

F.C. Copenhagen Football Club Copenhagen ( da, Football Club København, ), commonly known as FC København, FC Copenhagen, Copenhagen or simply FCK, is a professional Danish football club in Copenhagen, Denmark. FCK was founded in 1992 as a superstructure o ...

. In his first season, despite being behind Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci and

Giorgio Chiellini Giorgio Chiellini (; born 14 August 1984) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC. Considered one of the best defenders of his generation, Chiellini is known for his strengt ...

in the pecking order at centre back, Ogbonna managed 25 appearances in all competitions, mostly starting in matches in the latter half of the season as the team was heavily rotated for league, Coppa Italia and Champions League matches. Ogbonna played 16 league games for Juventus in the 2013–14 season, as they won Serie A title. He was also a member of the side which won the 2013 Supercoppa Italiana In the 2014–15 season, Juventus defended the Serie A title once again, with Ogbonna making 25 league appearances, and the

. On 6 June 2015, he was an unused substitute as Juventus lost the Champions League Final 3–1 to

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

in Berlin.

West Ham United

On 10 July 2015, Ogbonna joined

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

club West Ham United, on a four-year contract, for €11 million to be spread over the next three financial years. He made his debut 20 days later in the Europa League third qualifying round, starting against Astra Giurgiu; in the 82nd minute he netted an

own goal An own goal, also called a self goal, is where a player performs actions that result in them or their team scoring a goal on themselves, often resulting in a point for the opposing team, such as when a football player kicks a ball into their own ...

equaliser as West Ham drew 2–2 at the

Boleyn Ground The Boleyn Ground, often referred to as Upton Park, was a football stadium located in Upton Park, east London. It was the home of West Ham United from 1904 to 2016, and was briefly used by Charlton Athletic in the early 1990s during their years ...

. On 9 February 2016, Ogbonna scored his first goal for the club, netting an injury-time match-winning header in the 121st minute of a 2–1 home win over

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

, in the fourth round

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...

replay. Having played 18 of a possible 22 Premier League games for West Ham in the 2016–17 season, he was ruled out for the remainder of the season as he required an operation. West Ham manager, Slaven Bilić, said that Ogbonna had played every game of the season despite carrying the injury. He returned for the final game of the 2016–17 season, a 2–1 away win against

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Br ...

. In June 2017, Ogbonna signed a new contract with West Ham committing him to the club until 2022. On 11 December 2020, Ogbonna scored the winning goal in a 2–1 away win over

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

which secured West Ham's first win at

Elland Road Elland Road is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the home of Premier League club Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the 14th largest football stadium in England. The ...

since 2000. In November 2021, Ogbonna damaged his

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formati ...

in a home win against

. The injury ruled him out for the rest of the 2021–22 season. Ogbonna made his return on 18 August 2022 in the 2022–23 Europa Conference League in a 3-1 home win against Danish team Viborg.

International career

On 12 August 2009, he made his debut with the Italian under-21 team in a friendly game against

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

. Ogbonna made his

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

debut on 11 November 2011 in a 2–0 friendly victory against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, where he came on as a substitute for

Domenico Criscito Domenico "Mimmo" Criscito (; born 30 December 1986) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a left-back. He is set to join club Genoa on 2 January 2023. A versatile player, Criscito is effective both offensively and defensively and i ...

in the 77th minute. Ogbonna was included by manager

Cesare Prandelli Claudio Cesare Prandelli (; born 19 August 1957) is an Italian football coach and former player. He was most recently head coach of Fiorentina. Career Player Prandelli was a midfielder who moved from Atalanta to Juventus in 1979. His first g ...

in the Italian 23-man final squad for

Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...

, but did not play during the competition. In May 2016, Ogbonna was included in the provisional 30-man Italy squad for

Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...

; On 31 May 2016, he was named in

Antonio Conte Antonio Conte (; born 31 July 1969) is an Italian professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur. Playing as a midfielder, Conte began his career at local club Lecce and later ...

's final 23-man squad for the tournament. Ogbonna made his only appearance of the tournament on 22 June, in Italy's final group match, which ended in a 1–0 defeat to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. In October 2020, after a two-year absence, Ogbonna was called into the Italian squad by manager,

Roberto Mancini Roberto Mancini (; born 27 November 1964) is an Italian football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of the Italy national team. As a player, Mancini operated as a deep-lying forward, and was best known for his time at Sam ...

, for two games in the Nations League.

Style of play

A strong and powerful central defender, Ogbonna is primarily known for his outstanding physical attributes; he is also a competent tackler, and possesses a good positional sense, as well as an ability to read the game. He is also capable of playing as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

on occasion, due to his pace, technique, ball skills, vision, and distribution with his left foot.

Personal life

Ogbonna was born to Nigerian parents who emigrated to Italy from Nigeria in 1983, settling in the city of

in the central part of the country, but managed to obtain Italian citizenship only after his 18th birthday. On 22 December 2008, Ogbonna survived a car accident near

after he lost control of his Smart car and drove off a bridge into a

torrent Torrent or torrents may refer to: * A fast flowing stream Animals * Torrent duck, a species of the family Anatidae * Torrent fish * Torrent frog, various unrelated frogs * Torrent robin, a bird species * Torrent salamander, a family of sa ...

at around 5:00 AM.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Juventus *

: 2013–14, 2014–15 *

: 2014–15 *

Supercoppa Italiana The Supercoppa Italiana ( en, Italian Super Cup) is an annual association football, football match contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season. If the same team wins both the Serie A and Coppa Italia titles ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

Italy *

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations ( UEFA). The competition is conte ...

runner-up:

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

References

External links

Angelo Ogbonna
at

West Ham United F.C. West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

archive
* * * *
La Gazzetta dello Sport profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ogbonna, Angelo 1988 births Living people People from Cassino Italian people of Nigerian descent Italian sportspeople of African descent Italian footballers Association football defenders Serie A players Serie B players Serie C players Premier League players F.C. Crotone players Torino F.C. players Juventus F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Italy under-21 international footballers Italy international footballers UEFA Euro 2012 players UEFA Euro 2016 players Italian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in England Footballers from Lazio Sportspeople from the Province of Frosinone