Emmanuel Chinenye Emenike (born 10 May 1987) is a Nigerian former

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 ...

who played as a striker. He most recently played for 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 ...

Club career

Delta Force F.C.

Emenike started his football career with

Delta Force The 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta (1st SFOD-D), referred to variously as Delta Force, Combat Applications Group (CAG), Army Compartmented Elements (ACE), "The Unit", or within Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), Task Fo ...

. At the club, he experienced many hardships. He walked on foot to training and back, even though it could take an hour and a half. The Delta State government also refused the club funds, so he wasn't paid regularly.

Mpumalanga Black Aces

Later on his career, he would earn his first salary when he moved to South Africa. He transferred to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

National First Division The National First Division (NFD), officially known as the Motsepe Foundation Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest league of South African club football after the South African Premier Division. Both the NFD and South Afr ...

team

Mpumalanga Black Aces Black Aces were a South African football club that played in the Premier Soccer League. Aces usually played their home games in the Mpumalanga province but were based and trained in Johannesburg. History The original club was founded in 1937 by ...

in January 2008 and debuted against

Dynamos F.C. Dynamos Football Club (also referred to as The Glamour Boys or De-Mbare) is a Zimbabwean professional football club based since 1963 at Rufaro Stadium, Mbare, Harare. The team currently participates in Zimbabwe's top-tier, the Premier Soccer ...

on 17 February 2008. He scored his first goal with the team in his debut but Black Aces lost the match 4–2. He was a member of the Black Aces team that lost against

Mamelodi Sundowns Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club (simply known as Sundowns) is a South African professional football club based in Mamelodi, Pretoria in the Gauteng province that plays in the Premier Soccer League, the first tier of South African football ...

in the

Nedbank Cup The Nedbank Cup is the current name of South Africa's premier club soccer knockout tournament. While many formats have been used over the years, the tournament has always been based on the idea of giving lower league and amateur teams a chance t ...

final.

F.C. Cape Town

In May 2008, he joined First Division team F.C. Cape Town.

Karabükspor

In 2009 Emenike signed a one-year loan deal with Karabükspor. Emenike made his debut in the opening game of the 1.Lig season on 23 August 2009 in a 3–3 draw against

Samsunspor Samsunspor is a Turkish professional football club located in the city of Samsun. The club was formed through a merger of five clubs: 19 Mayıs, Akınspor, Fener Gençlik, Samsunspor, and Samsunspor Galatasaray.Kartal Kartal is a district of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the Asian side of the city, on the coast of the Marmara Sea between Maltepe and Pendik. Despite being far from the city centre, Kartal is heavily populated (total population of 541,209) (2008 ...

. Emenike would score his first hat-trick of his Turkish career in a 6–1 win over

Mersin İdmanyurdu Mersin Talim Yurdu, formerly Mersin İdman Yurdu, is a Turkish sports club from Mersin, Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean Region. The team played in the Turkish first division for 15 seasons, and after the 1983–84 season the football team pla ...

and score another hat-trick on 14 February 2010 in a 4–2 win over

Kayseri Erciyesspor Kayseri Erciyesspor was a Turkish sports club based in Kayseri. History In 1965, Orhan Şefik Apak, then president of the Turkish Football Federation, asked cities in Turkey to combine their amateur football clubs into one singular club that wo ...

. He went on to score 16 goals in the 1.Lig, leading the club to the title and automatic promotion. Emenike won the 1.Lig Best Foreign Player award at the end of the 2009–10 season,Bank Asya 1. lig'de spor ödülleri verildi
zaman.com.tr , accessed 18 August 2010 and also had his contract extended by three years for 300.000 €. Emenike scored on his

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...

debut, helping Karabükspor to a 2–1 victory over

Manisaspor Manisaspor is a Turkish professional football club located in the city of Manisa. Originally formed in 1931 as Sakaryaspor, the club changed its name to Manisaspor on 15 June 1965.KARDEMİR D.Ç. KARABÜKSPOR MANİSASPOR
tff.org , accessed 18 August 2010 On 28 November 2010, he scored his first hat-trick in Süper Lig career in a 3–0 win over

Bucaspor Bucaspor was a professional Turkish football club based in Buca, Izmir. Formed in 1928, Bucaspor were nicknamed Fırtına (Storm). The club colours were yellow and navy. It was dissolved in 2020. History Bucaspor was the fifth football club t ...

. He subsequently scored a total of 14 goals in his debut

season. In May 2011, he initiated a lawsuit against the newspaper 'Haber Turk' for what Emenike's agents describe as "misleading" and "malicious" claim that Emenike's age is 7 years different from what is shown on his passport.

Fenerbahçe

On 25 May 2011, Emenike joined Fenerbahçe for an undisclosed fee, believed to be around 9 million euros.

Spartak Moscow

On 28 July 2011, he was sold to

Spartak Moscow Spartak Moscow may refer to the following teams based or formerly based in Moscow, Russia: * FC Spartak Moscow, an association football club * HC Spartak Moscow, a professional ice hockey team * Spartak GM Moscow, a semi-professional rugby club * WB ...

for €10 million due to the match fixing claim, which has been disproven by the court later on, involving Fenerbahce and Emenike. Emenike had never appeared in a competitive match for Fenerbahçe. Emenike made his debut on the opening game of the season coming on as a substitute for Ari in the 76th minute, against

Anzhi Makhachkala Football Club Anzhi Makhachkala (russian: link=no, Футбо́льный клуб «Анжи́» Махачкала́, ), known simply as FC Anji, was a Russian professional football club based in the Dagestani capital of Makhachkala. Founded ...

on 14 August 2011. Emenike made his Europa League debut in a 2–2 draw against Polish side Legia Warsaw in the first leg of the qualification round. Emenike scored his first goal for the club with a 2–2 draw against

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet era, it was a central piece of the big So ...

. On 29 October 2011, Emenike scored his first hat-trick in a 3–0 win over

Lokomotiv Moscow FC Lokomotiv Moscow (''FC Lokomotiv Moskva'', russian: link=no, Футбольный клуб "Локомотив" Москва, ) is a Russian professional football club based in Moscow. Lokomotiv have won the Russian Premier League on three oc ...

and the next game when Spartak played against Lokomotiv, he would score twice. Towards the end of season, Emenike was fined about US$17,000 for an offensive gesture after Dynamo Moscow fans, who racially abused him during a match between Spartak and Dynamo, which Spartak won 3–1 and he scored. Vladimir Vasilyev, a Russian FA's ethics committee official, explained the fine, stating it was "an adequate punishment". In the last game of the season against champions

Zenit Saint Petersburg Football Club Zenit (russian: link=no, Футбольный клуб «Зенит» ), also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg or simply Zenit, is a Russian professional football club based in Saint Petersburg. Founded in 1925 (or in 1914, acco ...

, Emenike scored the second goal in the game but received a red card after he appeared to do a mock vein-tapping in preparation for an imaginary heroin injection. Eventually, Spartak Moscow would win 3–2. After the game, Emenike made an explanation celebration for gratitude to his parents The meeting between House of Football Control and Disciplinary Committee refused to consider the incident and shifted responsibility for the decision by the Ethics Committee. In the 2011–12 season, Emenike scored 13 goals (all in the league) and is the second top-scorer behind

Artyom Dzyuba Artem (or Artyom) Sergeyevich Dzyuba (russian: Артём Сергеевич Дзюба, ; born 22 August 1988) is a Russian professional football player who plays as a striker for the Russia national football team. He began his career with Spa ...

, who scored one more than Emenike. At the end of the season, Emenike signed a four-year deal and increased his buy-out clause to $42 million. In 2012–13 season, Emenike scored the fastest goal in the history of the Russian League, within 10 seconds of kick-off in a 2–1 win over Alania Vladikavkaz on the opening game of the season. In the Champions League qualifying round against his former club Fenerbahçe, he scored in a 2–1 first leg win. Eventually, Spartak Moscow would go through to the Group Stage of the Champions League. In Matchday Two of the Group Stage, Emenike scored a brace in a 3–2 loss against Scottish side Celtic. After the match, Nigerian teammate

Efe Ambrose Efetobore Eric “Efe” Ambrose Emuobo (born 18 October 1988) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Greenock Morton. Ambrose has previously played for Kaduna United, Bayelsa United, Israeli club Ashdod, Scottish c ...

spoke to Goal.com praising Emenike for his "electrifying performance" But in the second half of the season, his playing time was reduced, due to injuries. In 2013–14 season, Emenike scored three goals in four matches, to send the club into first place in the league in the first-four matches. When Emenike left Spartak he said that Valeriy Karpin (Spartak coach) was like a father to him.

Return to Fenerbahçe

In August 2013, Emenike moved back to Turkey by returning to Fenerbahçe for a fee worth around €13m (£10.2M). He was noted to be "thrilled" and was quoted saying Fenerbahce had always been a dream for him, and he had returned to perform for the fans and win championships. His first match for Fenerbahçe against Torku Konyaspor ended in a 3–2 loss. He scored his first goal for Fenerbahçe in October 2013 against

Kayserispor Kayseri Spor Kulübü, commonly known as Kayserispor, is a Turkish professional football club based in Kayseri. They play their home matches at the Kadir Has Stadium in red and yellow kits. The team has won one Turkish Cup in 2008 and also fi ...

in the 94th minute, securing a last minute win. He scored two more against

Gaziantepspor Gaziantepspor was a Turkish football club located in the city of Gaziantep. Formed in 1969 and dissolved in 2020, Gaziantepspor were nicknamed the ''Şahinler'' (The Falcons). The club colours were black and red, and they played their home matche ...

a week later, while Fenerbahçe won 3–1.

Loan to Al Ain

On 11 July 2015, Emenike signed for Al Ain on a season-long loan. On 13 January 2016, after spending six months at the club, Emenike returned to Fenerbahçe after his loan move was terminated by the club.

Loan to West Ham United

On 31 January 2016, Emenike signed for

West Ham United 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 ...

on loan until the end of the season with an option to make it permanent. On 6 February, Emenike made his debut as a 73rd-minute substitute replacing

Michail Antonio Michail Gregory Antonio (born 28 March 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for club West Ham United. Born in England, he represents the Jamaica national team. Antonio began his career at non-League club Tooting & Mit ...

in a 1–0 defeat at

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. On 21 February, Emenike scored a brace in a 5–1 win against

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

in the

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 competi ...

, his first and only goals for the club.

Olympiakos

On 6 July 2017, Emenike joined Greek champions Olympiacos for a fee of €3.8 million on a two-year deal. On 25 July 2017, Emenike made his first appearance for the club, scoring a last minute goal, helping Olympiacos to a 3–1 victory against

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 ...

, in the 1st leg of the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round. On 19 September 2017, thanks to a brace scored by Emenike at second half, Olympiacos won 2-1

Asteras Tripoli Asteras Tripolis Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Αστέρας Τρίπολης), commonly referred to as Asteras Tripolis (meaning "Star of Tripoli"), is a Greek professional football club based in the city of Tripoli in Arcadia, Peloponnese, G ...

, at this 2017-18 Greek Cup clash, at

Georgios Karaiskakis Georgios Karaiskakis ( el, Γεώργιος Καραϊσκάκης), born Georgios Karaiskos ( el, Γεώργιος Καραΐσκος; 1782 – 1827), was a famous Greece, Greek military commander and a leader of the Greek War of Independence. ...

Stadium. Since November 2017, the future of Emenike is up in the air, less than three weeks before the opening of the winter transfer market. According to various sources, the Olympiacos striker is under orders to train alone even though he is not recovering from any injury. In all likelihood, Emenike is set to depart the Superleague Greece champions in the January transfer window, with

mentioned as a possible destination. The striker had complained of being unsafe at his home in Greece and Olympiacos were forced to hire extra security to protect him. On 29 December 2017, Emenike has thanked Turkish giants

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club'') is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul in Turkey. Most notable for its association football department, the club also consists of various other de ...

for their brave step in reaching out to embattled former Arsenal and Ivorian defender, Emmanuel Eboue, who lost a bitter divorce battle, with his wife Aurelie awarded all of their assets, had to hide from cops and bailiffs after being ordered by a judge to transfer his remaining Enfield home in England to his wife. On 17 July 2018, he mutually resolved his contract with Olympiacos.

Loan to Las Palmas

On the last day of the winter transfer window 2018, Emenike agreed to play on loan from Olympiacos to Las Palmas until the end of the season as he had not much playing time in Olympiacos matches. Few days after his signing the Spanish club have announced that Emenike is now being treated for a knee problem and no date has been fixed for his return to action. ''“An MRI scan was conducted the same night which indicated the presence of an osteochondral lesion at the level of the internal femoral condyle and swelling of the internal lateral ligament,”'' Las Palmas explained.

Westerlo

On 27 August 2019, Emenike started to trials with Belgian 2nd division outfit

K.V.C. Westerlo Koninklijke Voetbal Club Westerlo (; often simply called Westerlo) is a Belgian professional football club located in the municipality of Westerlo in the province of Antwerp. Since 1997–98, Westerlo has been mostly playing in the Belgian Pro ...

, for a potential contract. On 16 September 2019, he has signed with the club. Westerlo became his 10th professional club. On 14 November 2019, Westerlo released Emenike, following 5 games played for the club, due to "not bringing the level that both parties had intended" by the pertinent official club statement.

International career

Iran and Nigeria match at the FIFA World Cup 2014-06-12 10

Emenike was called up to the

Nigeria national football team The Nigeria national football team represents Nigeria in men's international football. Governed by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), they are three-time Africa Cup of Nations winners, with their most recent title in 2013. In April 1994, ...

for a friendly against

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

.SHOLA AMEOBI VICTOR MOSES GET NIGERIA CALL
kickoff.com , accessed 14 January 2011 He was called up to Nigeria's 23-man squad for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, Africa Cup of Nations. On 21 January 2013, he scored in Nigeria's opening AFCON match against Burkina Faso in a 1–1 draw. He also scored the first goal in the quarter final match between Nigeria and Côte d'Ivoire which Nigeria won 2–1. On 3 February, Emenike scored a 30-yard free kick giving his country a 2–1 win over Côte d'Ivoire in the African Cup of Nations. In 2013, he became part of the third Nigerian team to win the African Cup of Nations – Nigeria's first continental victory since 1994. His four goals proved crucial to Nigeria's progress through the tournament, and he was named to the team of the African Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament. However, Emenike wasn't included in the final, due to a thigh injury. He also received the Pepsi Tournament Top Scorer, with four goals, along with

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

Wakaso Mubarak Mubarak Wakaso ( ar, مبارك واكاسو; born 25 July 1990) is a Ghanaian footballer who plays for Belgian club K.A.S. Eupen, on loan from Shenzhen F.C., and the Ghana national team as a midfielder. He spent the better part of his career ...

. In March 2013, Emenike was left out of the Nigerian squad for the World Cup qualifier, due to hamstring injury, which Emenike criticised Nigeria's coach and officials of ignoring him. In June 2013, Emenike wasn't included for Nigeria's squad at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. After four month without being called up, Emenike was called up for August's Mandela Cup friendly match but did not participate due to injury. Emenike celebrated his absence from Eagles in Sept 2013 when he played in the 2014 world cup qualifier against Malawi – played in Calabar. He scored a goal in the two-nil win by the Super Eagles – a win which took them to the final round of world cup qualifiers. He came on as a substitute three days later in a friendly match against Burkina Faso, played in Kaduna – he scored the fourth goal in a 4–1 win for the Eagles. On 13 October 2013, in the first-leg of last round of the World Cup qualifier against Ethiopia, he scored twice to give the Super Eagles a 2–1 lead going into the second-leg On 20 October 2015 he announced his retirement.

Career statistics

Club

International goals

:''Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first.''

Honours

Club

;Karabükspor *

TFF First League The TFF 1. Lig, officially known as Spor Toto 1. Lig for sponsorship reasons, is the second level of the Turkish football league system. The league was founded in 2001 as the ''Turkish Second League Category A'' after the reorganization of the ...

: 2009–10 ;Fenerbahçe *

: 2013–14 *

Turkish Super Cup The Turkish Super Cup ( Turkish: ''TFF Süper Kupa''), as it is currently known, is the annual super cup football match contested between the previous season's Süper Lig champions and the Turkish Cup winners in Turkey. It was originally known ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

International

;Nigeria * Africa Cup of Nations (1):

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 ...

Individual

Best Foreign Player: 2009–10 *List of 33 Top Players of the

Russian Premier League The Russian Premier League (RPL; russian: Российская премьер-лига; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is the top division professional association football league in Russia. It was established at the end of 2001 ...

: 2011–12 * Africa Cup of Nations Golden Boot:

* Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament:

CAF Team of the Year The CAF Team of the Year is an annual football award given by the Confederation of African Football during the CAF Awards. In 2007, the CAF did not choose the team of the year, but rather the best ten players of the last fifty years. The ten pla ...

: 2013

Personal life

Emenike married former Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria winner Iheoma Nnadi in 2016. The couple welcomed their 1st child in August 2017. They had their 2nd child on 13 March 2020. Emenike is the cousin of US international and

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

striker Daryl Dike.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Emenike, Emmanuel 1987 births Living people Nigerian footballers Nigerian expatriate footballers Süper Lig players Kardemir Karabükspor footballers Fenerbahçe S.K. footballers Expatriate footballers in Belgium Expatriate footballers in Turkey Expatriate footballers in Russia Expatriate footballers in Spain FC Spartak Moscow players Russian Premier League players Nigeria international footballers 2013 Africa Cup of Nations players 2014 FIFA World Cup players F.C. Cape Town players Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey TFF First League players Africa Cup of Nations-winning players Expatriate footballers in England Al Ain FC players West Ham United F.C. players Association football forwards Premier League players UAE Pro League players Olympiacos F.C. players UD Las Palmas players K.V.C. Westerlo players Sportspeople from Anambra State