Ifeanyi Innocenti Emeghara (born 24 March 1984) 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 ...
who played as a
defender. He was deployed equally on the left and the right flank.
Club career
Partizan
After failing to find a club in Italy, Emeghara arrived 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 ...
for a trial in January 2003, accompanied by compatriot
Oladipupo Martins. They were both eventually assigned to affiliated club
Teleoptik. After spending 18 months with the ''Optičari'', Emeghara was promoted to the Partizan first team in June 2004, penning his first professional contract on a four-year deal. He was given the number 16 shirt, previously worn by fellow countryman
Taribo West.
In his
first season with the ''Crno-beli'', Emeghara established himself as the team's first-choice left-back, making 39 appearances in all competitions, as Partizan won the
league title with an unbeaten record and reached the
knockout stage of the UEFA Cup. In January 2006, Emeghara was transferred to Romanian club
Politehnica Timișoara on a three-year deal.
Steaua București
In June 2007, Emeghara moved to
Steaua București for a reported transfer fee of €1.2 million. His time with the ''Roș-albaștrii'' was plagued with injuries, particularly to his knees, causing him to make only 58 competitive appearances over the course of five seasons. In February 2013, after being out of contract for a year, Emeghara signed with Azerbaijani side
Gabala.
International career
Emeghara made his international debut 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 ...
on 17 November 2007, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 friendly loss against
Australia. He was named in
Berti Vogts' 23-man squad for the
2008 Africa Cup of Nations,
remaining an unused substitute during the tournament.
Statistics
Honours
Partizan
*
First League of Serbia and Montenegro:
2004–05[
Steaua București
* Cupa României: ]2010–11
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...
[
]
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Emeghara, Ifeanyi
2008 Africa Cup of Nations players
Association football defenders
Azerbaijan Premier League players
Expatriate footballers in Azerbaijan
Expatriate footballers in Romania
Expatriate footballers in Serbia and Montenegro
FC Steaua București players
FC Steaua II București players
First League of Serbia and Montenegro players
FK Partizan players
FK Teleoptik players
Gabala FC players
Liga I players
Liga II players
Nigeria international footballers
Nigerian footballers
Nigerian expatriate footballers
Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Azerbaijan
Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Romania
Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Serbia and Montenegro
Sportspeople from Lagos
1984 births
Living people