Juwon Oshaniwa (born 14 September 1990) is a Nigerian international

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

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 ...

. He has previously played for

Kwara United Kwara United Football Club is a Nigerian football club based in Ilorin. They play in the top division in Nigerian football, the Nigeria Professional football League after promotion in 2017 from the Nigeria National League. Their home stadium is t ...

Lobi Stars Lobi Stars Football Club (formerly known as ''Mosquito football club'', ''Lobi Bank'', ''BBL Hawks'', and ''Hawks'') is a Nigerian professional soccer club based in Makurdi, Benue. The club competes in the Nigerian Professional Football League. ...

, Sharks, and

Akwa United Akwa United Football Club is a Nigerian football club based in Uyo, Akwa Ibom. They play in the Nigeria Professional Football League, the first division of Nigerian football. The Godswill Akpabio International Stadium is the club's home stadium. ...

in Nigeria,

Ashdod Ashdod ( he, ''ʾašdōḏ''; ar, أسدود or إسدود ''ʾisdūd'' or '' ʾasdūd'' ; Philistine: 𐤀𐤔𐤃𐤃 *''ʾašdūd'') is the sixth-largest city in Israel. Located in the country's Southern District, it lies on the Mediterran ...

in Israel and Heart of Midlothian in Scotland. Oshaniwa is a full international 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 ...

and played in the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

Club career

Ashdod

Oshaniwa played club football in Nigeria for

and Sharks. After five years at Nigeria, Oshaniwa announced his intention to play in Europe. In September 2012 he signed a four-year deal with Israeli club

F.C. Ashdod SC Ashdod ( he, מועדון ספורט אשדוד, ''Moadon Sport Ashdod'', lit. Sport Club Ashdod, mainly known in Israel by the semi-acronym name , ''Mem Samekh Ashdod'', lit. S.C. Ashdod) is an Israeli football club, playing in the port cit ...

. Oshaniwa made his Ashdod debut on 13 September 2012, where he made his first start, in a 2–1 win over

Beitar Jerusalem Beitar Jerusalem Football Club ( he, מועדון כדורגל בית"ר ירושלים, Moadon Kaduregel Beitar Yerushalayim), commonly known as Beitar Jerusalem () or simply as Beitar (), is an Israeli football club based in the city of Jeru ...

. Just four months after signing for the club, Oshaniwa was linked with a move to

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, known as the cinch Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), the league competition for men's professional football clubs in Scotland. The Scottish ...

side

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

. Unfortunately, Oshaniwa suffered a virus that kept him out for months and made his return to the first team on 3 March 2013, in a 1–1 draw against

Hapoel Tel Aviv Hapoel Tel Aviv ( he, הפועל תל אביב) is a sports club in Israel, founded in the 1920s, and part of the Hapoel association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, suc ...

. In his first season at Ashdod, Oshawniwa made sixteen appearances for the club. His second season at Ashdod saw him continued to be in the first team regular, as he made twenty-four appearances. His playing time was restricted to six games after injuries However, the club were later relegated from the Israeli top flight after finishing last of the Bottom Playoff. In January 2015 he was linked with a transfer to

side

for the second time. But the move had never materialised. The 2014–15 season saw Oshaniwa had his playing time restricted following his first team opportunities being limited with eleven appearances. During the season, Oshaniwa scored his first Ashdod goal on 17 January 2015, in a 2–1 win over

Hapoel Petah Tikva Hapoel Petah Tikva F.C. ( he, הפועל פתח תקווה) is an Israeli football club based in the city of Petah Tikva, currently playing in the Liga Leumit. Its most successful period was throughout the 1950s and 1960s, in which the club won ...

. Following the 2014–15 season, it was announced that Oshaniwa left the club to make his move to Scotland.

Heart of Midlothian

In June, Oshaniwa was linked with a move to Scottish club Heart of Midlothian ("Hearts") and stated he keen to move to United Kingdom to continue his football development. Weeks later, Hearts made a move for Oshaniwa and was on verge of signing him. However, the negotiations to complete the move was delayed over visa requirement, which he eventually was granted on 28 July 2015. His move to Hearts was completed, subject to international clearance, on 1 August. Oshaniwa expressed delight to join the club. Following the move, Oshaniwa was not playing in the opening game of the season against

St Johnstone St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland which is a member of the Scottish Premiership for the 2022–23 season. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun ''aka'' Saint Johnstoun – an old ...

and was at the dugout watching, as he was amazed with the football, the entertainment and the fans. Oshaniwa made his Hearts debut on 8 August 2015, playing as a left-back, in a 2–1 win against

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

. In the 2016–17 season, Oshaniwa did not make any first-team appearances. He was released by Hearts in June 2017, a year before his contract had been due to expire. In 2018 he signed for

International career

Oshawniwa was called up by

on 30 March 2012 and made his international debut for

in 2012, Since being called up by the national team, Oshawina has appeared in FIFA World Cup qualifying matches. He was called up to Nigeria's 23-man squad for the

2013 Africa Cup of Nations The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations South Africa 2013 for sponsorship reasons, held from 19 January to 10 February 2013, was the 29th Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa organized ...

. After appearing as an un-used substitute in Nigeria's African Cup of Nations, Oshaniwa played in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

, where he came on as a substitute for

Elderson Echiéjilé Elderson Uwa Echiéjilé (born 20 January 1988) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a left-back. He began his career at Bendel Insurance and moved to Europe in 2007, joining Rennes where he was mainly a reserve. He spent ...

in the 66th minute, in a 1–0 win over

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the ...

to win African Cup of Nations for the third time. He said that winning the tournament was the highlight of his career. The following year, Oshaniwa was named in the provisional squad for the

. Oshaniwa continued to be in the squad for the World Cup following the cuts to the 23-man squad, where he played in all four of Nigeria's matches at the World Cup.

Playing style

''The Cable'' has described Oshaniwa's playing style as "strength, tough tackles, good marking in one-on-one situation."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oshaniwa, Juwon 1990 births Living people Nigerian men's footballers Nigerian expatriate men's footballers Nigeria men's international footballers F.C. Ashdod players Expatriate men's footballers in Israel Lobi Stars F.C. players Sharks F.C. players Akwa United F.C. players 2013 Africa Cup of Nations players 2014 FIFA World Cup players Israeli Premier League players Africa Cup of Nations-winning players People from Ilorin Men's association football fullbacks Heart of Midlothian F.C. players Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland Scottish Professional Football League players Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Israel Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Scotland