Mobi Patrick Oparaku (born 1 December 1976) 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.
Club career
Oparaku was born in
Owerri
Owerri ( , ) is the capital city of Imo State in Nigeria, set in the heart of Igboland. It is also the state's largest city, followed by Orlu, Okigwe and Ohaji/Egbema. Owerri consists of three Local Government Areas including Owerri Municipal, ...
,
Imo State. He played for several clubs in Belgium. In 2000, Oparaku spent one season with the
El Paso Patriots in the
USL A-League
The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...
. In 2001, he played for the
Connecticut Wolves
The Connecticut Wolves were an American soccer club that was founded by the Clifton Onolfo, the Onolfo Family, and several investors including Tony DiCicco. The Club's inaugural match was attended by 5,200 plus fans and competed in the United Soc ...
. In December 2005 he returned to Nigeria with teammate
Rashidi Yekini to
Gateway F.C.
International career
Oparaku played six matches at
1993 FIFA U-17 World Championship.
For the
Nigeria senior national team, he was a participant at the
1996 Olympic Games
The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
,
where Nigeria won the gold medal and at the
1998 FIFA World Cup.
References
External links
*
1976 births
Living people
People from Owerri
Nigerian footballers
Association football defenders
Nigeria international footballers
Olympic footballers of Nigeria
Olympic gold medalists for Nigeria
Footballers at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Olympic medalists in football
Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics
1998 FIFA World Cup players
Belgian First Division B players
A-League (1995–2004) players
Heartland F.C. players
R.S.C. Anderlecht players
KFC Turnhout players
Royal Cappellen F.C. players
El Paso Patriots players
Connecticut Wolves players
Rivoli United F.C. players
Gateway United F.C. players
Enyimba F.C. players
Nigerian expatriate footballers
Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium
Expatriate footballers in Belgium
Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Expatriate soccer players in the United States
Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Jamaica
Expatriate footballers in Jamaica
Sportspeople from Imo State
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