- Emmanuel Olisadebe
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Emmanuel Olisadebe 
Personal information Date of birth 22 December 1978 Place of birth Warri, Nigeria Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) Playing position Striker Club information Current club Vyzas Megaron Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 1995–1997 Jasper United 40 (20) 1997–2001 Polonia Warszawa 66 (20) 2001–2005 Panathinaikos 74 (24) 2005–2006 Portsmouth 2 (0) 2006–2007 → Skoda Xanthi (loan) 6 (0) 2007 APOP Kinyras Peyias 17 (6) 2008–2010 Henan Construction 63 (24) 2011- Vyzas Megaron 1 (1) National team‡ 2000–2004 Poland 25 (11) * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of August 2010.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 2004Emmanuel Olisadebe (Polish pronunciation: [ɛmaˈnuɛl olisaˈdɛbɛ]) (born 22 December 1978 in Warri) is a Nigerian-born Polish football striker who plays for Greek football club Vyzas Megaron in Gamma Ethniki.
After moving to Poland and having a successful career with Polonia Warszawa where he won the championship title as well as Polish SuperCup with them he would attract the interests of the Polish national team after he was eligible for Polish citizenship. His international career would see him participate in the 2002 FIFA World Cup while his club career would see him move to Panathinaikos FC before moving around Europe.
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Club career
Polonia Warsaw FC
Olisadebe began playing for Polonia Warszawa during the 1997/98 league season where in his first season he played in 13 league games.[1] During his time in Polonia Warsaw he helped them secure their first championship title in 50 years in the 1999/00 season, scoring 12 goals in the process. He also won the league cup and the super cup that year with them.
Panathinaikos FC
Olisadebe made a move to for 3 million euro to Panathinaikos where he scored 24 goals in 82 matches.[1] While at Panathinakos he played a large part in helping the club win the title for the first time in 10 years by scoring all the winning goals in the last four games of the championship. He also won the cup that year, making it a double. However during his time at Panathinaikos he suffered an injury that required surgery in Greece, although he still caught the attention of Portsmouth's manager Harry Redknapp, who was desperate for reinforcements to prevent relegation.
Olisadebe is very much loved by fans of Panathinaikos. He has a song dedicated to him. Olisadebe would have loved to play a vital role for his team but this ambition was short lived by the arrival of coach Alberto Malesani, who preferred other strikers to Olisadebe. Because of the good time Olisadebe spent in Greece he currently lives there.
Portsmouth
Portsmouth's manager Harry Redknapp called upon Olisadebe, along with Benjani Mwaruwari, to provide the attacking force needed to stay out of the bottom three. Portsmouth signed him on a "pay as you play" deal; unfortunately Olisadebe only played two games while at Portsmouth – he was plagued by injury and scored no goals during his short spell there. His contract was terminated after 4 months, at which point he travelled to Xanthi, where he wasn't given a chance to play. Unfortunately for Olisadebe, the president of Xanthi football club, Mr Panopoulos, decided the player's services were no longer needed. Olisadebe played only a few games. It is said[by whom?] that Mr Panopoulos had ego problems with the player.
APOP Kinyras Peyias
Olisadebe, being unhappy, decided to break his contract and travel to Cyprus in order to revive his career. He then featured for APOP Kinyras Peyia FC where he played in the 2007/08 season where he played in 17 games scoring 6 goals.[1]
Henan Construction
In 2008 he was offered a deal with Chinese Super League club Henan Construction. In his second match with Henan, the third round of 2008 Chinese Super League against Liaoning, he scored 2 goals and was highly praised by the Chinese sports media.
Olisadebe's first season at Henan was personally successful when he became the second top scorer in the Chinese super league with 12 goals in 26 games.
On September 27, Olisadebe scored the opening goal for Henan in a 2–0 win over Shanghai Shenhua to regain lead in the league less than ten minutes before injuring his knee. Initial diagnosis showed that he had torn his cruciate ligament of the left knee, and the injury could end his entire football career.[2] Further results confirmed that he injured his patellar ligament and would only miss the rest of the season.[3] Olisadebe has had two fantastic seasons in China. He was nominated for the MVP awards two years cosecutively only to be 2nd in both occasions. Due to his performance he has been granted by the government of Henan province citizenship.
Vyzas Megaron
Currently Emmanuel is on trial with Vyzas Megaron after being released from Henan Construction in November 2010.
National team
He is a former player of the Polish national team, who he played for after becoming a citizen of Poland after Michał Listkiewicz, the president of PZPN, and Polish President Aleksander Kwaśniewski were persuaded to do so by Zbigniew Boniek, a former national striker.
In 2002, Olisadebe broke the record for the greatest number of goals scored by a Polish player in a single World Cup qualifying tournament (8). For the two years prior to his World Cup debut, Olisadebe was on an incredible run, charging Poland through World Cup qualifiers. In Poland's match against Ukraine in Kiev during Poland's bid to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1986 Olisadebe scored twice, leading Poland to an unexpected 3–1 victory.
Olisadebe then scored two goals the next March in Oslo against the Norwegians to secure Poland as the leader of group 5.
Olisadebe was a contender for the FIFA World Footballer of the Year 2001 receiving one point in the voting.
Career stats
Club statistics
Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Nigeria League Nigerian FA Cup League Cup Africa Total 1996 Jasper United 32 17 1997 8 3 Poland League Polish Cup League Cup Europe Total 1997/98 Polonia Warsaw Ekstraklasa 13 1 1998/99 16 4 1999/00 24 12 2000/01 13 3 Greece League Greek Football Cup Greek League Cup Europe Total 2000/01 Panathinaikos Alpha Ethniki 8 4 2001/02 18 9 2002/03 19 8 2003/04 9 3 2004/05 13 0 2005/06 6 0 England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total 2005/06 Portsmouth Premier League 2 0 Greece League Greek Football Cup Greek League Cup Europe Total 2006/07 Skoda Xanthi Super League 5 0 Cyprus League Cypriot Cup League Cup Europe Total 2007/08 APOP Kinyras Peyias First Division 17 6 China PR League Chinese FA Cup League Cup Asia Total 2008 Henan Construction Super League 26 12 2009 18 10 2010 19 2 Country Nigeria 40 20 Poland 66 20 Greece 78 24 England 2 0 Cyprus 17 6 China PR 63 24 Total 266 94 National team statistics
Poland national team Year Apps Goals 2000 5 3 2001 8 7 2002 8 1 2003 3 0 2004 1 0 Total 25 11 International goals
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1 August 16, 2000 Bucharest, Romania 
Romania1–1 (1:0) Draw Friendly (Debut) 2 September 2, 2000 Kiev, Ukraine 
Ukraine1:3 (1:2) Win World Cup Qualifier 3 September 2, 2000 Kiev, Ukraine Ukraine1:3 (1:2) Win World Cup Qualifier 4 February 28, 2001 Larnaka, Cyprus 
Switzerland0:4 (0:2) Win Friendly 5 March 24, 2001 Oslo, Norway 
Norway2:3 (0:2) Win World Cup Qualifier 6 March 24, 2001 Oslo, Norway Norway2:3 (0:2) Win World Cup Qualifier 7 March 28, 2001 Warsaw, Poland 
Armenia4:0 (2:0) Win World Cup Qualifier 8 June 2, 2001 Cardiff, Wales 
Wales1:2 (1:1) Win World Cup Qualifier 9 September 1, 2001 Chorzów, Poland Norway3:0 (1:0) Win World Cup Qualifier 10 October 6, 2001 Chorzów, Poland Ukraine1:1 (1:0) Draw World Cup Qualifier 11 June 14, 2002 Daejeon, South Korea 
United States3:1 (2:0) Win 2002 FIFA World Cup Honours
Polonia Warszawa
- Ekstraklasa: 1999–2000
- Polish SuperCup: 2000
- Polish League Cup: 2000
- Polish footballer of the year;2004.
- Superleague Greece: 2003–04
- Greek Cup: 2003–04
References
- ^ a b c d http://www.national-football-teams.com/v2/player.php?id=5350
- ^ "奥贝初步诊断十字韧带断裂 赛季报销恐将提前退役". sina.com.cn. http://sports.sina.com.cn/j/2009-09-27/23104608263.shtml. Retrieved Sept 28, 2009.
- ^ "奥贝确诊髌腱韧带脱落 缺席本赛季不危及职业生涯". sina.com.cn. http://sports.sina.com.cn/j/2009-09-28/18324609795.shtml. Retrieved Sept 29, 2009.
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External links
- Player profile for the 2002 World Cup at BBC Sport
- Player profile at Sodasoccer.com (Chinese)
- Player stats at Sohu.com (Chinese)
Poland squad – 2002 FIFA World Cup 1 Dudek • 2 Kłos • 3 Zieliński • 4 Michał Żewłakow • 5 Rząsa • 6 Hajto • 7 Świerczewski • 8 Kucharski • 9 Kryszałowicz • 10 Kałużny • 11 Olisadebe • 12 Majdan • 13 Głowacki • 14 Marcin Żewłakow • 15 Wałdoch (c) • 16 Murawski • 17 A. Bąk • 18 Krzynówek • 19 Żurawski • 20 J. Bąk • 21 Koźmiński • 22 Matysek • 23 Sibik • Coach: Engel
Categories:- 1972 births
- Living people
- 2002 FIFA World Cup players
- APOP Kinyras FC players
- Expatriate footballers in Cyprus
- Expatriate footballers in England
- Naturalized citizens of Poland
- Expatriate footballers in Greece
- Association football forwards
- Nigerian expatriate footballers
- Panathinaikos footballers
- Poland international footballers
- Polish expatriate footballers
- Polonia Warsaw players
- Portsmouth F.C. players
- Premier League players
- Nigerian expatriates in Greece
- Skoda Xanthi F.C. players
- Expatriate footballers in China
- Superleague Greece players
- Ekstraklasa players
- Nigerian expatriates in China
- People from Warri
- Henan Construction F.C. players
- Polish people of Nigerian descent
- Polish expatriates in China
- Polish footballers
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