Anthony Nwakaeme
Anthony "Tony" Nwakaeme (born 21 March 1989) is a Nigerian professional footballer and currently plays as a left winger for Saudi club Al-Fayha in Saudi Professional League.[1]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Anthony Nnaduzor Nwakaeme | ||
| Date of birth | 21 March 1989 | ||
| Place of birth | Lagos, Nigeria | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Left winger | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Al-Fayha | ||
| Number | 9 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2006–2009 | Vejle Football Academy | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2010–2012 | Universitatea Cluj | 37 | (8) |
| 2010–2011 | → Arieșul Turda | 8 | (5) |
| 2012–2013 | Petrolul Ploiești | 3 | (0) |
| 2013–2013 | Universitatea Cluj | 10 | (2) |
| 2013–2015 | Hapoel Ra'anana | 55 | (13) |
| 2015–2018 | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 95 | (35) |
| 2018–2022 | Trabzonspor | 120 | (41) |
| 2022– | Al-Fayha | 11 | (6) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2017 | Nigeria | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 08:31, 10 February 2023 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 November 2017 | |||
Club career
In 2008 Tony played for Kristianstad BoIS which is a team in the lower divisions. He was already then a very solid player with outstanding skills. He didn’t get signed up by Kristianstad FF. He also stayed with his trainer at his home, who helped him when he got sick.
Arieșul Turda
Anthony Nwakaeme began his career in 2010 at Romanian club Arieșul Turda of the Second Division, on loan from Universitatea Cluj. He played eight games and scored five goals.
Universitatea Cluj
In January 2011, he returned to Universitatea Cluj and his most productive season came in 2011–12, when he appeared in 28 matches and scored seven goals.
Petrolul Ploiești
In the 2012–13 season, he spent the first half at Petrolul Ploiești, playing just three matches.
Return to Universitatea Cluj
In February 2013, he returned to Universitatea Cluj and appeared in ten matches and scored two goals.
Hapoel Ra'anana
On 13 August 2013, Nwakaeme signed for Hapoel Ra'anana. On 31 August, he scored a goal on his Israeli Premier League debut, a 1–1 draw against Hapoel Haifa.[2]
Hapoel Be'er Sheva
On 24 June 2015, Nwakaeme signed to Hapoel Be'er Sheva. On 3 October 2015, he scored his debut goal for Be'er Sheva. This goal was also the debut goal in Turner Stadium.[3]
Nwakaeme won the Israeli Premier League best player trophy in 2017.
Along with Nigerian midfielder John Ogu and Israeli strikers Ben Sahar and Elyaniv Barda, he led Hapoel Be'er Sheva to a historical series of three Israeli championship titles in a row in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
Trabzonspor
In August 2018, Nwakaeme joined Turkish Süper Lig side Trabzonspor.[4]
International career
On 10 November 2017, he made his debut for Nigeria national team against Algeria in 1–1 draw counting for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.[5][6]
In April 2019, he said he deserved to make a further appearance for Nigeria.[7]
Personal life
Anthony Nwakaeme is the younger brother of professional footballer Dickson Nwakaeme.[8][9]
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Arieșul Turda | 2010–11 | Liga II | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 8 | 5 | |||
| Universitatea Cluj | 2010–11 | Liga I | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 9 | 1 | |||
| 2011–12 | 28 | 7 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 29 | 7 | |||||
| 2012–13 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 11 | 2 | |||||
| Total | 47 | 10 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 48 | 10 | |||||
| Petrolul Ploiești | 2012–13 | Liga I | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 4 | 0 | |||
| Hapoel Ra'anana | 2013–14 | Israeli Premier League | 30 | 6 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | 32 | 6 | |||
| 2014–15 | 25 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 30 | 7 | ||||
| Total | 55 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 62 | 13 | ||||
| Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 2015–16 | Israeli Premier League | 34 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | – | 46 | 13 | |
| 2016–17 | 33 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 13[b] | 2 | 1 | 1 | 49 | 19 | ||
| 2017–18 | 28 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 11[c] | 5 | 1 | 1 | 45 | 17 | ||
| 2018–19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4[d] | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | ||
| Total | 95 | 35 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 30 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 145 | 50 | ||
| Trabzonspor | 2018–19 | Süper Lig | 27 | 10 | 4 | 1 | – | – | – | 31 | 11 | |||
| 2019–20 | 29 | 11 | 6 | 2 | – | 8[a] | 1 | – | 43 | 14 | ||||
| 2020–21 | 34 | 7 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 1[e] | 0 | 36 | 7 | ||||
| 2021–22 | 30 | 13 | 2 | 1 | – | 4[f] | 1 | – | 36 | 15 | ||||
| Total | 120 | 41 | 13 | 4 | – | 12 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 146 | 47 | |||
| Al-Fayha | 2022–23 | Saudi Professional League | 11 | 6 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | 13 | 6 | ||
| Career total | 339 | 110 | 28 | 7 | 12 | 2 | 42 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 426 | 131 | ||
- ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, seven appearances and two goals in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Six appearances and four goals in UEFA Champions League, five appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Appearance in Turkish Super Cup
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
Honours
Hapoel Be'er Sheva
- Israeli Premier League: 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18[5]
- Toto Cup: 2016–17[5]
- Israel Super Cup: 2016, 2017[5]
Trabzonspor
References
- ^ Anthony Nwakaeme at Soccerway
- ^ "ליגת העל: הפועל חיפה והפועל רעננה נפרדו ב-1:1".
- ^ "Tony signed a four year contract in Hapoel Be'er Sheva". Pulse.ng. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
- ^ Abayomi, Tosin. "Nigerian striker joins Onazi at Trabzonspor". pulse.ng. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g "A. Nwakaeme". Soccerway. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
- ^ Anthony Nwakaeme at National-Football-Teams.com
- ^ Okeleji, Oluwashina (7 April 2019). "Anthony Nwakaeme: 'I deserve another chance with Nigeria'". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
- ^ "De la fraţii Costea, la fraţii Nwakaeme. "U" vrea să-l transfere pe fratele nigerianului Tony" [From the Costea brothers to the Nwakaeme brothers. "U" wants to transfer the brother of Nigerian Tony] (in Romanian). Gsp.ro. 23 November 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
- ^ "Dinastia Nwakaeme: fratele lui Tony ar putea ajunge la "U"" [Nwakaeme Dynasty: Tony's brother could come at "U"] (in Romanian). Zcj.ro. 21 November 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
- ^ Anthony Nwakaeme at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
- ^ Anthony Nwakaeme at WorldFootball.net
- ^ "Süper Kupa Trabzonspor'un! (ÖZET) Başakşehir - Trabzonspor maç sonucu: 1-2" (in Turkish). Fanatik. 27 January 2021. Archived from the original on 27 January 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
External links
- Anthony Nwakaeme at Soccerway