- Mutiu Adepoju
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Mutiu Adepoju Personal information Full name Mutiu Adepoju Date of birth December 22, 1970 Place of birth Ibadan, Nigeria Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) Playing position Midfielder Youth career 1986–1987 Femo Scorpions Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 1988 Shooting Stars 1989 Julius Berger 1989–1992 Real Madrid B 65 (27) 1992–1996 Racing Santander 123 (24) 1996–2000 Real Sociedad 89 (8) 2000–2001 Al-Ittihad 2001–2002 Salamanca 14 (0) 2002–2003 Samsunspor 8 (0) 2003–2004 AEL Limassol 5 (1) 2004–2005 Eldense 2005–2006 Cobeña National team 1990–2002 Nigeria 54 (5) * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).Mutiu Adepoju (born 22 December 1970 in Ibadan) is a retired Nigerian footballer who played mostly as an attacking midfielder.
Nicknamed "The Headmaster", he played most of his career in Spain - amassing La Liga totals of 175 games and 22 goals over the course of seven seasons - and represented his country in three World Cups.
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Club career
Adepoju (also called by his first name in Spain) left Nigeria in 1989 to join Real Madrid, but never made it past its B side. His first professional season was impressive, as he netted 11 league goals to help Racing de Santander return to the top flight, and he continue to feature and score regularly for the Cantabrians in the next three seasons.
Mutiu left for Real Sociedad, in 1996–97 but, after a solid first campaign, struggled mightily to hold down a regular place with the Basque team. In 2001–02, he represented Saudia Arabia's Al-Ittihad (Jeddah), but quickly returned to Spain, playing an unimpressive season with second level side UD Salamanca.
After two more weak years, in Turkey and Cyprus, Adepoju retired in 2006, in Spain's lower leagues. He subsequently returned to his first team, Shooting Stars FC, as chief administrator.[1]
International career
Mutiu was a member of the Nigerian team that played in the 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship. His brace against the USA (which featured Kasey Keller in goal) in the semifinals ensured a final against star-studded Portugal, in a 0–2 defeat.
He went on to collect 54 international full caps, with five goals. He made his debut against Togo in August 1990, but his breakthrough at international level came during the 1992 Africa Cup of Nations, and he helped his nation win the next continental edition.
Adepoju was part of the squads for the FIFA World Cups in 1994, 1998 - scoring in a 3–2 win against Spain - and 2002 (although he did not play in the latter tournament).
References
External links
- Nigerian Players profile
- BDFutbol profile
- Mutiu Adepoju at National-Football-Teams.com
Nigeria squads Nigeria squad – 1992 Africa Cup of Nations Third Place Nigeria squad – 1994 Africa Cup of Nations Winners (2nd title) Nigeria squad – 1994 FIFA World Cup 2 Eguavoen • 3 B. Iroha • 4 Keshi • 5 Uche • 6 Mutari • 7 Imenger • 8 Adepoju • 9 D. Iorfa • 10 Okocha • 11 Amuneke • 12 Siasia • 13 Oliseh • 14 Amokachi • 15 Douglas • 16 Shorunmu • 17 Pam • 18 Ekoku • 19 Emenalo • 20 Okafor • Coach: Amodu
•Nigeria squad – 1998 FIFA World Cup Nigeria squad – 2000 Africa Cup of Nations Runners-up Nigeria squad – 2002 FIFA World Cup Categories:- 1970 births
- Living people
- People from Ibadan
- Yoruba people
- Nigerian footballers
- Association football midfielders
- Shooting Stars F.C. players
- La Liga footballers
- Real Madrid Castilla footballers
- Racing de Santander footballers
- Real Sociedad footballers
- UD Salamanca footballers
- Ittihad FC players
- Süper Lig players
- Samsunspor footballers
- AEL FC players
- Nigeria international footballers
- 1994 FIFA World Cup players
- 1995 King Fahd Cup players
- 1998 FIFA World Cup players
- 2002 FIFA World Cup players
- Nigerian expatriate footballers
- Expatriate footballers in Spain
- Expatriate footballers in Saudi Arabia
- Expatriate footballers in Turkey
- Expatriate footballers in Cyprus
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