Nedum Onuoha

Nedum Onuoha

Personal information
Full name	Chinedum Onuoha
Date of birth	12 November 1986 (1986-11-12) (age 24)
Place of birth	Warri, Nigeria
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Playing position	Defender
Club information
Current club	Manchester City
Number	24
Youth career
1996–2004	Manchester City
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2004–	Manchester City	94	(3)
2010–2011	→ Sunderland (loan)	31	(1)
National team‡
2005–2009	England U21	21	(2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 01:55, 20 December 2010 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20:59, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

Chinedum "Nedum" Onuoha (born 12 November 1986) is a Nigerian footballer.^[2] He currently plays for Manchester City. He is a defender, typically a centre back, but he can also play at right back or left back.

Biography

Born in Warri, Nigeria, Onuoha was brought up in Manchester, England. He went to Nelson Street Primary School Miles Platting before becoming a pupil at the Hulme Grammar School, Oldham, where he achieved eight 'A' and two 'B' grades at GCSE. He then completed his studies at Xaverian College Manchester where he achieved three 'A' grades at A-level.^[3] An outstanding junior sprinter; aged 14 he finished in second place in the final of the 2001 English School's Athletics Association Junior 100 metres contest, clocking 11.09 seconds and beating current Great Britain sprinter Craig Pickering.^[4] He is often known as "Ned" in reference to the Simpsons character and the similarity to his own name.

He is also currently the co-national record holder for boys under 15 standing triple jump, in the Sports Hall events held annually throughout the UK, the record is held with international long jumper Jonathan Moore.

He is known to have supported Manchester City as a boy and attended the Manchester City youth academy.

Club career

Manchester City

Onuoha played regularly for Manchester City's reserves in the 2003–04 season, and had his first involvement with the Manchester City first team in the 2004–05 pre-season, playing in a friendly against Bury.^[5] He made his first team debut against Arsenal in the Carling Cup on 27 October 2004, at the age of 17. He made his Premier League debut as a substitute on 1 November 2004 at home to Norwich City. Though Onuoha's natural position is centre-half, manager Kevin Keegan initially played him at right back with the intention of improving his passing ability.^[6] Against Doncaster Rovers in a Carling Cup match, Onuoha was red carded for the first time in his career. Man City went on to lose the game on penalties.

Onuoha made 18 appearances in his debut season, but suffered a series of injuries during the 2005–06 season, meaning he played only 12 games.

Due to injuries to various first choice players during the 2006–07 season, Onuoha enjoyed several long spells in the first team. He soon established himself and was rewarded with a new four-year contract.

He captained the Manchester City side to a 2–1 victory over Bristol City in the Carling Cup 2nd round. He scored his first goal for City at home against Tottenham Hotspur on 16 March 2008 in a 2–1 win.^[7] On 5 April 2008 Onuoha dislocated his shoulder in a game against Chelsea and was ruled out for the remainder of the 2007–08 season following surgery.^[8]

The first half of the 2008–09 season was an injury-plagued time for Onuoha, missing most matches, however after City's 3–0 defeat to Nottingham Forest in the F.A. Cup, he started every single game until the end of the season, forming an effective partnership with Richard Dunne in the centre of defence.

On 29 July 2009, Onuoha agreed to a new five-year deal with Manchester City.

Sunderland loan

In August 2010, Onuoha joined Sunderland on a season-long loan. He made his Sunderland debut on 14 August against Birmingham City at the Stadium of Light. He scored his first goal as the result of a brilliant dribble around three Chelsea defenders for Sunderland in a 3-0 win against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on 14 November 2010.

On returning to Manchester City, Onuoha decided he wanted first team football.

International career

Onuoha was a regular in the England U-21 side, making his debut on 12 October 2005. He was part of the squad participating in the 2007 European Under 21s Championship in the Netherlands. During the Championships Onuoha was subjected to racist abuse from Serbian fans, but received praise for maintaining his conduct amid provocation.^[9][10] He was a regular at centre back, partnering Steven Taylor. During the semi-final against the Netherlands, he limped off with an injury and England were down to ten men as all three of the permitted substitutions had been made; they lost 13–12 on penalties. He captained the England Under-21 team for the first time in a 0–0 draw with Poland Under-21s. In the summer of 2009 he took part in the European Championships and played his last match for the U-21's.

In March 2007, Onuoha received an international callup from Nigeria,^[11] but has announced he would like to represent England at full international level. However, he has since admitted that he would play at the FIFA World Cup for Nigeria if he were to be called up.^[12]

Honours

Manchester City

• Vodacom Challenge Runner-up: 2009

References

1. ^ Official Man City profile
2. ^ Know a player of African origin?
3. ^ Smith, Alan (18 August 2007). "Man City prodigy Nedum Onuoha is ready". the Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/2319225/Man-City-prodigy-Nedum-Onuoha-is-ready.html. Retrieved 20 May 2010. 
4. ^ http://www.esaa.net/2001/tf/national/jb.html
5. ^ "Nedum Onuoha". ESPN Soccernet. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/players/profile?id=45836&cc=5739. Retrieved March 25, 2007. 
6. ^ "Nedum lines up for City stardom". Manchester Evening News. http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/manchester_city/s/129/129865_nedum_lines_up_for_city_stardom.html. Retrieved March 25, 2007. 
7. ^ "Man City 2–1 Tottenham". BBC. 16 March 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/7284987.stm. Retrieved 26 October 2009. 
8. ^ "Man City's Onuoha out for season". BBC. 8 April 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_city/7337244.stm. Retrieved April 8, 2008. 
9. ^ Hughes, Matt (19 June 2007). "Onuoha standing tall in the face of 'racist' provocation". The Times (London). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/european_football/article1951221.ece. Retrieved June 20, 2007. 
10. ^ "Pearce singles out Onuoha for special praise". ESPN Soccernet. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=439458&. Retrieved June 20, 2007. 
11. ^ "Nedum called into Nigerian national squad". Manchester City official website. http://www.mcfc.co.uk/default.sps?pagegid=%7BDBD12D53-8346-431D-A04F-5D0F8664DE80%7D&newsid=409369. Retrieved March 25, 2007. ^{[dead link]}
12. ^ "Onuoha considers Nigeria switch". BBC. 2010-04-06. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/africa/8604936.stm. Retrieved 2010-04-11. 

External links

• Nedum Onuoha career stats at Soccerbase
• Nedum Onuoha Official Website at Icons.com
• Nedum Onuoha's Premier League profile

Persondata
Name	Nedum Onouha
Alternative names
Short description	Footballer
Date of birth	12 November 1986
Place of birth	Warri, Nigeria
Date of death
Place of death