- David Odonkor
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David Odonkor
Odonkor warming up with GermanyPersonal information Full name David Odonkor Date of birth 21 February 1984 Place of birth Bünde, West Germany Height 1.72 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in) Playing position Winger Club information Current club Alemannia Aachen Number 37 Youth career 1991–1995 JSG Holsen-Ahle 1995–1998 Bünder SV 1998–2001 Borussia Dortmund Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 2001–2005 Borussia Dortmund II 49 (7) 2002–2006 Borussia Dortmund 75 (2) 2006–2011 Betis 51 (2) 2011– Alemannia Aachen 8 (1) National team 2004–2007 Germany U21 15 (3) 2006–2008 Germany 16 (1) * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 November 2011.
† Appearances (Goals).David Odonkor (born 21 February 1984) is a German footballer who plays for Alemannia Aachen usually as a right winger.
He started playing professionally not yet in his 20's, with Borussia Dortmund, appearing in nearly 100 official matches. The later part of his career, spent with Real Betis, was plagued by constant injuries.[1][2]
Odonkor appeared with the German national team in one World Cup and one European Championship.
Contents
Club career
Borussia Dortmund
Odonkor was born in Bünde to a German mother and a Ghanaian father. A product of Borussia Dortmund's youth ranks, he made his first-team debut on 3 March 2002, having recently turned 18, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 1–1 home draw against FC St. Pauli. After splitting the following season with the first and second teams, he was definitely promoted for 2003–04, helping Borussia to a final sixth place in the Bundesliga.
In the 2005–06 season, Odonkor was everpresent, only missing one league contest. On 26 November 2005, he scored and assisted alike in a 2–1 success at 1. FC Nuremberg. Subsequently, he attracted attention from Real Betis, eventually signing for a €6 million fee.[3]
Betis
Odonkor's first season at Betis was nothing short of a disaster, appearing in only 13 La Liga games due to a serious knee injury.[4] The second year began promisingly, but another knee ailment forced him out for another three months.
Upon his return, Odonkor appeared regularly for Betis, mainly from the bench. On 4 May 2008, as a starter, he scored his first goal for the Andalusians, in a 1–1 away draw against UD Almería;[5] in July, after returning to Germany for surgery, he was forced to sign a document by club owner Manuel Ruiz de Lopera by which the club could inclusively unilaterally rescind his contract if he returned later than expected.[6]
Having made his way back into the German squad and the Betis starting lineup, Odonkor would however undergo surgery on his knee for a third time in his Betis career, only being reinstated during the 2008–09 winter transfer window. Late into 2009, with the Andalusians now in the second division, he relapsed again and missed the remainder of the season.
Betis returned to the Spanish top flight at the end of the 2010–11 season, but Odonkor played no part in the club's campaign, again due to injury.[7]
On 28 July 2011, Odonkor arrived at Scottish Premier League side Rangers for a week-long trial, after his contract at Betis came to an end.[8] However, he was ultimately not given a contract,[9] and returned to his country after five years, signing with Alemannia Aachen in the second division.
International career
Odonkor was involved in two UEFA European Under-16 Football Championship editions: 2000 and 2001, managing to net against Romania in the latter, a 8–2 win. On both occasions, Germany were downed in the quarterfinals, on penalty shootouts.
After appearing at U-19 level,[10] Odonkor would nonetheless be left out of the under-21 squad that appeared at Euro 2006 in Portugal, due to having received a surprise call-up by Jürgen Klinsmann for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.[11]
Odonkor made his full debut on 30 May 2006 in a friendly match against Japan, going on to appear as a substitute in four World Cup games, most notably against Poland in the group stage, where he displayed an excellent performance and assisted Oliver Neuville's winning goal in stoppage time.
Despite his problems with injuries at Betis, Odonkor was called up to UEFA Euro 2008 by Joachim Löw, where he was used as a second-half substitute in a 1–2 loss against Croatia.
Honours
Club
- Borussia Dortmund:
- Fußball-Bundesliga: 2001–02
Country
- UEFA European Football Championship: Runner-up 2008
- FIFA World Cup: Third-place 2006
References
- ^ Acedo, Francisco. "Odonkor blow for Betis". Sky Sports. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11847_2396559,00.html. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
- ^ "Soccer-Round-up-Injured Odonkor hopes to be back next month". Reuters. 23 May 2007. http://uk.reuters.com/article/2007/03/23/soccer-world-digest-idUKL2361188420070323. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
- ^ "Odonkor steps into Joaquín's shoes". UEFA.com. 29 August 2006. http://www1.uefa.com/memberassociations/news/newsid=449982.html. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
- ^ "Odonkor set for three-month absence". UEFA.com. http://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/news/newsid=483203.html.[dead link]
- ^ "Almeria 1-1 Real Betis". ESPN Soccernet. 4 May 2008. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report/_/id/226646?cc=5739. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
- ^ "Odonkor se va a Alemania pero se juega su contrato [Odonkor goes to Germany but gambles on contract]" (in Spanish). Diario AS. 7 July 2008. http://www.as.com/futbol/articulo/futbol-odonkor-va-alemania-juega/20080707dasdaiftb_8/Tes. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
- ^ "Odonkor llega a Sevilla para revisar su lesión y su futuro [Odonkor arrives in Seville to check on injury and future]" (in Spanish). El Desmarque. 25 January 2011. http://www.eldesmarque.es/betis/37146-odonkor-llega-a-sevilla-para-pasar-revision-y-tratar-su-futuro. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
- ^ "Odonkor in Gers trial". Rangers FC. 28 July 2011. http://www.rangers.co.uk/articles/20110728/odonkor-in-gers-trial_2254024_2404264?. Retrieved 28 July 2011.
- ^ "Rangers make fresh bids for Roland Juhasz and Wesley Verhoek". STV Sport. 5 August 2011. http://sport.stv.tv/football/scottish-premier/rangers/265121-rangers-make-third-bid-for-roland-juhasz/. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
- ^ "Germany comeback shocks England". UEFA.com. 22 July 2002. http://www.uefa.com/under19/matches/season=2001/round=1507/match=69606/report/index.html. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
- ^ "Germany's Eilts opts for experience". UEFA.com. 15 May 2006. http://en.archive.uefa.com/competitions/under21/news/kind=1/newsid=421687.html. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
External links
- David Odonkor at fussballdaten.de (German)
- BDFutbol profile
- David Odonkor at National-Football-Teams.com
Germany Squad Germany squad – 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Germany squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup Third Place 1 Lehmann • 2 Jansen • 3 Friedrich • 4 Huth • 5 Kehl • 6 Nowotny • 7 Schweinsteiger • 8 Frings • 9 Hanke • 10 Neuville • 11 Klose • 12 Kahn (v-c) • 13 Ballack (c) • 14 Asamoah • 15 Hitzlsperger • 16 Lahm • 17 Mertesacker • 18 Borowski • 19 Schneider • 20 Podolski • 21 Metzelder • 22 Odonkor • 23 Hildebrand • Coach: KlinsmannGermany squad – UEFA Euro 2008 Runners-up 1 Lehmann • 2 Jansen • 3 Friedrich • 4 Fritz • 5 Westermann • 6 Rolfes • 7 Schweinsteiger • 8 Frings • 9 Gómez • 10 Neuville • 11 Klose • 12 Enke • 13 Ballack (c) • 14 Trochowski • 15 Hitzlsperger • 16 Lahm • 17 Mertesacker • 18 Borowski • 19 Odonkor • 20 Podolski • 21 Metzelder • 22 Kurányi • 23 Adler • Coach: LöwAlemannia Aachen – current squad 1 Hohs · 2 Falkenberg · 3 Korte · 4 Maek · 5 Feisthammel · 6 Sibum · 7 Stiepermann · 8 Uludağ · 9 Auer · 10 Hadouir · 11 Bäcker · 12 Waterman · 14 Erb · 15 Kratz · 16 Müller · 17 Stehle · 18 Strifler · 19 Olajengbesi · 20 Yabo · 21 Krumpen · 22 Hartmann · 23 Çubukçu · 25 Junglas · 26 Demai · 27 Radjabali-Fardi · 28 Casper · 29 Radu · 32 Achenbach · 37 Odonkor · Manager: Funkel
Categories:- 1984 births
- Living people
- German people of Ghanaian descent
- German footballers
- Association football wingers
- Fußball-Bundesliga players
- Borussia Dortmund players
- Borussia Dortmund II players
- Alemannia Aachen players
- La Liga footballers
- Real Betis footballers
- Germany international footballers
- Germany under-21 international footballers
- 2006 FIFA World Cup players
- UEFA Euro 2008 players
- German expatriate footballers
- Expatriate footballers in Spain
- German expatriates in Spain
- Borussia Dortmund:
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