- John Utaka
Infobox Football biography
playername = John Utaka
fullname = John Chukwudi Utaka
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1982|1|8|df=y
cityofbirth =Enugu
countryofbirth =Nigeria
height = height|meters=1.76
currentclub = Portsmouth
clubnumber = 17
position = Winger,Striker
nickname = "Attacker", "torpedo "
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1997-2000
2000-2001
2001-2002
2002-2005
2005-2007
2007-
clubs =Enugu Rangers Ismaily SC Al-Sadd Sports Club RC Lens Stade Rennais
Portsmouth
caps(goals) = 045 (11)
021 (17)
027 (14)
102 (24)
063 (22)
032 0(5)
nationalyears = 2002-
nationalteam = Nigeria
nationalcaps(goals) = 034 0(5)
pcupdate = 19:20, 13 September 2008 (UTC)
ntupdate = 17:19, 4 August 2008 (UTC)John Chukwudi Utaka (born
8 January 1982 inEnugu ,Nigeria ) is a Nigerian football player. His Igbo name, Chukwudi, means "There is God". [ [http://www.nigerian.name/w/index.php?title=Chukwudi Meaning of Chukwudi in Nigerian.name] ] He has played for several clubs across three continents, first forArab Contractors and subsequentlyIsmaily ofEgypt , then spending a season playing forAl-Sadd ofQatar , before joiningRacing Lens and later Rennes in France. He now plays for Portsmouth inEngland , mainly as a pacy winger who is utilised for the team's counter attaking. He is the older brother ofPeter Utaka .Utaka struggled to make an impact at the start of his Rennes stint. However, he took advantage of the absence of fellow striker
Alexander Frei through injury to make his breakthrough. In February2006 , he scored two consecutivehat-trick s, against Lens and Lyon, and as a result received L'Equipe's player of the month award.He plays for Nigeria and was a participant at the
2002 FIFA World Cup . He started four of Nigeria's six games in the2006 African Cup of Nations , in which Nigeria finished in third place.In Egypt, while with Ismaily, Utaka earned cult status with the local fans. They used to chant "Oh Oh Oh Utaka, Oh Oh Oh Utaka" during the matches. He played alongside the likes of
Mohammed Barakat ,Islam El-Shater , and captainMohamed Salah Abo Greisha under the guidance ofMohsen Saleh , later appointed coach of Egypt.Utaka joined Portsmouth on a four-year deal in July 2007, for a fee of around £7,000,000 [cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/africa/6292088.stm|title=Portsmouth bring in striker Utaka|date=
2007-07-11 |accessdate=2007-07-11|publisher=BBC Sport] scoring his first goal on August 11, 2007 in a game against newly promotedDerby County . Some sources claim he became the club's record signing. [ [http://sport.independent.co.uk/football/premiership/article2758772.ece Portsmouth splash out again to seal Utaka deal - Premier League, Football - Independent.co.uk ] ]On
17 May 2008 Portsmouth won theFA Cup with a 1-0 victory overCardiff City . John Utaka provided the cross for the winning goal which was scored byNwankwo Kanu .Career statistics
List of honours
Portsmouth F.C.
*FA Cup : 2008References
External links
*soccerbase|id=30812|name=John Utaka
*lfpfr|id=105368|name=John Utaka
* [http://www.stade-rennais-online.com/John-Utaka.html John Utaka's profile, stats & pics]
* [http://www.sitercl.com/Fichejo/U/utakajoh.htm Player profile and pictures]
* [http://www.nigerianplayers.com/player.asp?pid=21 Player profile and career]
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