Razak Omotoyossi

Infobox Football biography
playername= Razak Omotoyossi
fullname = Razak Omotoyossi
dateofbirth = Birth date and age|1985|10|8|mf=y
cityofbirth = Lagos
countryofbirth = Nigeria
height = height|m=1.77
currentclub = Al Nasr
clubnumber = 8
position = Forward
youthyears =
years = 2003 2004 2005 2005–2006
2007–2008
2008–"present"
clubs = Sunshine Stars F.C. ASJA JS Pobé FC Sheriff
Helsingborgs IF
Al Nasr
caps(goals) = 038 00(9) 038 0(23) 02 00(1)
nationalyears = 2004-
nationalteam = Benin
nationalcaps(goals) = 015 00(3)

Razak Omotoyossi (born 8 October, 1985) is a Beninese football player. The striker signed for Al Nasr in 2008, leaving Helsingborgs IF .

He started his career in his native Nigeria, but his career was nearly derailed when the Nigeria Football Association slammed a five-year ban on him for allegedly assaulting a referee during a Premier League game between his club, Sunshine Stars F.C. , and visiting Enyimba FC. He then played in Benin the next season and switched citizenship the same year.

Among other achievements, Omotoyossi scored the first ever goal for Benin in the World Youth Championship [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/4082118.stm] [http://www.fifa.com/en/news/feature/0,1451,107831,00.html] , and equalized for Sheriff in injury time against FC Spartak Moscow in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League. [http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/fixturesresults/round=2355/match=84462/report=ev.html] . He was signed to Sheriff, the top Moldovan club, in November 2005. In March 2007 he went on trial in Hapoel Kfar Saba, then at the Israeli Premier League, coached by former national team hero, Eli Ohana. Omotoyossi even scored in a Toto Cup game and impressed, but wasn't signed eventually. [http://www.thetidenews.com/article.aspx?qrDate=11/14/2005&qrTitle=Moldovan%20club%20signs%20Chinwo,%20Omotoyossi&qrColumn=SPORTS] .

In his first season in Allsvenskan, Omotoyossi scored 14 goals in 23 matches. With this effort, he shared the title of top scorer in the league with IFK Göteborg striker Marcus Berg who tallied 14 goals in 17 games. After the group stage of the UEFA Cup 2007-08, he had scored six goals in six matches, which made him top scorer alongside team mate Henrik Larsson and Luca Toni of Bayern Munich. This impressive achievement caught the eye of Dutch side SC Heerenveen, and it was rumoured that they wanted the striker as a replacement for Brazilian striker Afonso Alves who was about to leave. After the January transfer window had shut, it was revealed that Omotoyossi had declined a move to FC Groningen to join fellow Allsvenskan top scorer Marcus Berg, a transfer that Helsingborgs IF manager Bo Nilsson confirmed would have cost the Dutch outfit more than what Sheffield United paid for Luton Shelton when he left Helsingborg for a solid £2 million [http://www.skysports.com/football/player/0,19754,11683_316117,00.html] . After poor performances in the UEFA Cup Round of 32 against PSV Eindhoven, the interest from European clubs is said to have cooled down, although it is reported that some Russian and Ukrainean clubs are still on the hunt for the striker.

Portsmouth FC have emerged as a front-runner for the African striker, with his ability similar in quality to those of the now departed Benjani Mwaruwari.

He has also been linked with a move to Sheffield United, to follow in the footsteps of Luton Shelton. However, in JUne 2008, news emerged that Omotoyossi was on the move to Al-Nasr of Saudi Arabia.

He is currently one of two forwards in the Benin national football team, scoring against Senegal in a friendly on 7 February 2007 and [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/africa/6340697.stm] he also scored against Ivory Coast in their 4-1 loss during the 2008 African Cup of Nations.

Omotoyossi is a devout Muslim and claims to be in possession of only one book - the Quran. In an interview with local newspaper Helsingborgs Dagblad, he compared football players with prostitutes, saying that "we go where there is money" [http://hd.se/sport/2008/03/02/fotbollsspelare-gaar-dit-pengarna/]

External links

* [http://www.hif.se/Lagen/A_lag/truppen/razak_omotoyossi Profile on official Helsingborgs IF site] sv icon
* [http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/sports/article06//indexn2_html?pdate=040108&ptitle=Benin%20Republic%20will%20shock%20Eagles%20in%20Ghana,%20says%20Omotoyossi Story on changing allegiance from Nigeria to Benin]