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Oguchi Onyewu
Oguchi Onyewu.jpg
Personal information
Full name Oguchialu Chijioke Onyewu
Date of birth May 13, 1982 (1982-05-13) (age 27)
Place of birth Washington, D.C., United States
Height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Playing position Center back
Club information
Current club Milan
Number 5
Youth career
1996–2000 Sherwood High School
1996–1998 IMG Soccer Academy
2000–2001 Clemson Tigers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2002–2004 Metz 3 (0)
2003 → La Louvière (loan) 24 (2)
2004–2009 Standard Liège 139 (11)
2007 → Newcastle United (loan) 11 (0)
2009– Milan 3 (0)
Total 177 (13)
National team‡
2004– United States 51 (5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:38, 15 October 2009 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of October 10, 2009

Oguchialu Chijioke "Oguchi" Onyewu (born May 13, 1982, in Washington, D.C.) is an American soccer player who plays as a defender for Milan of Italy's Serie A and the United States national team.

Contents

Background

Onyewu's parents moved to the United States from Nigeria to attend Howard University in Washington, D.C. Onyewu has two brothers, Uche and Nonye, and two sisters, Chi-Chi and Ogechi. Growing up in Silver Spring and later Olney, Maryland, Onyewu attended St. Andrew Apostle School and Sherwood High School, where he played soccer for two years.[1] He then enrolled in the U.S. residency program in Bradenton, Florida, before returning to Sherwood to graduate. He also holds Belgian citizenship.[2]

At 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) and 210 lb (95 kg), Onyewu is the tallest outfield player in U.S. team history (two goalkeepers have been taller).[3]

Professional career

Onyewu played two years of college soccer at Clemson University, and moved to Europe in 2002, signing with FC Metz of Ligue 1 in France. In 2003, he was loaned out to La Louvière in Belgium, and to Standard Liège a year later. The move to Liège was made permanent for the 2004–05 season. After the season, he was named to the Belgian league's Best XI as well as Foreign Player of the Year for 2005.

On December 26, 2006, Onyewu was voted U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year. He was the first defender to earn the award since Alexi Lalas in 1995. Having been the subject of many transfer rumors regarding clubs throughout Europe, Onyewu finally completed a loan deal with Newcastle United on January 30, 2007, covering the remainder of the 2006–07 season. He wore the number 15 shirt, previously worn by another American Newcastle loan signing, Giuseppe Rossi. He made his debut for Newcastle against Fulham on February 3, 2007,[4] and his home debut a week later, alongside Titus Bramble, in a 2–1 victory over Liverpool. The two formed an ill-fated partnership, making a number of costly mistakes which was ultimately to cost Onyewu his place. Following the arrival of new manager Sam Allardyce, Onyewu fell out of favor, and Newcastle decided not to make the loan deal permanent.[5] He returned to Standard, and his play continued to improve. He made his 100th Jupiler league appearance for Standard Liège on March 14, 2008, against Germinal Beerschot, and was an intregal part of the club as they went on a 29-match unbeaten streak to win the Jupiler League in 2007–08. After the season he was named to the Belgian league Best XI for the second time. His strong form continued during the 2008–09 season. He led the Standard defense to a second consecutive Belgian league title. Standard was drawn with Anderlecht at season's end, and Standard won a two-legged playoff for the championship.

Onyewu signed a three-year contract with Milan on July 7, 2009.[6][7] He is only the third American to play in Serie A, following Alexi Lalas and Giuseppe Rossi.[8] He made his Milan debut on July 22, coming on as a substitute for Alessandro Nesta in a loss to C.F. América in the World Football Challenge.[9] He made his competitive debut on September 30, again relieving Nesta in a Champions League loss to Zürich at San Siro.[10]

Racism controversy

Onyewu has dealt with racism during his time in Europe, even having been punched and shouted at by racist fans while playing for Standard.[11] The most well-publicized incident occurred in the 2008–09 Championship playoff when Anderlecht defender Jelle Van Damme, according to Onyewu, repeatedly called him a "dirty ape,"[12] even after Onyewu relayed the information to the referees.[13] Van Damme denied the accusations following the match, even claiming that Onyewu had called him a "dirty Flemish."[12] Approximately two weeks later, on June 2, 2009, it was announced by Onyewu's lawyer that he was suing Van Damme in an effort to end on-field racism in European soccer.[14]

International career

Onyewu has become a mainstay on the United States national team. Prior to this, he also represented the U.S. at various youth levels, including at the 2001 World Youth Championship. He made his first appearance for the senior national team on October 13, 2004, against Panama.

Onyewu scored his first international goal in the 2005 Gold Cup, nodding home the extra time winner in the semifinal against Honduras, and was later named to the tournament Best XI.

Oguchi played for the U.S. in the 2006 World Cup, and started in all three United States games. Just before halftime of the third and final group stage match against Ghana, Onyewu conceded a penalty from which Ghana scored, and the U.S. were eliminated with the resultant 2–1 defeat.[15][16]

During the 2009 Confederations Cup, Onyewu was paired with Jay DeMerit due to the injury of his normal partner, Carlos Bocanegra, who was unable to play in the group stage. Onyewu played well against Egypt, helping lead the U.S. to a 3–0 win that earned them a berth in the semifinals. He also had a standout performance in the 2–0 semifinal victory over Spain.

In a World Cup qualifier win against Costa Rica on October 14, 2009, Onyewu suffered a patellar tendon rupture, and is expected to miss three to four months.[17]

International goals

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. July 21, 2005 Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, USA  Honduras
2 – 1
2 – 1
2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup
2. June 2, 2007 Spartan Stadium, San Jose, USA  China PR
4 – 1
4 – 1
Friendly
3. February 6, 2008 Reliant Stadium, Houston, USA  Mexico
1 – 0
2 – 2
Friendly
4. March 26, 2008 Wisla Stadium, Krakow, Poland  Poland
2 – 0
3 – 0
Friendly
5. October 11, 2008 RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C., USA  Cuba
6 – 1
6 – 1
Q 2010 World Cup

Honors

Professional

Standard Liège
Winner: 2007–08, 2008–09
Winner: 2008 Belgian Super Cup

International

Winner: 2005, 2007

Individual

All-American: NSCAA Second Team: 2001[18]
Best XI: 2004–05, 2007–08
Best Foreign Player: 2004–05

Notes

  1. ^ Goff, Steven (April 11, 2006). "Onyewu Stands Out in Belgium". The Washington Post (Liège, Belgium): p. E01. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/10/AR2006041001478.html. 
  2. ^ Courtney, Chris (2008-07-14), "Belgian citizenship makes Onyewu a more appealing transfer target in Europe", Soccer Times, http://www.soccertimes.com/americans/2008/jul14, retrieved 2008-08-11 
  3. ^ Whiteside, Kelly (August 16, 2005). "'Gooch' a big deal for U.S. soccer team". USA Today (Hartford, Connecticut: Gannett Company). http://www.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/national/2005-08-16-onyewu_x.htm. 
  4. ^ "Fulham vs Newcastle United in FA Premier League 2006/2007". Football-Lineups.com. Craven Cottage, London. 3 February 2007. http://www.football-lineups.com/match/3683/. 
  5. ^ Livie, Alex (16 May 2007). "Bramble Heads Magpies Cull". Sky Sports (BSkyB). Archived from the original on 18 May 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070518025440/http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?hlid=466965&CPID=8&clid=4&lid=&title=Bramble+heads+Magpies+cull. 
  6. ^ Landolina, Salvatore (2009-07-07). "OFFICIAL: Milan Sign Oguchi Onyewu". Goal.com. http://www.goal.com/en-india/news/472/united-states/2009/07/07/1368804/official-milan-sign-oguchi-onyewu. Retrieved 2009-07-07. 
  7. ^ "Onyewu inks pact with AC Milan". Sports Illustrated. Associated Press. 2009-07-07. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/soccer/07/07/onyewu.milan/index.html. Retrieved 2009-07-07. 
  8. ^ "U.S. defender Onyewu joins AC Milan". San Francisco Chronicle. Associated Press. 2009-07-08. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/08/SPU518KKUI.DTL. Retrieved 2009-07-16. 
  9. ^ Match report: AC Milan 1 - 2 América, ESPN, 2009-07-22, http://soccernet-assets.espn.go.com/match?id=276254&league=GLOBAL.WORLD_FOOTBALL_CHALLENGE&cc=5901, retrieved 2009-07-22 
  10. ^ Shock at the San Siro, ESPN, 2009-10-01, http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=283207&cc=5901&league=UEFA.CHAMPIONS, retrieved 2009-10-01 
  11. ^ Whiteside, Kelly; Contributor: Johnnie Whitehead (2006-06-02). "Concerns raised over racism during Cup". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/worldcup/2006-06-01-intolerance-cup_x.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-17. 
  12. ^ a b Seltzer, Greg (2009-05-22). "S365 Exclusive: No Onyewu Slur Look Pending". Soccer365.com. http://www.soccer365.com/us_news/story_22509121747.php. Retrieved 2009-05-22. 
  13. ^ Adubato, Michael (2009-05-22). "Onyewu: We'll Make Liege Proud". Yanks-Abroad.com. http://www.yanks-abroad.com/get.php?mode=content&id=4745. Retrieved 2009-05-22. "I almost ended up fighting him (Van Damme). He called me a monkey several times. The league has these anti-racism campaigns, but when I told the referee what Van Damme was saying, he chose not to do anything about it. I also told the journalists after the game last night about this." 
  14. ^ "U.S.' Onyewu sues over alleged racist slur". Sports Illustrated. Associated Press. 2009-06-02. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/soccer/06/02/onyewu.slur.ap/index.html. Retrieved 2009-06-02. 
  15. ^ "Second wind lifts Ghana". Financial Times. 2006-06-22. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/c5fd4f84-0225-11db-a141-0000779e2340.html. Retrieved 2006-07-05. 
  16. ^ "Ghana 2-1 USA". BBC Sport. 2006-06-22. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2006/4853408.stm. Retrieved 2006-07-05. 
  17. ^ White, Joseph (2009-10-15), "Onyewu out 3-4 months with torn knee tendon", Google News, http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iNURcm0a9Oy5i-9vStgwfGseqUsAD9BBK43G0, retrieved 2009-10-15 
  18. ^ "All-America Awards: Div I (2001)". NSCAA. http://www.nscaa.com/awards-detail.php?it=I&yr=2001. Retrieved 2009-07-08. 

External links

Preceded by
Kasey Keller		 U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year
2006		 Succeeded by
Clint Dempsey
A.C. Milan – current squad

1 Dida Â· 4 Kaladze Â· 5 Onyewu Â· 7 Pato Â· 8 Gattuso Â· 9 Inzaghi Â· 10 Seedorf Â· 11 Huntelaar Â· 12 Abbiati Â· 13 Nesta Â· 15 Zambrotta Â· 16 Flamini Â· 17 Zigoni Â· 18 Jankulovski Â· 19 Favalli Â· 20 Abate Â· 21 Pirlo Â· 22 Borriello Â· 23 Ambrosini (c) Â· 25 Bonera Â· 30 Mancini Â· 31 Roma Â· 32 Beckham Â· 33 Thiago Silva Â· 40 Adiyiah Â· 44 Oddo Â· 51 Strasser Â· 56 De Vito Â· 58 Verdi Â· 77 Antonini Â· 80 Ronaldinho Â· Coach: Leonardo







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