Asisat Oshoala

Asisat Lamina Oshoala MON (born 9 October 1994) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays for Spanish side FC Barcelona Femení in the Primera División as a forward.[3] She was named best player and was the highest goal scorer at the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. She was also named best player and second top goalscorer with the Super Falcons team who won the 2014 African Women's Championship.

Asisat Oshoala
Oshoala with Barcelona in 2019
Personal information
Full name Asisat Lamina Oshoala[1]
Date of birth (1994-10-09) 9 October 1994[2]
Place of birth Ikorodu, Nigeria
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[2]
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Barcelona
Number 20
Youth career
FC Robo
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2013 FC Robo
2013–2015 Rivers Angels (6)
2015–2016 Liverpool Ladies 9 (3)
2016–2017 Arsenal Ladies 11 (2)
2017–2019 Dalian Quanjian F.C. 20 (23)
2019 → Barcelona (loan) 7 (7)
2019– Barcelona 32 (33)
National team
2013– Nigeria
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of May 5, 2019

Club career

On 23 January 2015, Oshoala joined Liverpool Ladies. Liverpool manager, Matt Beard called her "one of the best young players in the world".[4] Although rumours had linked her with other clubs, she was very happy to join Liverpool.[5]

Oshoala missed two months of the 2015 season with a knee injury, as defending champions Liverpool finished seventh of eight teams.[6] In January 2016 Liverpool reported that a transfer bid from Arsenal Ladies had activated the release clause in Oshoala's contract and that she was discussing personal terms with the London club.[7][8]

On 10 February 2017, Chinese club Dalian Quanjian F.C. officially signed Oshoala.[9]

On 31 January 2019, Spanish club FC Barcelona Femení signed Oshoala on a loan deal until the end of the season.[10] She scored Barcelona's only goal in a 4–1 defeat to Lyon in the 2019 UEFA Women's Champions League Final.

On May 31, 2019, Barcelona announced Oshoala's full transfer to the club and extension until 2022.

On January 11, 2020, Oshoala scored four goals on 6-0 win against CD Tacon.[11]

International career

Oshoala found success as a forward for Nigeria's youth teams but made most of her early appearances for the senior national team as an attacking midfielder. She was nicknamed "Seedorf" after male footballer Clarence Seedorf and has also been referred to as "Superzee" by her teammates.[12][13] Oshoala's club coach Edwin Okon was serving as the national team interim manager when he gave her a debut senior cap in a friendly defeat by world champions Japan in September 2013.[14]

She was named best player at the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup and was the top goalscorer at the tournament with seven goals. She was also named best player and second top goalscorer with the Super Falcons team who won the 2014 African Women's Championship.[15][16] She also won the BBC Women's Footballer of the Year 2015.

In September 2014 Oshoala was made a Member of the Order of the Niger by President of Nigeria Goodluck Jonathan.[17] On 8 June 2015 in Winnipeg, Canada, Oshoala opened her senior FIFA Women's World Cup account by scoring Nigeria's second goal in a 3–3 draw with Sweden. Oshoala was also a member of the Super Falcons team who won the African Women's Championship in 2016 and 2018. She scored three goals in the 2018 Edition in Ghana.

Personal life

Oshoala reports that her parents were not supportive when she dropped out of school to pursue a football career.[18] She is a Muslim.[19]

Honours

International
Nigeria

Club
Rivers Angels
Arsenal
Dalian Quanjian F.C.
FC Barcelona

Individual

References
  1. "List of Players – Nigeria" (PDF). FIFA. 4 August 2014. p. 14. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  2. "List of Players – 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  3. "Oshoala off to China". SuperSport. 11 February 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  4. "Asisat Oshoala: Liverpool Ladies sign Nigerian prospect". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  5. Kessel, Anna (21 March 2015). "Happiness lies with Liverpool for Nigerian superstar Asisat Oshoala". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  6. Currie, Jo (13 October 2015). "Liverpool Ladies: Injuries 'impacted' on season, says Beard". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  7. "Nigerian striker Oshoala to hold talks with Arsenal". Liverpool L.F.C. 26 January 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  8. "Liverpool Ladies Accept Arsenal's Bid For Asisat Oshoala | Wolexis Sports Blog". www.wolexis.com. Archived from the original on 30 January 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  9. 权健女足引进强力外援 二人均来自欧洲联赛. sina weibo (in Chinese). Dalian Quanjian Official Weibo. 10 February 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  10. https://www.vanguardngr.com/2019/01/asisat-oshoala-joins-barcelona-from-dalian-quanjian/amp/
  11. "Oshoala to stay until 2022". fcbarcelona.com. FC Barcelona. 31 May 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  12. "Oshoala: #HappyGirlAlways". FIFA. 19 August 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  13. "Super Zee crests the globe". The Nation. 28 May 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  14. "Okon has big plans for Oshoala". The Nation (Nigeria). 3 September 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  15. "Nigeria reclaim African women's title". BBC Sport. 25 October 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  16. Oludare, Shina (25 October 2014). "Asisat Oshoala named Africa Women Championship Most Valuable Player". Goal.com. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  17. Ahmadu, Samuel (29 September 2014). "Asisat Oshoala dedicates national award to parents, mates". Goal.com. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  18. Taylor, Louise (5 June 2015). "Women's World Cup 2015: 10 players to watch". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  19. Wejinya, Sammy (25 October 2014). "Q & A with Asisat Oshoala". SuperSport. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  20. Hunter, Steve (26 May 2015). "Oshoala wins top BBC accolade". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  21. Enyeama, Oshoala King and Queen at Nigeria Pitch Awards
  22. Njoku, Humphrey (9 January 2015). "Oshoala wins Caf player award". SuperSport. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  23. AfricaNews (7 January 2017). "[LIVE] Algerian Riyad Mahrez is 2016 African Player of the Year". Africanews. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  24. "Mohamed Salah: Liverpool and Egypt forward named African Player of the Year". BBC Sport. 2018.
  25. "Oshoala, Oparanozie claim individual honours". CAF. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
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