Desire Oparanozie

Ugochi Desire Oparanozie (born 17 December 1993) is a Nigerian footballer who plays as a forward in the Division 1 Féminine for Dijon FCO[4][5] and the Nigerian national team.

Desire Oparanozie
Oparanozie playing for Ataşehir Belediyespor in the 2013–14 season
Personal information
Full name Ugochi Desire Oparanozie[1]
Date of birth (1993-12-17) 17 December 1993[1]
Place of birth Owerri, Nigeria[2]
Height 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)[1]
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Dijon FCO
Number -
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
??–2010 Bayelsa Queens F.C.
2010–2012 Delta Queens F.C.
2011 → Lüleburgaz 39 Spor (loan)
2012–2013 Rossiyanka 11 (2)
2013–2014 Wolfsburg 1 (0)
2014 Ataşehir Belediyespor 7 (6)
2014–2020 Guingamp 106 (45)
2020– Dijon FCO 9 (2)
National team‡
2010– Nigeria 35[3] (22)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 24 January 2021
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18:08, 17 June 2015 (UTC)

Club career
Desire Oparanozie playing for Ataşehir Belediyespor in the home match against Kdz. Ereğlispor (2013–14)

Oparanozie started her career at Bayelsa Queens in the Nigerian Women's Championship and moved to Delta Queens in 2010. She then spent 2 months on loan at Düvenciler Lisesispor in the Turkish Women's First Football League in 2011, before returning to Delta Queens.[6]

In 2012, she joined Rossiyanka from the Russian Women's Football Championship, with them she played four matches at the 2012–13 UEFA Women's Champions League, scoring one goal.[7]

Oparanozie joined Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg for the 2013–14 season signing a two-year contract.[8][9] In the first half of the season, she only appeared in one game, and mostly played for Wolfsburg's second team. In the winter, after half a season, she left Wolfsburg.[10] On 21 February 2014, Oparanozie transferred to Ataşehir Belediyespor to play the second half of the season in the Turkish Women's First Football League.[11]

Guingamp

For the 2014–15 she joined Guingamp of the French Division 1 Féminine,[6] where she was joined by Nigerian international captain Evelyn Nwabuoku during the following season.

Ahead of the 2019–20 season, Oparanozie was named club captain and began her leadership reign well with a win over Metz on the opening day of the season.[12]

On 30 June 2020, Dijon FCO announced that She had signed a 2 year contract.[4][5]

After leaving Guingamp, a bus-stop has been named after Oparanozie in Guingamp by her fans after her long stay at the French football club.[13]

International career

As a junior international she scored 2 goals in the 2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup and 3 goals in the 2012 tournament.[14][15]

Oparanozie has been a regular member of the Nigerian national team since 2010, participating in the FIFA Women's World Cup tournaments of 2011, 2015, and 2019.[16][17]

In April 2019, she was named the new captain of Nigeria by coach Thomas Dennerby who praised Oparanozie for her 'discipline and good character'.[18]

Following the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, in her role as captain, she led calls for equal pay in Nigerian football citing disparity with the bonuses received by the team's male counterparts.[19]

She has also been part of the Nigerian squads of the African Women's Championship of 2010 and 2014, 2016 and 2018, winning all four tournaments. She scored crucial goals in both the 2014 and 2016 finals.[20][21]

Honours

International

Nigeria

Individual

Club

Delta Queens

References
  1. "List of Players – 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  2. "Team" (in French). En Avant de Guingamp. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  3. "Profile". FIFA.com. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  4. "https://twitter.com/dfco_officiel/status/1277986475011903489". Twitter. Retrieved 30 June 2020. External link in |title= (help)
  5. "Désiré Oparanozie est Dijonnaise !". dfco.fr (in French). Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  6. "Desire Oparanozie transfers" (in German). SoccerDonna.de. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  7. "Player Champions League profile". UEFA. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
  8. "Neue Angreiferin" (in German). vfl-wolfsburg.de. 19 June 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  9. Juchem, Markus (13 June 2013). "VfL Wolfsburg verpflichtet Desire Oparanozie". WomenSoccer. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  10. Juchem, Markus (23 January 2014). "VfL Wolfsburg trennt sich von Desire Oparanozie". WomenSoccer. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  11. "Futbolcular-Ugochi Desire Oparanozie" (in Turkish). Türkiye Futbol Federasyonu. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
  12. "Oparanozie: Nigeria striker captains Guingamp to winning start against Metz". au.sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  13. "Denis Oparanozie Bus-stop". MySportDab. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  14. "Players – Top goals". FIFA. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  15. "Players – Top goals". FIFA. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  16. "Canada and Nigeria seek consolation win". FIFA. 4 July 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  17. "Oparanozie: No words to explain this feeling". FIFA. 9 June 2015. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  18. Saliu, Mo (12 April 2019). "Why I made Desire Oparanozie Super Falcons Captain - Dennerby". Latest Sports News In Nigeria. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  19. "Desire Oparanozie demands equal pay for Nigeria's women's side". 30 July 2019. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  20. "African International Competitions". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
  21. "Nigeria reclaim African women's title". BBC Sport. 25 October 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
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