Odafa Onyeka Okolie

Odafa Onyeka Okolie (born 1985 in Nigeria), is a Nigerian football player who last played for Gokulam Kerala in I-League .[1] He was the highest paid footballer in I-league earning INR 1.4 crore per year in 2011.[2] Odafa is second in the list of all-time leading goalscorer in the I-League and NFL history with 179 goals, and has been the top goal scorer on three consecutive editions.[3] He also holds the record for scoring the most number of hat-tricks in both I-League and NFL combined, with 14 hat-tricks across all seasons, including 13 of those in the I-League.

Personal information
Full name Odafa Onyeka Okolie
Date of birth (1985-06-06) 6 June 1985
Place of birth Nigeria
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2003–2004 Mohammedan 40 (10)
2004–2005 Muktijoddha 28 (34)
2005–2011 Churchill Brothers 155 (106)
2011–2014 Mohun Bagan 92 (91)
2014–2016 Churchill Brothers 22 (22)
2015 → Sporting Goa (Loan) 12 (9)
2017 Southern Samity 9 (9)
2017 Gokulam Kerala 3 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:05, 28 May 2017 (UTC)

Club career

Churchill Brothers

After a lackluster start to his career which saw him play for Indian club Mohammedan S.C. and Bangladesh club Muktijoddha SKC where he only made nil and 28 appearances respectively and scored 34 goals with SKC, Odafe went back to India and signed for Churchill Brothers S.C. in the I-League in 2005. It took him till the 2006–07 season to break out though as he scored 12 goals that season with Churchill. Then during the 2007–08 season, Odafa scored 22 goals in 16 games and was top scorer in the new I-League. Odafa was the all-time leading scorer in the I-League after three seasons and is undoubtedly one of the deadliest strikers ever to have played in India. He was also the former captain of Churchill Brothers.

Mohun Bagan AC

On 1 June 2011, he signed a one-year deal with Mohun Bagan A.C. for approximately $600,000.[2] On 23 October 2011, Odafa scored a hat-trick in his debut for Bagan in a 3–1 victory over Pailan Arrows.[4]

Churchill Brothers

On 13 May 2014, Odafe signed for Churchill Brothers.

Sporting Goa

In March 2015, he signed for I-League strugglers Sporting Clube de Goa. He helped the club narrowly avoid relegation and was subsequently retained for another season.[5]

Southern Samity

In March 2017 odafa signed for I-League 2nd Division side Southern Samity. He scored a goal in his first match for samity against NEROCA FC In the 2016–17 I-League 2nd Division final round .

Honours

Club
Churchill Brothers
Muktijoddha SKC

Individual

References
  1. "Player profile of Odafe". Goal.com. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  2. Mohun Bagan sign Odafe for record Rs 3 crore one-year deal
  3. Mohun Bagan signs Odafe for record Rs. 3 crore one-year deal
  4. Goal.com, Match statistics between Mohun Bagan and Pailan Arrows
  5. "Sporting Clube de Goa seek Odafa's scoring touch". Sportingclubedegoa. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
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