Razak Omotoyossi

Razak Omotoyossi (born 8 October 1985) is a Nigerian-born Beninese footballer who plays as a striker for JA Cotonou and the Benin national football team. He has played in Nigeria, Egypt, Sweden, Saudi Arabia and France.

Razak Omotoyossi
Omotoyossi and Segbé Azankpo in May 2014
Personal information
Date of birth (1985-10-08) 8 October 1985
Place of birth Lagos, Nigeria
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Striker
Club information
Current team
 Free Player
Youth career
2001–2002 F.C. Ebedei
2002–2003 Sunshine Stars
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004 Avrankou Omnispor 12 (3)
2005 JS Pobè 20 (2)
2006–2007 FC Sheriff 38 (17)
2007–2008 Helsingborg 33 (16)
2008–2009 Al-Nassr 19 (4)
2009–2010 Metz 25 (2)
2010 GAIS 13 (2)
2011 Syrianska 6 (1)
2011–2013 Zamalek 22 (4)
2014–2015 Kahramanmaraşspor 9 (2)
2014–2015 KAC Kénitra 7 (1)
2014–2015 Olympic Safi 3 (0)
2015 Al-Nahda
2019 USS Kraké
2019– JA Cotonou
National team‡
2004– Benin 58 (21)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12:52, 18 February 2019 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19:36, 23 March 2016 (UTC)

Club career

Early career

Born in Lagos, Omotoyossi started his career in his native Nigeria, but was nearly derailed when the Nigeria Football Federation[1] slammed a five-year ban on him for allegedly assaulting a referee during a Premier League game between his club, Sunshine Stars and visiting Enyimba. He had though already left to play in neighbouring Benin. He later switched to Beninese citizenship the same year.

He started his professional career in Benin with JS Pobè.[2]

FC Sheriff

Omotoyossi signed for Moldovan side FC Sheriff in November 2005.

On 26 July 2006, he scored a 92nd minute equalizing goal for Sheriff against Spartak Moscow in the second qualifying round of the 2006–07 UEFA Champions League.[3]

In March 2007 he went on trial with Israeli Premier League side Hapoel Kfar Saba. He scored in a Toto Cup game, but did not sign for them as he found the challenge of the Swedish Allsvenskan more promising.[4]

Helsingborg

Omotoyossi signed for Helsingborgs IF in summer 2007. In the role of Henrik Larsson's strike partner, Omotoyossi finished the 2007 season as joint top scorer having scored 14 goals in 23 games.[2]

In the 2007–08 UEFA Cup, he scored twice in the first two qualifying rounds. His first goal came in the first leg of the first qualifying round home win over Estonian Meistriliiga side Narva Trans on 19 July 2007, and he then scored in the second qualifying round, second leg, a 3–0 home win over League of Ireland Premier Division side Drogheda United. He added a further four goals in the group stage as Helsingborg finished second in Group H. Omotoyossi had scored six goals in six matches, (3 goals against Heereveen of Netherlands, 2 against Austria Vienna and 1 against the Turkish Giants Galatasaray) making him top scorer alongside teammate Henrik Larsson and Luca Toni of Bayern Munich. His six goals were critical in Helsingborgs booking their passage to the last 32. With six goals in a total of eight games, Omotoyossi finished as joint 4th top scorer in the tournament. Despite being a top-scorer in Helsingborg. He also appeared that year in Italy's Guerin Sportivo as one of the world's top 50 stars for the very near future.[2] This record caught the eye of Dutch Eredivisie side SC Heerenveen, and it was rumoured that they wanted the striker as a replacement for Brazilian striker Afonso Alves who was set to leave for English side Middlesbrough.

After the January transfer window had shut, it was revealed that Omotoyossi had declined a move to Dutch Eredivisie side, FC Groningen,[5] in a deal that would have been worth $2.5 million.[6]

Al-Nassr

In July 2008 Omotoyossi signed for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia for $3 million.[7]

He had a short stint at the Arabian club in which he appeared in nine games, scoring four goals in the 2008–09 season as Al-Nassr finished 5th in the Saudi Professional League.

Metz

On 9 June 2009, Omotoyoissi signed a three-year contract with French Ligue 2 side FC Metz. He scored twice in 8 starts and 14 as a substitute player as Metz finished fourth in the 2009–10 season, just missing out on promotion to Ligue 1.

GAIS

On 30 March 2011, Swedish club GAIS confirmed that they had signed Omotoyossi, he was signed on a short-term contract until July.[8]

Syrianska FC

On 21 July 2011, Omotoyossi signed a short-term contract with Syrianska FC where he only played 5 matches before leaving to Egypt's Zamalek SC.

Zamalek SC

On 15 September 2011, Omotoyossi signed a three-year contract with Egyptian club Zamalek SC. He made his debut for the team in a league match against El-Entag El-Harby.

Union Sportive Sèmè

After leaving Moroccan club Safi in 2015, Omotoyossi was without a club for four years, before signing for USS Kraké in February 2019.[9]

International career

Omotoyossi has represented Benin at under-20 and full international levels.

On 10 June 2005, he scored in the Group A 1–1 draw with Australia at the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship in the Netherlands. It was Benin's first-ever goal at a world finals. "I always want to score goals, every time I go out on the pitch." he said at the time.[2][10] On 7 February 2007, he scored in a 2–1 friendly defeat to Senegal in Rouen, France.[11]

He played in the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, scoring one goal in qualification - in the 4–1 home win over Togo on 19 June 2007 as Benin finished second in Group 9 to qualify for the finals in Ghana. Then in the finals, where Benin finished last place in Group B he scored a late consolation goal as Benin lost 4–1 to Ivory Coast on 25 January 2008.

He scored eight goals in eight matches in 2008 for the national team, making him joint top scorer in the African World Cup/Nations Cup qualifiers with Samuel Eto'o.[5]

He scored six goals in the second round of qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup as Benin finished top in Group 3. His first two goals came on 8 June 2008 in the 4–1 win over Uganda.[12] Six days later he scored in the 2–0 away win over Niger.[13] On 7 September, his two goals in the 3–2 home win over Angola helped book Benin their place in the Third round.[14] His sixth goal came in the final group game, a 2–1 away defeat to Uganda on 12 October.[15]

In the third and final qualification round, he scored twice as Benin finished second in Group D, just missing out on qualifying for the World Cup finals. He scored Benin's winning goal against Sudan on 5 June 2009,[16] and scored a penalty in their final group game, a 2–1 away win over Sudan on 10 November.[17]

International goals
Scores and results list Benin's goal tally first.[18]
List of international goals scored by Razak Omotoyossi
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 7 February 2007 Stade Robert Diochon, Rouen  Senegal
1–2
1–2
 Friendly
2. 17 June 2007 Stade de l'Amitié, Cotonou  Togo
1–0
4–1
 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier
3. 17 June 2007 Stade de l'Amitié, Cotonou  Togo
3–0
4–1
 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier
4. 21 November 2007 Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra  Ghana
2–0
2–4
 2007 Ghana Four Nations Tournament (Friendly)
5. 21 January 2008 Sekondi Stadium, Sekondi-Takoradi  Ivory Coast
1–4
1–4
 2008 Africa Cup of Nations
6. 8 June 2008 Stade de l'Amitié, Cotonou  Uganda
1–1
4–1
 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier
7. 8 June 2008 Stade de l'Amitié, Cotonou  Uganda
4–1
4–1
 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier
8. 14 June 2008 Stade Général Seyni Kountché, Niamey  Niger
2–0
2–0
 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier
9. 20 August 2008 Stade Moulay Abdellah, Rabat  Morocco
1–1
1–3
 Friendly
10. 7 September 2008 Stade de l'Amitié, Cotonou  Angola
2–1
3–2
 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier
11. 7 September 2008 Stade de l'Amitié, Cotonou  Angola
3–1
3–2
 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier
12. 12 October 2008 Mandela National Stadium, Kampala  Uganda
1–0
1–2
 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier
13. 19 November 2008 Cairo International Stadium, Cairo  Egypt
1–5
1–5
 Friendly
14. 7 June 2009 Stade de l'Amitié, Cotonou  Sudan
1–0
1–0
 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier
15. 14 November 2009 Al Merreikh Stadium, Omdurman  Sudan
1–0
2–1
 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier
16. 12 January 2010 Ombaka National Stadium, Benguela  Mozambique
1–0
2–2
 2010 Africa Cup of Nations
17. 9 October 2010 Stade Amahoro, Kigali  Rwanda
2–0
3–0
 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier
18. 2 February 2011 Stade 11 June, Tripoli  Libya
2–3
2–3
 Friendly
19. 3 June 2012 Stade de l'Amitié, Cotonou  Mali
1–0
1–0
 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier
20. 10 June 2012 Stade Amahoro, Kigali  Rwanda
1–0
1–1
 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier
21. 16 June 2013 Stade du 26 Mars, Bamako  Mali
2–1
2–2
 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier

References
  1. „Benin Republic will shock Eagles in Ghana, says Omotoyossi“ im Guardian Archived 28 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  2. "Razak gets rolling". FIFA.com. 10 December 2007. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  3. "uefa.com - UEFA Champions League - Fixtures & Results". Archived from the original on 18 December 2007. Retrieved 5 March 2007.
  4. http://www.thetidenews.com/article.aspx?qrDate=14 Nov 2005&qrTitle=Moldovan%20club%20signs%20Chinwo,%20Omotoyossi&qrColumn=SPORTS Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  5. Beattie, Chris (1 August 2010). "Razak Omotoyossi: A gamble worth taking for Blackpool boss Holloway". Tribal Football. Archived from the original on 3 August 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  6. Reeves, Simon (24 February 2008). "Omotoyossi set to move on soon". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  7. Reeves, Simon (16 July 2008). "Omotoyossi moves to Saudi Arabia". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  8. "Razak Omotoyossi är klar för GAIS" (in Swedish). gais.se. 30 March 2011. Archived from the original on 2 April 2011. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
  9. Marteh, Danesius (15 February 2019). "Razak Omotoyossi: Veteran striker returns to play in Benin". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  10. "Benin U-20's held". BBC Sport. 10 June 2005. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  11. "Egypt ease past Sweden". BBC Sport. 7 February 2007. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  12. "Benin 4:1 Uganda report". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 8 June 2008. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  13. "Niger 0:2 Benin report". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 14 June 2008. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  14. "Benin through as Congo climb". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 7 September 2008. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  15. "Uganda 1:2 Benin report". Fédération Internationale de Football Association. FIFA.com. 12 October 2008. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  16. "Benin 1:0 Sudan report". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 5 June 2009. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  17. "Sudan 1:2 Benin report". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 10 November 2009. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  18. László Földesi. "Razak Omotoyossi - International Goals". RSSSF. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
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