sport.wikisort.org - Athlete

Julius Efosa Aghahowa (born 12 February 1982) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was known for his pace and his back-flips when he scored goals. Aghahowa became the first foreign national outside the former Soviet Union, who was among the best scorers in the Ukrainian Premier League 2000–01 season.

Julius Aghahowa

Aghahowa with Shakhtar Donetsk in 2010
Personal information
Full name	Julius Efosa Aghahowa
Date of birth	(1982-02-12) 12 February 1982 (age 40)
Place of birth	Benin City, Nigeria
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
	Police Machines
	Bendel Insurance
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1998–1999	Bendel Insurance
1999–2000	Espérance
2000–2007	Shakhtar Donetsk	89	(32)
2007–2008	Wigan Athletic	20	(0)
2008–2009	Kayserispor	29	(6)
2009–2012	Shakhtar Donetsk	10	(1)
2010–2011	→ Sevastopol (loan)	10	(1)
Total		158	(40)
National team
2000–2007	Nigeria	32	(14)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Aghahowa played in Ukraine, England and Turkey during his career. Famous for his acrobatic goal celebrations, he performed six consecutive perfect backflips after scoring a goal against Sweden at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.[1]

Club career

Early career

Born in Benin City, Aghahowa began his career with the Police Machines, a local police team, and went on to Bendel Insurance. He signed for Danish lower division team Herning Fremad before the 1999 African Youth Championship, but Aghahowa performed so well there that he wanted to play for a bigger club. He ended up with the Tunisian champions, Espérance, when he procured a contract with the Tunisians which predated the Herning Fremad contract.[2]

Shakhtar Donetsk

In the middle of the 2000–01 season, Aghahowa transferred to Shakhtar Donetsk, who soon won the Ukrainian league championship. Aghahowa won the game for Shakhtar in the 2006 Ukrainian Championship against Dynamo Kyiv, heading the winner in extra-time and being named man of the match. His performance in the final has been widely seen as the "saving grace" of his career at Shakhtar, with his future at the club looking bleak earlier in the season. After playing over six years for Shakhtar Donetsk, Aghahowa left for Wigan Athletic.

Wigan Athletic

His work permit was passed and on 30 January 2007, he signed for Wigan Athletic for an undisclosed fee,[3] playing his first Premiership match for them against Portsmouth on 3 February.[4] Aghahowa did not score for Wigan in one and half years and on 20 June 2008, he signed for Kayserispor.[5]

Return to Shakhtar Donetsk

On 4 July 2009, Shakhtar Donetsk signed Aghahowa on a free transfer after he was released by Kayserispor. He had already played for Shakhtar from 2000 to 2007[6] and declared a great desire to play for his old club. However, he could not find himself as a regular starter and was loaned out to PFC Sevastopol at the beginning of the 2010–11 season. He was released at the end of the 2011–12 season, announcing his retirement from the game in April 2013.[7]

International career

Aghahowa played 32 matches and scored 14 goals for the Nigerian national team, including their only goal at the 2002 World Cup against Sweden. He became Nigeria's top goalscorer at the 2002 African Nations Cup. He also played at the 2000 Summer Olympics.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Continental		Other		Total		Ref.
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Shakhtar Donetsk	2000–01	Vyshcha Liha	8	7	2	1	-		0	0	-		10	8
	2001–02		17	7	2	1	-		6	2	-		25	10
	2002–03		10	1	4	1	-		3	1	-		17	3
	2003–04		17	6	6	2	-		4	2	-		27	10
	2004–05		15	8	5	3	-		13	5	-		33	16
	2005–06		13	0	2	1	-		5	0	-		20	1
	2006–07		9	3	1	0	-		7	0	1[lower-alpha 1]	0	18	3
	Total		89	32	22	9	-	-	38	10	1	0	150	51	–
Wigan Athletic	2006–07	Premier League	6	0	0	0	0	0	-		-		6	0	[8]
	2007–08		14	0	0	0	0	0	-		-		14	0	[8]
	Total		20	0	0	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	20	0	–
Kayserispor	2008–09	Süper Lig	29	6	4	0	–		–		1	0	34	6	[8]
Shakhtar Donetsk	2009–10	Ukrainian Premier League	9	1	3	0	-		5	0	1[lower-alpha 2]	0	18	1	[8]
	2010–11		1	0	0	0	-		0	0	0	0	1	0	[8]
	2011–12		0	0	0	0	-		0	0	0	0	0	0	[8]
	Total		10	1	3	0	-	-	5	0	1	0	19	1	–
Sevastopol (loan)	2010–11	Ukrainian Premier League	10	1	0	0	–		–		–		10	1	[8]
Career total			158	40	29	9	0	0	43	10	3	0	233	59	–

International

Source:[9]

Nigeria national team
Year	Apps	Goals
2000	4	3
2001	5	2
2002	12	7
2003	0	0
2004	5	1
2005	2	1
2006	3	0
2007	1	0
Total	32	14

Honours

Espérance

• Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1: 2000

Shakhtar Donetsk

• Ukrainian Premier League: 2002, 2005, 2006, 2010
• Ukrainian Cup: 2002, 2004

References

External links

• Julius Aghahowa at Soccerbase
• Nigerian Players
• Julius Aghahowa at FootballDatabase.eu
• Time for Aghahowa to stop blowing hot and cold
• Julius Aghahowa at UAF and archived FFU page (in Ukrainian)

На других языках

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- [en] Julius Aghahowa

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[es] Julius Aghahowa

Julius Aghahowa, (nacido el 12 de febrero de 1982 en Ciudad de Benín, Estado Edo, Nigeria), es un exfutbolista que ocupó la demarcación de delantero y que fue famoso por sus celebraciones tras marcar un gol.

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[fr] Julius Aghahowa

Julius Aghahowa (né le 12 février 1982 à Benin City, Nigeria) est un footballeur nigérian qui joue au poste d'attaquant.

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[it] Julius Aghahowa

Julius Aghahowa (Benin City, 12 febbraio 1982) è un ex calciatore nigeriano che giocava nel ruolo di attaccante.

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[ru] Агахова, Джулиус

Джу́лиус Агахо́ва (англ. Julius Aghahowa; род. 12 февраля 1982[1][2], Бенин-Сити) — нигерийский футболист, нападающий. Многим болельщикам нигерийский форвард запомнился исполнением кульбитов после забитых голов.

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