Salisu Abdullahi "Alhaji" Gero (born 10 October 1993), is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a forward.
|
Gero playing for Esteghlal in 2018. | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Salisu Abdullahi Gero | ||
| Date of birth | (1993-10-10) 10 October 1993 (age 28) | ||
| Place of birth | Kano State, Nigeria | ||
| Height | 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2009–2010 | El-Kanemi Warriors | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2010–2011 | Lobi Stars | ||
| 2012 | Kaduna United | 14 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | Enugu Rangers | ||
| 2013–2014 | Östers IF | 36 | (9) |
| 2015–2016 | Viborg FF | 23 | (1) |
| 2016–2018 | Östersunds FK | 55 | (6) |
| 2018 | Esteghlal | 8 | (1) |
| 2019 | Östersunds FK | 13 | (1) |
| 2019–2021 | Helsingborgs IF | 33 | (4) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2012–2013 | Nigeria U20 | 15 | (6) |
| 2013 | Nigeria | 1 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23 May 2021 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 November 2013 | |||

Gero started out playing football in the streets of Kano before signing his first professional contract with El-Kanemi Warriors at age sixteen. The next year he moved on to Lobi Stars.[1] During the midseason transfer window in April 2012, Gero moved to Enugu Rangers from Kaduna United and scored instantly on his debut in against Akwa United[2] which helped his team to a valuable 1–1 draw that kept them in touching distance of winning the 2012 Nigeria Premier League.[3]
In August 2013, Gero signed a contract with Östers IF, a team relegated to the Superettan for the 2014 season (the 2nd highest league in Sweden).[4]
In December 2014, Danish club Viborg FF announced that they signed Alhaji on a free transfer. He played 15 matches and scored 1 goal in his first season.
16 January 2016, Viborg FF and Gero agreed to terminate the contract after minimal playing time.
Gero signed with Östersunds FK on 18 January 2016.[5] On 14 September 2017, he scored his first goal in a European competition against Zorya Luhansk.[6]
On 8 August 2018, Gero signed for Iranian team Esteghlal on a three-year contract.[7] He was given the number 9 shirt, the same jersey number he used to wear at Östersunds FK.[8]
Gero made his debut his debut on 10 August 2018 as a second-half substitute for Voria Ghafouri in a 3–0 League victory against Tractor Sazi.[9] He scored his first goal for the club in Hazfi Cup Round of 16 against Saipa, a penalty in a match that finished 2–2 after 120 minutes but lost the match 1–3 in penalty shoot-out eventually.[10] On 16 December, his contract with Esteghlal was terminated by mutual agreement, having spent only four months with the club and failing to score any goals in the league.[11][12]
On 25 February 2019, Östersunds re-signed Gero.[13] On 9 July 2019, however, he signed a two-year contract with recently promoted club Helsingborgs IF.[14]
Gero made his debut for the Nigeria national under-20 team at the 8 nation tournament in South Africa. He scored two goals on his competitive debut for the U20 team in their 2–1 away win against Tanzania at the 2013 African U-20 Championship qualification.[15] He scored again on the return leg of the same fixture which Nigeria has now won 4–1 on aggregate.[16] Gero also played for the U20 team in the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup.[17]
At the same year 2013, he was called up for the Nigeria national team that played against the Ivory Coast national team[18] for the 2014 African Nations Championship qualification.[19]
Gero's younger brother Ahmad is also a professional football player.[20]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Continental1 | Other2 | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Östers | 2013 | Allsvenskan | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 1 | ||
| 2014 | Superettan | 26 | 8 | 4 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 32 | 8 | ||
| Total | 36 | 9 | 5 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 43 | 9 | |||
| Viborg | 2014–15 | Danish 1st Division | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 1 | ||
| 2015–16 | Danish Superliga | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | — | — | 10 | 2 | |||
| Total | 23 | 1 | 2 | 2 | — | — | 25 | 3 | ||||
| Östersund | 2016 | Allsvenskan | 22 | 3 | 4 | 2 | – | – | 26 | 5 | ||
| 2017 | 24 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 2 | – | 40 | 5 | |||
| 2018 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 12 | 2 | |||
| 2019 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | — | 13 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 68 | 7 | 11 | 4 | 12 | 2 | — | 91 | 13 | |||
| Esteghlal | 2018–19 | Persian Gulf Pro League | 7 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 10 | 1 | |
| Helsingborgs | 2019 | Allsvenskan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 133 | 17 | 20 | 7 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 168 | 26 | ||
1 Includes Europa League and AFC Champions League matches.
2 Includes appearance(s) in Superettan Relegation play-offs.