Garba Lawal (born 22 May 1974) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a left midfielder. In 2014 he became general manager at Kaduna United F.C. and left his role in 2015.
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Garba Lawal | |||||||||||||||
Date of birth | (1974-05-22) 22 May 1974 (age 48) | |||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Kaduna, Nigeria | |||||||||||||||
Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | |||||||||||||||
Position(s) | Left midfielder | |||||||||||||||
Club information | ||||||||||||||||
Current team | Kaduna United F.C. (General manager) | |||||||||||||||
Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||
1993–1995 | Julius Berger | |||||||||||||||
1995–1996 | Espérance ST | |||||||||||||||
1996–2002 | Roda | 154 | (20) | |||||||||||||
2002–2003 | Levski Sofia | 15 | (3) | |||||||||||||
2004 | Elfsborg | 12 | (0) | |||||||||||||
2004–2005 | Santa Clara | 16 | (0) | |||||||||||||
2005–2006 | Iraklis | 33 | (1) | |||||||||||||
2007 | Changsha Ginde | 3 | (0) | |||||||||||||
2007 | Julius Berger | 18 | (8) | |||||||||||||
2009–2012 | Lobi Stars F.C. | 3 | (1) | |||||||||||||
National team | ||||||||||||||||
1997–2006 | Nigeria[1] | 57 | (6) | |||||||||||||
Teams managed | ||||||||||||||||
2009–2013 | Lobi Stars F.C. (Assistant coach) | |||||||||||||||
2009 | Nigeria U-17 (Team coordinator) | |||||||||||||||
Honours
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
He is currently with the technical department of the Nigeria Football Federation.
As a player, Lawal had his most successful time at Roda JC in the Eredivisie. He also played for Julius Berger F.C. in Nigeria and Chinese side Changsha Ginde.[2]
In August 2009, he announced his return as a player-coach for Makurdi side Lobi Stars,[3] He was named General Manager of Kaduna United in February 2014.
Lawal is regarded as one of the most versatile players in the Nigeria national football team of the 1990s and early 2000s often being used for any position ranging from defence to attack on the left wing. Lawal took part at the FIFA World Cups in 1998, where he played a key role in the 3–2 win over Spain in Nigeria's first match of the tournament,[4] and in 2002. He won the Olympic gold medal in 1996. He represented Nigeria at four editions of African Cup of Nations: 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2006, scoring in all but the first.
In August 2009,Lawal was named as the assistant coach of Lobi Stars F.C.[5] In the same year, he was employed as team coordinator for the Nigeria national under-17 football team.[6]
In February 2014 he was appointed general manager at Kaduna United F.C.[7]
Roda JC
Levski Sofia
Nigeria squads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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