Kenneth Karim Otigba (born 29 August 1992) is a Nigerian-born Hungarian footballer who last played for Vasas as a centre back. At international level, he has represented Hungary national team
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kenneth Karim Otigba | ||
| Date of birth | (1992-08-29) 29 August 1992 (age 30) | ||
| Place of birth | Kaduna, Nigeria | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre back | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Vasas | ||
| Number | 34 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2000–2004 | Gyula | ||
| 2004–2008 | Békéscsaba | ||
| 2008–2012 | Heerenveen | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2012–2017 | Heerenveen | 82 | (8) |
| 2016–2017 | → Kasımpaşa (loan) | 15 | (1) |
| 2017–2020 | Ferencváros | 39 | (1) |
| 2020– | Vasas | 2 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2010 | Hungary U19 | 1 | (0) |
| 2012–2014 | Hungary U21 | 6 | (0) |
| 2018– | Hungary | 2 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 27 November 2020 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16:21, 24 March 2019 (UTC) | |||
Otigba was born in Kaduna, Nigeria. He made his debut for SC Heerenveen on 16 December 2012 against Utrecht, coming on a 75th-minute substitute in a 3–1 loss.[1]
On 30 August 2014, Otigba gave an assist to Mark Uth to beat FC Utrecht 3–1 in the 2014–15 Eredivisie.[2] On 13 December 2014, Otigba gave an assist to Uth to beat NAC Breda 2–0 at the Rat Verlegh Stadion in Breda, Netherlands in the 2014–15 Eredivisie.[3] On 7 January 2015, Otigba was chosen to be in the best team of December of the 2014–15 Eredivisie.[4]
In August 2016, Otigba joined Kasımpaşa S.K. on loan for the 2016–17 with an option for Kasımpaşa to sign him permanently.[5]
On 5 June 2017, it was announced that an agreement was reached between SC Heerenveen and Ferencvárosi TC in connection with the signing of Otigba.[6] By signing Otigba, Ferencváros ended a two-year long project since on 14 December 2015 it was announced that Ferencváros showed interest in signing him.[7]
On 16 June 2020, he became champion with Ferencváros by beating Budapest Honvéd FC at the Hidegkuti Nándor Stadion on the 30th match day of the 2019–20 Nemzeti Bajnokság I season.[8]
Having represented Hungary U-21 as a youth player, he refused Pál Dárdai's invitation to represent Hungary at the adult team saying he would choose Nigeria instead.[9] However, in 2018, he reconsidered himself and chose to play for the national team,[10] making his debut in the friendly match against Kazakhstan.[11]
Otigba was born in Nigeria to a Hungarian mother and a Nigerian father, he moved to Hungary with his mother at age five and spent his childhood in Gyula.[12][13] Otigba said in an interview with the Hungarian Nemzeti Sport that "I'm a very lucky chap" when he was asked about his partner, Dutch singer and model Sanne Verbeek, a.k.a. Ayden. Verbeek participated in the X Factor in 2013.[14]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Heerenveen | 2012–13 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 2013–14 | 25 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 5 | |
| 2014–15 | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 0 | |
| 2015–16 | 31 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 3 | |
| Total | 88 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 96 | 8 | |
| Kasımpaşa | 2016–17 | 15 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 3 |
| Total | 15 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 3 | |
| Ferencváros | 2017–18 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 1 |
| 2018–19 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2019–20 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | |
| Total | 39 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 1 | |
| Career total | 142 | 10 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 159 | 12 | |
Vasas SC – current squad | |
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