Full name Emmanuel Amunike 1990 Concord Weight 69 kg Years Team Height 1.78 m | Playing position Role Footballer Name Emmanuel Amunike Siblings Kevin Amuneke | |
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Date of birth (1970-12-25) 25 December 1970 (age 44) Children Matthew Amuneke, Joseph Amuneke Similar People Daniel Amokachi, Sunday Oliseh, Victor Ikpeba, Jay‑Jay Okocha, Nwankwo Kanu | ||
Place of birth Eze Obodo, Nigeria | ||
Emmanuel Amunike vs Zambia ● 1994 African Cup of Nations Final
Emmanuel Amunike (often misspelled Amuneke; born 25 December 1970 in Eziobodo) is a Nigerian retired footballer who played as a left winger, and a current coach.
Contents
- Emmanuel Amunike vs Zambia 1994 African Cup of Nations Final
- Emmanuel amunike highlights mejores jugadas
- Club career
- International career
- Personal life
- References
His professional career was blighted by injury. He represented Nigeria at the 1994 World Cup.
Emmanuel amunike highlights mejores jugadas
Club career
In his early career, Amunike won the domestic league titles in Nigeria and Egypt, while playing for Julius Berger F.C. and Zamalek SC respectively. In 1994, he signed for Sporting Clube de Portugal, scoring seven league goals in his first season, including one against S.L. Benfica in the Lisbon derby (1–0 home win on 1 December 1994), and adding the campaign's Portuguese Cup.
In the 1996 December transfer window, Amunike was bought by La Liga giants FC Barcelona for $3.6 million, making his official debut on the 22nd in a 1–0 home win against Celta de Vigo and scoring on 16 March of the following year in a 1–0 success at CD Logroñés. His spell in Catalonia would be effectively ended in the 1997 off-season after he suffered a serious knee injury, following which he appeared very rarely for the club (only three league games in three full seasons combined).
Amunike never fully recovered from his condition after being released by Barça in 2000, playing for Albacete Balompié (also Spain, Segunda División), Busan I'Cons (South Korea, only a couple of months) and Al-Wahdat SC (Amman) (Jordan), retiring from football at the age of 33. In 2008, he spent some time as an assistant coach at Saudi Premier League side Al-Hazm, but left to become a scout for Manchester United.
On 23 December 2008, Amunike took over the head coaching duties at former team Julius Berger, after completing two years of coaching courses in Europe. For a while, he combined this position with the role for the Red Devils, but eventually quit his post in England to concentrate on his coaching career.
Amunike was sacked halfway through his first season after conflicts with management, despite saving the team from relegation. The club however later claimed he was sacked for "over gross insubordination". He was hired in early November 2009 as the new coach of Ocean Boys FC.
International career
Amunike played 27 times for Nigeria, scoring nine goals. He was part of the team that participated at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States, a first-ever for the African country, scoring against Bulgaria (3–0 group stage win) and Italy (1–2 round-of-16 loss); also in that year, he helped the Super Eagles win the Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia, eventually being voted African Footballer of the Year.
Additionally, Amunike played all the games at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, scoring the winning goal in the final as the national team won the gold medal. Knee problems kept him out of the 1998 World Cup.
Personal life
Amunike's younger brothers, Kingsley and Kevin, were also footballers. Both also played several years in Portugal, amongst other countries.