Emmanuel Amunike
Emmanuel Amunike (born 25 December 1970) is a Nigerian professional football manager and former professional football player who played as a winger. Blessed with electric pace and a wand of a left foot, Amuneke was also a quite prolific scorer, A strong, powerful frame and high centre of gravity lent itself to explosiveness and tenacity, while his diagonal runs off the flank made him a proper goal threat. He is widely regarded to be one of Nigeria's best wingers of all time.
 Amunike in 2017 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 25 December 1970 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Eziobodo, Nigeria | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Winger | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1987–1990 | Concord FC | 137 | (25) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1990–1991 | Julius Berger FC | 55 | (11) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1991–1994 | Zamalek | 71 | (26) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1994–1996 | Sporting CP | 51 | (17) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996–2000 | Barcelona | 19 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2002 | Albacete | 17 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | Busan IPark | 40 | (5) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2004 | Al-Wehdat | 37 | (9) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2006 | Al Najma Club | 36 | (13) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 371 | (108) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1993–2001 | Nigeria | 27 | (9) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams managed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2008 | Reocín (youth) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | Al Hazm (assistant) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | Julius Berger | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2011 | Ocean Boys | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2017 | Nigeria U17 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Al Khartoum | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Tanzania | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | Misr Lel Makkasa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Nigeria (assistant) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | Zanaco | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Zanaco (consultant) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Honours
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| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club career
changeAmuneke started his career in 1987 with the Concord FC under former Super Eagles international Oscar Ezinwa, under whom he later also played at his youth academy Divine Royal International Football Academy. In his early career, Amuneke won league titles in Nigeria and Egypt. After the 1994 World Cup, he, who was still under contract with Zamalek Cairo at the time, signed a contract with MSV Duisburg and was introduced to the public. However, Amuneke did not appear in Duisburg at the start of training. Those responsible found out too late that he had already signed a contract with Sporting Lisbon. FIFA initially declared the first contract with MSV legal. But since Amuneke emphasized that he never wanted to play in Duisburg, FIFA also made a U-turn. MSV Duisburg had to sell Amuneke to Sporting Lisbon for one million dollars. There he became famous after scoring a winning goal against arch-rivals Benfica Lisbon. In 1996 he received the title of BBC African Footballer of the Year. He was poached by Spanish giants FC Barcelona for the equivalent of 3.6 million during the 1996/97 season and played the rest of the season before becoming a substitute due to injuries. Knee problems also kept him out of the 1998 World Cup. Amuneke never fully recovered and ended his career after playing one final season in Jordan in 2004.
International career
changeAmunike made his international debut in 1993, He played many international games for the Nigerian National Football Team, and was part of the team that played in the 1994 World Cup in the United States and won the African Cup of Nations in 1994. Due to these two competitions he also won the Best African Player award in 1994. He also helped win the football gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, eventually scoring in the final against Argentina. Amunike was probably the most outstanding player in the US Cup and the African Cup of Nations, when he scored twice in the final that won him the African title, and in the goal that almost eliminated Italy in the second phase of the competition. A knee injury ruled him out of the World Cup in France. Without being fully recovered, even with Nigeria qualified for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Ammunike ended his career with the Super-Eagles in 2001.
Coaching career
changeAmunike coached Nigeria's under-17 football team that won the World Cup in 2015. On 6 August 2018, he was appointed coach of the Tanzania national football team. He managed to qualify for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, but resigned from coaching the team after losing all three matches. In November 2019, he said he was looking for a new job.
Honours
changePlayer
changeJulius Berger FC Nigeria Professional Football League: 1991
Zamalek
- Egyptian Premier League: 1991–92, 1992–93
- African Cup of Champions Clubs: 1993[2]
- CAF Super Cup: 1994[3]
Sporting CP
Barcelona
- Copa del Rey: 1996–97[6]1997–98
- UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1996–97[7]
- La Liga: 1997–98, 1998–99
- UEFA Super Cup: 1997
- Supercopa de España: 1997; runner-up
Nigeria
- Africa Cup of Nations: 1994; runner-up: 2000[8]
- Olympic Games: 1996
Individual
Manager
changeNigeria U17
References
change- ↑ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Emmanuel Amunike (Player)". www.national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
- ↑ "CHAMPIONS CUP 1993 - FINAL". Footballdatabase.eu. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
- ↑ "CAF SUPER CUP 1994 - FINAL". Footballdatabase.eu. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
- ↑ "Sporting 2-0 Maritimo". zerozero.pt. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
- ↑ "Histórico da Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira" [Supercup Cândido de Oliveira all-time record] (PDF) (in Portuguese). Portuguese Football Federation. 11 August 2012. p. 10. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
- ↑ "Spain Cups 1996/97". RSSSF. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
- ↑ "Cup Winners Cup 1996/1997: Final: FC Barcelona – Paris Saint-Germain 1:0: Match details". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
- ↑ "Nigeria - Squad Africa Cup 2000 Ghana/Nigeria". Worldfootball.net. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
- ↑ "Amuneke takes charge of Egypt's El-Makkasa". BBC Sport.
- ↑ "History of BBC African Footballer of the Year". BBC Sport.