Finidi George

Finidi George (born 15 April 1971) is a former Nigerian football player. He has played for Nigeria national team. He was a player with great speed who could play as a winger on the right or left. He was a physically strong and tall player, He was known for his dribbling and free-kicks. He was a physically strong and tall player. He is known by his name, Finidi. Considered as one of Nigeria's greatest wingers of all time.

Finidi George

Personal information
Full name	George Finidi
Date of birth	(1971-04-15) 15 April 1971
Place of birth	Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Height	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s)	Winger
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1989–1990	Calabar Rovers	26	(10)
1990–1991	Iwuanyanwu Nationale	35	(7)
1991–1993	Sharks	77	(47)
1993–1996	Ajax	85	(18)
1996–2000	Betis	130	(38)
2000–2001	Mallorca	31	(5)
2001–2003	Ipswich Town	35	(7)
2003–2004	Mallorca	14	(8)
Total		433	(133)
National team
1991–2002	Nigeria	62	(6)
Teams managed
2021–2024	Enyimba
2024	Nigeria
Honours Representing Nigeria Africa Cup of Nations Winner 1994 Tunisia Team Runner-up 2000 Ghana & Nigeria Team
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

After playing for three different clubs in his home country, Finidi George joined Ajax club together with Nwankwo Kanu in 1993. During this period, Ajax's Eredivisie championship also contributed to the UEFA Champions League championship against Milan in the 1994-1995 season. In 1996, Finidi went to Spain and signed a contract with Real Betis. Although Finidi had previously held talks with Real Madrid, nothing came of them. He always scored double-digit goals during his years at Real Betis, and helped the club finish the league in fourth place in his first year at Real Betis. In the same year, the Andalusian team reached the final of the Copa del Rey, but although Finidi scored a goal, the cup was lost to Barcelona.

Finidi was transferred to RCD Mallorca in 2000. The following year, he moved from Spain to England and signed for Ipswich Town FC, one of the Premier League teams. However, his career here was not very bright and his contract was terminated in June 2003. Finidi re-signed for his former team Mallorca in November 2003. That season, Mallorca finished the league in 11th place. In the summer of 2004, he ended his active football career. Finidi returned to Real Betis as Director of International Football in November 2010.

International career

Finidi started to take part in the Nigerian national team in 1991. He made three assists to Rashidi Yekini in the 7-1 win against Burkina Faso in the African Cup of Nations qualifiers. He was again part of the team when they won the African Cup of Nations championship in Tunisia in 1994 . In subsequent tournaments, Nigeria, including Finidi, came second once and third twice.

Finidi participates in the FIFA World Cup twice with Nigeria. In the 1994 FIFA World Cup held in the USA , Nigeria reached the second round as the group winner, but lost to Italy, one of the finalists. Finidi scored a goal in the 2-0 cup match against Greece and celebrated his goal as a peeing dog. In the 1998 cup in France , Nigeria was eliminated again in the second round, this time by Denmark, and Finidi played in all the matches. Finidi left the Nigeria jersey in 2002, which he wore 62 times, scoring 6 goals.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Ajax	1993–94	Eredivisie	27	4	–		4	0	–		31	4
	1994–95		30	8	–		10	1	1	0	41	9
	1995–96		29	6	–		12	2	2	0	43	8
	Total		86	18	–		26	3	3	0	115	21
Real Betis	1996–97	La Liga	36	10	6	1	–		–		42	11
	1997–98		34	9	4	2	5	1	–		43	12
	1998–99		36	11	1	0	6	2	–		43	13
	1999–2000		24	8	–		–		–		24	8
	Total		130	38	11	3	11	3	–		152	44
Mallorca	2000–01	La Liga	31	5	4	2	–		–		35	7
Ipswich Town	2001–02	Premier League	25	6	–		4	1	–		29	7
	2002–03	First Division	10	1	–		5	0	2	0	17	1
	Total		35	7	–		9	1	2	0	46	8
Mallorca	2003–04	La Liga	14	0	–		3	0	–		17	0
Career Total			296	68	15	5	49	7	5	0	365	80

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Nigeria	1991	1	1
	1992	9	0
	1993	6	2
	1994	12	1
	1995	1	0
	1996	1	0
	1997	3	0
	1998	7	1
	1999	1	1
	2000	6	1
	2001	8	0
	2002	7	0
Total		62	6

Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each George goal.

List of international goals scored by Finidi George

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	27 July 1991	National Stadium, Lagos, Nigeria	Burkina Faso	7–1	7–1	1992 African Cup of Nations qualification
2	27 February 1993	Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu, Nigeria	Congo	2–0	2–0	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
3	8 October 1993	Stade du 5 Juillet, Algiers, Algeria	Algeria	1–0	1–1	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
4	30 June 1994	Foxboro Stadium, Foxborough, USA	Greece	1–0	2–0	1994 FIFA World Cup
5	23 January 1999	Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, Nigeria	Burundi	2–0	2–0	2000 African Cup of Nations qualification
6	3 February 2000	National Stadium, Lagos, Nigeria	Morocco	1–0	2–0	2000 African Cup of Nations

Managerial

As of 30 August 2024

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	From	To	Record
			P	W	D	L	Win %
Enyimba	15 September 2021	12 May 2024	65	29	15	21	044.6
Nigeria	29 April 2024	15 June 2024	2	0	1	1	000.0
Rivers United	4 July 2024	Present	0	0	0	0	!—
Total			67	29	16	22	043.3

Honours

Club

Ajax

• Eredivisie: 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96
• Johan Cruijff Shield: 1994, 1995
• UEFA Champions League: 1994–95;
• Runner-up 1995–96
• UEFA Super Cup: 1995
• Intercontinental Cup: 1995

Betis

• Copa del Rey runner-up: 1996–97

International

Nigeria

• Africa Cup of Nations: 1994 Runner-up 2000 Third place 1992, 2002