 Onuoha playing for Manchester City in 2007 |
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Chinedum Onuoha[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 12 November 1986 [1] | ||
| Place of birth | Warri, Nigeria | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[1] | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Queens Park Rangers | ||
| Number | 15 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1996–2004 | Manchester City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2004–2012 | Manchester City | 95 | (3) |
| 2010–2011 | → Sunderland (loan) | 31 | (1) |
| 2012– | Queens Park Rangers | 32 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2005–2009 | England U21 | 21 | (2) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 01:04, 29 November 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). |
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Chinedum "Nedum" Onuoha (born 12 November 1986) is footballer who plays for Queens Park Rangers. He is a defender, typically a centre back, but he can also play at right back or left back.
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Biography [edit]
Born in Warri, Nigeria,[1] Onuoha was brought up in Manchester, England. He went to Nelson Street Primary School Miles Platting before becoming a pupil at the Hulme Grammar School, Oldham, where he achieved eight grade 'A's' and two 'B's' at GCSE. He then completed his studies at Xaverian College Manchester where he achieved three 'A' grades at A-level in Maths, Business Studies and IT before rejecting a medical career in favour of football.[2][3] An outstanding junior sprinter; aged 14 he finished in second place in the final of the 2001 English School's Athletics Association Junior 100 metres contest, clocking 11.09 seconds and beating current Great Britain sprinter Craig Pickering.[4]
He is also currently the co-national record holder for boys under 15 standing triple jump, in the Sports Hall events held annually throughout the UK, the record is held with international long jumper Jonathan Moore.
He is known to have supported Manchester City as a boy and attended the Manchester City youth academy.
Club career [edit]
Manchester City [edit]
Onuoha played regularly for Manchester City's reserves in the 2003–04 season, and had his first involvement with the Manchester City first team in the 2004–05 pre-season, playing in a friendly against Bury.[5] He made his first team debut against Arsenal in the League Cup on 27 October 2004, at the age of 17. He made his Premier League debut as a substitute on 1 November 2004 at home to Norwich City. Though Onuoha's natural position is centre-half, manager Kevin Keegan initially played him at right back with the intention of improving his passing ability.[6] Against Doncaster Rovers in a League Cup match, Onuoha was red carded for the first time in his career. Man City went on to lose the game on penalties.
Onuoha made 18 appearances in his debut season, but suffered a series of injuries during the 2005–06 season, meaning he played only 12 games.
Due to injuries to various first choice players during the 2006–07 season, Onuoha enjoyed several long spells in the first team. He soon established himself and was rewarded with a new four-year contract.
He captained the Manchester City side to a 2–1 victory over Bristol City in the League Cup second round. He scored his first goal for City at home against Tottenham Hotspur on 16 March 2008 in a 2–1 win.[7] On 5 April 2008 Onuoha dislocated his shoulder in a game against Chelsea and was ruled out for the remainder of the 2007–08 season following surgery.[8]
The first half of the 2008–09 season was an injury-plagued time for Onuoha, missing most matches, however after City's 3–0 defeat to Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup, he started every single game until the end of the season, forming an effective partnership with Richard Dunne in the centre of defence.
On 29 July 2009, Onuoha agreed to a new five-year deal with Manchester City.
Sunderland loan [edit]
In August 2010, Onuoha joined Sunderland on a season-long loan. He made his Sunderland début on 14 August against Birmingham City at the Stadium of Light. He scored his first goal as the result of a brilliant dribble around three Chelsea defenders for Sunderland in a 3-0 win against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on 14 November 2010.
Queens Park Rangers [edit]
On 26 January 2012, Onuoha agreed to a four and a half year deal with Queens Park Rangers, reuniting him with his former manager Mark Hughes.[9][10] The transfer fee was undisclosed, but thought to be in the region of £3 million. In only his second game for QPR, Onuoha scored an own goal while playing against Blackburn Rovers.
International career [edit]
Onuoha was a regular in the England U-21 side, making his debut on 12 October 2005. He was part of the squad participating in the 2007 European Under 21s Championship in the Netherlands. During the Championships Onuoha was subjected to racist abuse from Serbian fans, but received praise for maintaining his conduct amid provocation.[11][12] He was a regular at centre back, partnering Steven Taylor. During the semi-final against the Netherlands, he limped off with an injury and England were down to ten men as all three of the permitted substitutions had been made; they lost 13–12 on penalties. He captained the England Under-21 team for the first time in a 0–0 draw with Poland Under-21s. In the summer of 2009 he took part in the European Championships and played his last match for the U-21's.
In March 2007, Onuoha received an international callup from Nigeria,[13] but has announced he would like to represent England at full international level. However, he has since admitted that he would play at the FIFA World Cup for Nigeria if he were to be called up.[14]
References [edit]
- ^ a b c d Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Mainstream Publishing. p. 320. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
- ^ Smith, Alan (18 August 2007). "Man City prodigy Nedum Onuoha is ready". The Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved 20 May 2010.
- ^ Roonay, Barney (30 March 2012). "Nedum Onuoha: Of course I would like Manchester City to win the title". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 30 March 2012.
- ^ ESAA National Track & Field Championships 2001
- ^ "Nedum Onuoha". ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved 25 March 2007.
- ^ "Nedum lines up for City stardom". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 25 March 2007.
- ^ "Man City 2–1 Tottenham". BBC Sport. 16 March 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2009.
- ^ "Man City's Onuoha out for season". BBC Sport. 8 April 2008. Retrieved 8 April 2008.
- ^ "R'S Swoop For Onuoha". Queens Park Rangers F.C. 26 January 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
- ^ "Nedum Onuoha signs for QPR from Manchester City". BBC Sport. 26 January 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
- ^ Hughes, Matt (19 June 2007). "Onuoha standing tall in the face of 'racist' provocation". The Times (London). Retrieved 20 June 2007.
- ^ "Pearce singles out Onuoha for special praise". ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved 20 June 2007.
- ^ "Nedum called into Nigerian national squad". Manchester City official website. Retrieved 25 March 2007.[dead link]
- ^ "Onuoha considers Nigeria switch". BBC Sport. 6 April 2010. Retrieved 11 April 2010.
External links [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nedum Onuoha |
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