Innocent Emeghara
|
Emeghara with Switzerland in 2012 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Innocent Nkasiobi Emeghara | ||
| Date of birth | 27 May 1989 | ||
| Place of birth | Lagos, Nigeria | ||
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | San Jose Earthquakes | ||
| Number | 11 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2002–2003 | FC Töss | ||
| 2003–2006 | Winterthur | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2006–2009 | Zürich II | 47 | (16) |
| 2009–2010 | Winterthur | 28 | (17) |
| 2010–2011 | Grasshoppers | 40 | (14) |
| 2011–2013 | Lorient | 28 | (5) |
| 2013–2014 | Siena | 17 | (7) |
| 2013–2014 | → Livorno (loan) | 30 | (4) |
| 2014–2015 | Qarabağ | 7 | (4) |
| 2015– | San Jose Earthquakes | 13 | (1) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2011 | Switzerland U21 | 8 | (5) |
| 2012 | Switzerland Olympic | 4 | (1) |
| 2011– | Switzerland | 9 | (0) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18 November 2016. | |||
Innocent Nkasiobi Emeghara (born 27 May 1989) is a Swiss professional footballer striker who is currently a free agent.
Club career
Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Emeghara moved to Switzerland at the age of 13 (two years after his mother), and started playing football as a means to "cope with the language barrier and cold temperatures".[1] He began his senior career with FC Zürich's reserves aged only 17, going on to represent FC Winterthur and Grasshopper Club Zürich; on 20 August 2011, whilst at the service of the latter, he scored a hat-trick in a 4–3 away win against Servette FC, which meant he led the Super League's scoring charts at five in only six games.[2]
On 31 August 2011, Emeghara was sold to FC Lorient in France. He made his debut in Ligue 1 on 10 September, coming on as a substitute for Mathias Autret in a 1–1 draw at FC Sochaux-Montbéliard and netting the equalizer two minutes from time.[3] He scored four more league goals until the end of his first season, adding two in the Coupe de la Ligue.
In January 2013 Emeghara moved teams and countries again, joining Italian side A.C. Siena.[4] He scored four goals in as many matches to kickstart his Serie A career, including a brace in a 3–0 home success over S.S. Lazio on 18 February;[5] his team, however, finally suffered relegation after ranking second from bottom.
For the 2013–14 campaign Emeghara continued in Italy's top flight, being loaned to A.S. Livorno Calcio.[6][7] On 31 March 2014, he contributed with one goal to help the hosts come from behind to tie it 2–2 with Inter Milan.[8]
In July 2014, Emeghara became a free agent after Siena went into liquidation.[9] On 11 October he signed a three-year contract with Azerbaijan Premier League side FK Qarabağ,[10] but left on 5 January of the following year and began training with Winterthur,[11] before going on trial with HSV Hamburg the following week.[12]
Late into January 2015, Emeghara joined the San Jose Earthquakes.[13] He made his debut in the Major League Soccer on 8 March, playing one minute in a 0–1 away loss against FC Dallas.
International career
Emeghara opted to represent Switzerland internationally, and he made his debut on 4 June 2011 by playing one minute in a 2–2 draw in England for the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifiers.[14]
Still in that year, he helped the under-21 team finish second at the 2011 UEFA European Championship, scoring in the 2–0 group stage win against Iceland.
Statistics
Club
- As of 7 December 2014[15]
| Club performance | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Switzerland | League | Swiss Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 2006–07 | Zürich II | 1. Liga Classic | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 2 | ||
| 2007–08 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 5 | ||||
| 2008–09 | 26 | 9 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 9 | ||||
| 2009–10 | Winterthur | Challenge League | 28 | 17 | 3 | 5 | — | — | 31 | 22 | ||
| 2010–11 | Grasshoppers | Super League | 33 | 9 | 4 | 1 | — | 2 | 0 | 39 | 10 | |
| 2011–12 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 5 | ||||
| France | League | Coupe de France | Coupe de la Ligue | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 2011–12 | Lorient | Ligue 1 | 27 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | — | 31 | 7 | |
| 2012–13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Italy | League | Coppa Italia | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 2012–13 | Siena | Serie A | 17 | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 7 | ||
| 2013–14 | Livorno | 30 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 4 | |||
| Azerbaijan | League | Azerbaijan Cup | Supercup | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 2014–15[16] | Qarabağ | Premier League | 7 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 5 |
| Country | Switzerland | 115 | 47 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 128 | 53 | |
| France | 28 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 7 | ||
| Italy | 47 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 11 | ||
| Azerbaijan | 7 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 5 | ||
| Total | 197 | 66 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 211 | 76 | ||
International
- As of 23 March 2013[17]
| Switzerland | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2011 | 5 | 0 |
| 2012 | 3 | 0 |
| 2013 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 9 | 0 |
References
- ↑ "Innocent Emeghara, coupable d'être très doué" [Innocent Emeghara, guilty of being gifted] (in French). Tribune de Genève. 20 June 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
- ↑ "Xamax marque enfin et bat Zurich. Servette perd" [Xamax scores at last and beats Zurich. Servette loses] (in French). Radio Télévision Suisse. 20 August 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
- ↑ "Sochaux privé de réussite" [Sochaux deprived of success] (in French). Le Figaro. 10 September 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
- ↑ "Agra ed Emeghara in bianconero, depositati i contratti" [Agra and Emeghara in white-and-blue, contracts deposited] (in Italian). A.C. Siena. 25 January 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
- ↑ "Emeghara, "serial buteur" face à la Lazio" [Emeghara, "serial scorer" against Lazio] (in French). Radio Télévision Suisse. 18 February 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
- ↑ "Emeghara ceduto al Livorno" [Emeghara loaned to Livorno] (in Italian). A.C. Siena. 27 August 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
- ↑ "Official: Livorno sign Emeghara". Football Italia. 27 August 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
- ↑ "Inter let lead slip in Livorno". ESPN FC. 31 March 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
- ↑ "West Ham close to signing out-of-contract Swiss international". Brentwood Gazette. 16 September 2014. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
- ↑ "Emeghara rəsmən `Qarabağ`da" [Emeghara joins Qarabağ] (in Azerbaijani). FK Qarabağ. 11 October 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
- ↑ "Medienberichte & Klubnews zur Rückrunde" (in German). FC Winterthur. 6 January 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
- ↑ "Innocent Emeghara on trial at Hamburg". Vavel. 13 January 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
- ↑ "Quakes sign Innocent Emeghara as third designated player". San Jose Earthquakes. 31 January 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
- ↑ "England fight back to deny Switzerland". UEFA.com. 4 June 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
- ↑ "I. Emeghara". Soccerway. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
- ↑ Emeghara's appearance against Araz-Naxçıvan on 2 November 2014 is not included as this game was annulled
- ↑ "Innocent Emeghara". European Football. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
External links
- Innocent Emeghara at National-Football-Teams.com
- Innocent Emeghara – FIFA competition record
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