Nwankwo Kanu Personal information Full name Nwankwo Kanu[1] Date of birth 1 August 1976 (age 38) Place of birth Owerri, Nigeria Height 1.97 m (6 ft 5 ½ in)[2] Playing position Forward Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 1992–1993 Iwuanyanwu Nationale 25 (15) 1993–1996 Ajax 54 (25) 1996–1999 Internazionale 12 (1) 1999–2004 Arsenal 119 (30) 2004–2006 West Bromwich Albion 53 (7) 2006–2012 Portsmouth 141 (20) Total 404 (98) National team 1993 Nigeria U17 6 (5) 1996 Nigeria U23 6 (3) 1994–2011 Nigeria 87 (12) Honours Nwankwo Kanu, OON (born 1 August 1976), or simply Kanu, is a retired Nigerian footballer. He was a member of and later captained the Nigerian national team for 16 years from 1994 until 2010. Kanu is a member of the Igbo ethnic group;[3] his name, Nwankwo, means Child born on Nkwo market day in the Igbo language.[4] Kanu has won a UEFA Champions League medal, a UEFA Cup medal, three FA Cup Winners Medals and two African Player of the Year awards amongst others. He is also one of few players to have won the Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League, UEFA Cup and an Olympic Gold Medal.[5] He made the third-most substitute appearances in Premier League history, appearing from the bench 118 times.[6] He is also a UNICEF ambassador.[7] Senior career Arsenal In February 1999, after just twelve games and one goal for Inter, Kanu was signed by Arsenal for approximately £4.15 million. His debut for Arsenal, against Sheffield United in the FA Cup, was a highly unusual match. With the score 1–1 and ten minutes to go, the United goalkeeper, Alan Kelly, kicked the ball out of touch so that treatment could be given to an injured player. When the ball was thrown back into play by Ray Parlour, although it was intended for Kelly, Kanu was unaware of the circumstances. Thinking it to be an attacking move, he chased the throw-in down the right wing unchallenged, and centred the ball for Marc Overmars, who promptly scored to make the match 2–1. Immediately after the match Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger offered to right the error and replay the match;[10] in the end, Arsenal won that match 2–1 as well.[11] Despite the events overshadowing his debut, Kanus career was quickly revived at Arsenal. He scored his first goal for the club in the next round of the cup against Derby County, coming off the bench to net the only goal of the game. He quickly became known for his goalscoring prowess from the bench, scoring important goals against Sheffield Wednesday, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa as a substitute. He became very popular among the fans for his two-fingered salute – something that he later explained was based on the teams nickname, The Gunners – which started in 1999 against Middlesbrough. Kanu was named African Footballer of the Year for the second time in 1999, and in 1999–2000 he scored 17 times in 50 matches for the Gunners, including a hatrick in fifteen minutes against Chelsea to turn a 2–0 deficit to a 3–2 victory. In August 2001, Arsenal rejected a bid from Fulham of around £7m for Kanu.[12] However, Kanus appearances for Arsenal gradually became less frequent, particularly after the emergence of Thierry Henry as Arsenals first choice striker, when Kanu was mainly used as a substitute. Despite this, Kanu won the Double with Arsenal in 2002, an FA Cup in 2003 (as an unused sub) and the Premier League title in 2004. His final season brought 10 league appearances – the minimum to qualify for a title winners medal.[13] In all he played 197 games for Arsenal (nearly half of them as a substitute), scoring 44 goals. In the summer of 2004, after his contract with Arsenal ended, he moved to West Bromwich Albion on a free transfer. In 2008, Kanu was voted 13th in the Gunners Greatest 50 Players poll.[14]
Posted on: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 13:26:01 +0000
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