Efan Ekoku
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Efangwu Goziem Ekoku | ||
Date of birth | 8 June 1967 | ||
Place of birth |
Cheetham Hill , Manchester, England | ||
Position(s) |
Striker | ||
Youth career | |||
1989–1990 | Sutton United | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1989–1990 | Sutton United | 57 | (12) |
1990–1993 | AFC Bournemouth | 62 | (21) |
1993–1994 | Norwich City | 38 | (16) |
1994–1999 | Wimbledon | 123 | (37) |
1999–2001 | Grasshoppers | 28 | (19) |
2000–2001 | → Sheffield Wednesday (loan) | 32 | (7) |
2001–2003 | Sheffield Wednesday | 27 | (7) |
2003 | Brentford | 0 | (0) |
2004 | Dublin City | 13 | (0) |
Total | 335 | (119) | |
International career | |||
1994–1995 | Nigeria | 6 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Efangwu Goziem Ekoku (born 8 June 1967) is a Nigerian former professional footballer, and sports commentator.
As a player, he was a
Playing career
Ekoku began his career at
He arrived at Carrow Road when Norwich were in the thick of the title race under the management of Mike Walker. Ekoku scored three goals in ten games in what was left of that campaign, and although Norwich were beaten to the title by Manchester United, Ekoku and his teammates had achieved a third-place finish and qualified for the UEFA Cup.[citation needed]
He scored Norwich's first ever goal in European competition, against
He remained at Carrow Road until 14 October 1994, when a £1 million fee took him to Wimbledon to replace long-serving John Fashanu as strike partner to Dean Holdsworth. Ekoku had played six times for the Canaries in 1994–95, but didn't score a goal and was faced with competition for a regular place in the Carrow Road attack from new signing Mike Sheron.[1]
He was the club's top scorer in the league that season with nine goals as they finished ninth in the league.[citation needed]
He managed seven goals in the 1995–96 season and had a particularly exciting campaign in 1996–97, when Wimbledon finished eighth and were semi-finalists in both of the domestic cups. He was also their top scorer with 11 league goals.[citation needed]
However, his first team chances were restricted over the next two seasons, and after nearly a year on the transfer list - and a number of clubs expressing interest in signing him - he moved to Switzerland in a £500,000 move to Grasshoppers on 27 August 1999. He had first requested to leave the club a year earlier, when he had declared his interest in joining a bigger Premier League club, and was subject of interest from the likes of Everton, Leicester City, Nottingham Forest and Southampton, with fees as high as £4 million being quoted.[2]
His first season in Switzerland was very successful, as he scored 16 goals in 21 games, although he failed to pick up any silverware. He played a further seven games and scored three goals before returning to England on a free transfer to Sheffield Wednesday on 20 October 2000.[citation needed]
He arrived at
In 2012, Ekoku was inducted into the
Media career
Ekoku works as a commentator for
Coaching career
Ekoku has obtained all of his FA and UEFA coaching badges.[7]
Personal life
Ekoku is a regular at AFC Wimbledon, which is the phoenix club of the original Wimbledon for which he played.[8]
Honours
- Nigeria
- 1994
- Individual
- Norwich City F.C. Hall of Fame 2012 Inductee[9]
References
- ^ "Flown from the Nest - Efan Ekoku".
- ^ a b "Flown From the Nest – Efan Ekoku". www.ex-canaries.co.uk. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
- ^ "Brentford | News | Latest News | Latest News | EKOKU SIGNS". world.brentfordfc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 12 February 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
- ^ [1]"Efan Ekoku" "Sportingheroes.net" 20 September 1997
- ^ "Norwich City | Club | History | History | NEW HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES". world.canaries.co.uk. Archived from the original on 19 February 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
- ^ "Efan Ekoku Match Analyst 2010 FIFA World Cup" ESPNews 3 May 2010, retrieved 28 May 2010.
- ^ "Efan Ekoku". Archived from the original on 5 June 2010. Retrieved 28 May 2010. "Efan Ekoku Match Analyst 2010 FIFA World Cup" ESPNews 3 May 2010.
- ^ "An Evening with Efan Ekoku". YouTube. Archived from the original on 14 December 2021. "An Evening with Efan Ekoku"
- ^ "Norwich City | Club | History | History | NEW HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES". canaries.co.uk. 21 March 2012. Archived from the original on 21 September 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
External links
- Efan Ekoku at Soccerbase