Jonathan Akpoborie
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | 20 October 1968 | ||
Place of birth | Lagos, Nigeria | ||
Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
Position(s) | Forward | ||
Youth career | |||
1987 |
Julius Berger F.C. | ||
1987–1990 | Brooklyn College | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1990–1992 | 1. FC Saarbrücken | 53 | (9) |
1992–1994 | Carl Zeiss Jena | 74 | (26) |
1994–1995 | Stuttgarter Kickers | 32 | (37) |
1995 | Waldhof Mannheim | 18 | (9) |
1996–1997 | Hansa Rostock | 47 | (20) |
1997–1999 | VfB Stuttgart | 58 | (22) |
1999–2001 | VfL Wolfsburg | 39 | (20) |
2001–2002 | 1. FC Saarbrücken | 4 | (0) |
Total | 325 | (143) | |
International career | |||
1992–2001 | Nigeria | 13 | (4) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Jonathan Akpoborie (born 20 October 1968) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a forward and spent the majority of his playing career in Germany.
Club career
Akpoborie started his professional career at
Akpoborie finished his playing career at Saarbrücken in 2002.
International career
Akpoborie was part of the Nigeria team that won the first edition of the FIFA U-16 Championship in 1985, scoring in the final against the then West Germany. Two years later, he featured for the Flying Eagles at the 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship in Chile.
He attended and played for Brooklyn College.[2]
At the senior level, he was selected for the
Akpoborie was surprisingly dropped from
In 1999, Dutch manager
Akpoborie featured in a number of games ahead of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. In the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF first round, he scored his fourth goal in Nigeria's 4–0 win over Eritrea in Lagos.
Slave ship allegations
In 2001, Akpoborie made the headlines when a boat, managed by his family, was stopped in Benin after allegations that it was carrying children into slavery in Gabon.[3][4] The incident led to Akpoborie's suspension from the Wolfsburg team and eventually, after a brief sojourn at Saarbrücken, to his retirement. The story of the ship, her passengers and her owner has been covered by the documentary Das Schiff des Torjägers (The Goalgetter's Ship) by Swiss director Heidi Specogna.[5]
Personal life
Akpoborie now resides in Lagos. He works as a player agent for Rogon Sports Management.[6]
References
- ^ "Akpoborie, Jonathan". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 25 December 2009.
- ^ "I refused to beg to play at france'98 –Akpoborie". Sports Rendezvous. 20 July 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
- ^ "Akpoborie: 'Unlucky slave ship' owner". BBC. 2 May 2001. Retrieved 30 September 2007.
- ^ "Slave ship link soccer star suspended". CNN. 30 April 2001. Retrieved 30 September 2007.
- ^ "Sklavenhändler und Spielervermittler". Die Zeit. 29 November 2010. Retrieved 29 November 2010.
- ^ "Vom Pranger ins Abseits" (in German). FAZ. 10 May 2002. Retrieved 25 December 2009.
External links
- Biography Archived 29 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine at Worldsoccer.com
- Jonathan Akpoborie at fussballdaten.de (in German)