Tijani Babangida
Personal information | ||||||||||||||
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Full name | Tijani Babangida | |||||||||||||
Date of birth | 25 September 1973 | |||||||||||||
Place of birth | Kaduna, Nigeria | |||||||||||||
Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)[1][2] | |||||||||||||
Position(s) | Winger | |||||||||||||
Youth career | ||||||||||||||
Arewa Textiles | ||||||||||||||
1990–1991 | Niger Tornadoes | |||||||||||||
Senior career* | ||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||
1991–1996 |
Roda JC | 78 | (26) | |||||||||||
1991–1993 | → VVV-Venlo (loan) | 34 | (19) | |||||||||||
1996–2003 | Ajax | 77 | (20) | |||||||||||
2000–2001 | → Gençlerbirliği (loan) | 12 | (2) | |||||||||||
2001–2002 | → Vitesse (loan) | 14 | (1) | |||||||||||
2002–2003 |
→ Al-Ittihad (loan) | 5 | (0) | |||||||||||
2003–2004 | Changchun Yatai | 29 | (8) | |||||||||||
Total | 249 | (76) | ||||||||||||
International career | ||||||||||||||
1994–2004 | Nigeria | 36 | (5) | |||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Tijani Babangida double with the latter side.
He played over 30 games for his national side, including four at the 1998 World Cup in France. He participated in two Africa Cup of Nations tournaments and won the 1996 Olympics with Nigeria. Babangida made his international debut in 1994. He lost his place in the squad right before the 2002 World Cup. After a two-year lay-off from international football, Babangida was recalled to the Nigeria team for the 2004 African Cup of Nations preparations in Tunisia.
Club career
Early career
Babangida was born in
Babangida received his breakthrough in the 1992–93 season as he scored 16 goals, helping Venlo to achieve promotion to Eredivisie.[7][9] The following season, Babangida returned to Roda, immediately becoming a first-team regular with the Kerkrade side. Babangida made a total of 29 league appearances for Roda that season, scoring 11 goals.[7]
Babangida spent two more seasons at Roda JC. Babangida's 10 league goals in 1995–96, made him the club's top scorer that season.
Ajax
Babangida joined Ajax in the summer of 1996 in a long-anticipated €5 million move.[1] He appeared in 29 league games, scoring four goals in his first season with Ajax.[7] Babangida played an important role in Ajax's European campaign, scoring three goals, including one against Auxerre in the group stages,[11] and the winning goal in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League encounter with Atlético Madrid at the Vicente Calderón Stadium, that put Ajax through to the semi-finals of the competition.[12]
Babangida had a successful second season with the club as he helped Ajax to another Eredivisie title with a 39-point gap over PSV Eindhoven, while his 13 league goals in 26 games made him the club's third top scorer, behind Shota Arveladze and Jari Litmanen.[13] Ajax clinched the second title of the season with a 5–0 victory over PSV in the KNVB Cup final, with the Nigerian scoring the first goal.[1]
Babangida's fortunes started to change towards the end of 1998. Having missed the start of the season with malaria,
Babangida saw even less playing time after the 1999 season, as he made a mere eight appearances the following year and didn't play a single game in the first half of the 2000–01 season.[7] In an attempt to offload the player, Ajax came to an agreement with the Turkish Süper Lig side Gençlerbirliği, who signed Babangida on a half-year loan deal until the end of the season.[16]
Later career
The spell in Turkey, however, proved to be an unhappy time for Babangida and the
He then signed a six-month loan deal with
As a
International career
Babangida received his first call-up to the senior Nigeria national team for a pre-World Cup friendly against Romania in 1994. He then played in a friendly against Georgia, but did not make the final squad for 1994 World Cup.[1]
Babangida's international chances were partly limited due to the fact that he often found himself behind
Babangida only made his
He then featured in Nigeria's run to the 2002 World Cup finals, scoring two important first-half goals against Ghana on the final day of the 2002 World Cup qualification, helping Nigeria seal the final African region World Cup berth.[40] Babangida played in all of his team's games at the 2002 Nations Cup, but was dropped ahead of the World Cup, alongside several other experienced players like Sunday Oliseh and Finidi George.[41] He was recalled to the national team for the pre-Nations Cup training camp in Faro, Portugal in 2004, but did not make the final squad, making the 2002 Cup of Nations his last major international tournament.[42]
Personal life
Babangida, sometimes nicknamed "TJ",[17] was born into a large family in the city of Kaduna in 1973. He was married to Rabah (now his ex), the sister of Daniel Amokachi's wife.[1] Two of his nine brothers, Ibrahim and Haruna are also footballers.[43] The former spent five years at Volendam, while the latter became the youngest ever player in the history of Spanish football to have a buy-out clause in his contract and the second youngest player to appear for FC Barcelona, when he made his debut in 1998 as a fifteen-year-old.[43][44][45] In 1997 Babangida acted in a commercial ad for ABN-AMRO in which he points out his hesitations about a contract of some sort. In 2004, Babangida signed a $2 million contract to bring new footballs to Nigeria.[46] The same year, he opened a shopping mall in Kaduna.[46] Upon retiring from professional football, Babangida has been working as a football agent.[47]
Career statistics
Club
Club | Season | League | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | ||
VVV-Venlo (loan) | 1991–92 | Eredivisie | 6 | 3 |
1992–93 |
Eerste Divisie | 28 | 16 | |
Total | 34 | 19 | ||
Roda |
1993–94 | Eredivisie | 29 | 11 |
1994–95 | 20 | 5 | ||
1995–96 | 29 | 10 | ||
Total | 78 | 26 | ||
Ajax | 1996–97 | Eredivisie | 25 | 4 |
1997–98 | 26 | 13 | ||
1998–99 | 18 | 2 | ||
1999–2000 | 8 | 1 | ||
Total | 77 | 20 | ||
Gençlerbirliği (loan) | 2000–01 |
Turkish First Football League | 12 | 2 |
Vitesse (loan) |
2001–02 | Eredivisie | 14 | 1 |
Al-Ittihad (loan) | 2002–03 |
Saudi Premier League |
5 | 0 |
Changchun Yatai | 2003 | Jia-B League | 9 | 4 |
2004 | League One | 20 | 4 | |
Total | 29 | 8 | ||
Career total | 249 | 76 |
International
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Nigeria | 1994 | 2 | 0 |
1995 | 0 | 0 | |
1996 | 0 | 0 | |
1997 | 2 | 0 | |
1998 | 7 | 1 | |
1999 | 3 | 0 | |
2000 | 10 | 2 | |
2001 | 7 | 2 | |
2002 | 5 | 0 | |
Total | 36 | 5 |
- Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Babangida goal.
No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 28 June 1998 | Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France | Denmark | 1–4 | 1–4 | 1998 World Cup |
2 | 10 February 2000 | National Stadium, Lagos , Nigeria |
South Africa | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2000 African Cup of Nations |
3 | 2–0 | |||||
4 | 29 July 2001 | Liberation Stadium, Port Harcourt , Nigeria |
Ghana | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2002 World Cup qualifier |
5 | 3–0 |
Honours
- Summer Olympics: 1996
- Eredivisie: 1997–98
- KNVB Cup: 1997–98, 1998–99
- Turkish Cup: 2000–01
- Jia B: 2003
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Tijjani Babangida". NigerianPlayers. Archived from the original on 14 March 2007. Retrieved 6 September 2008.
- ^ Tijani Babangida at National-Football-Teams.com
- ^ a b "Robson poised to sign Porto keeper". The Independent. London. 5 June 1996. Retrieved 28 October 2010.
- ^ We spraken Tijani Babangida over mooie vrouwen, PES en Louis van Gaal vice.com
- ^ "Tijani Babangida". Eagles Profile. Archived from the original on 10 June 2007. Retrieved 21 February 2008.
- ^ "Tijani Babangida". 123Football. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 21 February 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Tijani Babangida". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 21 February 2008.
- ^ "Netherlands 1991/92". RSSSF. Retrieved 21 February 2008.
- ^ "Netherlands 1992/93". RSSSF. Retrieved 22 February 2008.
- ^ "Roda JC 1995/96". Voetbal International. Archived from the original on 12 January 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2008.
- ^ "Football: Fenerbahce stay alive with a late strike". The Independent. London. 21 November 1996. Retrieved 28 October 2010.
- ^ "Babangida Thrills Ajax". The Independent. London. 20 March 1997. Retrieved 28 October 2010.
- ^ "Eredivisie history". Eredivisie. Archived from the original on 8 October 2007. Retrieved 6 September 2008.
- ^ "Nigerian and Ajax striker Babangida has malaria". World Soccer News. 24 July 1998. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
- ^ "UEFA Champions League 1998–99". RSSSF. Retrieved 9 November 2008.
- ^ a b "Babangida optimistic". BBC Sport. BBC. 12 November 2001. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
- ^ a b "Babangida rules out Ajax return". BBC Sport. 2 April 2002. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
- ^ "Vitesse Arnhem 2001–02 fixtures". ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved 2 February 2008.
- ^ "Tijani Babandgida". Vitesseplanet. Archived from the original on 3 July 2007. Retrieved 1 December 2007.
- ^ "Mido's tip sends Tijjani Babangida to Saudis Al-Ittihad". MiddleEastFootball. Archived from the original on 12 October 2002. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
- ^ "Babangida wants permission to leave Al-Ittihad". MiddleEastFootball. Archived from the original on 27 November 2002. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
- ^ Lyttleton, Ben (2 February 2003). "Camara hammers the boss". London: The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
- ^ "Babangida Returns to Ajax". AllAfrica.com. 5 February 2003. Retrieved 26 November 2011. (registration required)
- ^ "Ajax en Babangida definitief uit elkaar" (in Dutch). Voetbal International. 29 April 2003. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
- ^ "Chinese First Division Side Likely to Land Babangida". People's Daily. Archived from the original on 25 November 2003. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
- ^ "Babangida close to China deal". KickOffNigeria. Archived from the original on 6 May 2006. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
- ^ "Changchun Yatai (2003)". National Football Teams. Retrieved 16 November 2008.
- ^ "China 2003". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 24 May 2011. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
- ^ "China 2004". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 29 September 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
- ^ Babalola, Taofeek (30 May 2008). "Holland no threat to Dream Team IV —Babangida". The Nation. Retrieved 9 October 2008.
- ^ "Nigeria defeats Argentina for gold". USA Today. Retrieved 9 October 2008.
- ^ "Nigeria – Brazil". FIFA. Archived from the original on 9 November 2007. Retrieved 9 October 2008.
- ^ "Nigeria – Argentina". FIFA. Archived from the original on 24 November 2007. Retrieved 9 October 2008.
- ^ "Top goals". FIFA. Archived from the original on 17 October 2007. Retrieved 9 October 2008.
- ^ "FIFA XI Matches". RSSSF. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
- ^ "History of African Nations cup since 1957". Egypt State Information Service. Archived from the original on 18 November 2008. Retrieved 16 November 2008.
- ^ a b "African Nations Cup 2000 – Final Tournament Details". RSSSF. Retrieved 9 October 2008.
- ^ "Semi–final success unites Nigeria". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 11 February 2000. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
- ^ "Cameroon are Kings of Africa". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 13 February 2000. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
- ^ Asand, Albert (30 July 2001). "Football: Nigeria win ticket to World Cup". The Independent. London. Retrieved 28 October 2010.[dead link]
- ^ "Oliseh's Nigerian future uncertain". BBC Sport. 28 March 2002. Retrieved 10 October 2008.
- ^ "Babangida, Ikedia Hit Camp". Nigerian News Radio. Archived from the original on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
- ^ a b "Haruna Babangida". NigerianPlayers. Archived from the original on 11 December 2006. Retrieved 12 October 2008.
- ^ "Two debuts to remember". FC Barcelona official website. Archived from the original on 26 May 2012. Retrieved 12 October 2008.
- ^ "Ibrahim Babangida". Voetbal international. Retrieved 12 October 2008.
- ^ a b "Babangida Seals $2m Deal". KickOffNigeria. Archived from the original on 26 January 2005. Retrieved 12 October 2008.
- ^ "Ukrainian club sign Dolphins duo". KickOffNigeria. Archived from the original on 18 December 2007. Retrieved 12 October 2008.
External links
- Tijani Babangida – FIFA competition record (archived)