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Odafa Okolie

Okolie with Churchill Brothers in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Odafa Onyeka Okolie
Date of birth	(1985-06-06) 6 June 1985 (age 39)
Place of birth	Nigeria
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
2002–2003	Peerless
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2003–2004	Mohammedan	?	(1)
2004–2005	Muktijoddha	28	(34)
2005–2011	Churchill Brothers	116	(117)
2011–2014	Mohun Bagan	60	(51)
2014–2016	Churchill Brothers	0	(0)
2014–2016	→ Sporting Goa (loan)	23	(14)
2017	Southern Samity	9	(9)
2018	Gokulam Kerala	3	(0)
Total		239	(226)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Odafa Onyeka Okolie (born 6 June 1985) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who spent most of his career in India. He last played for Gokulam Kerala in the I-League. He was once the highest paid footballer in I-league history, earning approximately ₹16 million per year in 2011 while playing for Mohun Bagan. Odafa is second in the list of all-time leading goalscorer in the I-League and National Football League history with 179 goals, and has been the top goal scorer on three consecutive seasons.

He also holds the record for scoring the most hat-tricks in I-League and National Football League combined, with 14 hat-tricks across all seasons, including 13 of those in the I-League.

Career

Early career

Okolie started his career in 2002 as a defender with Kolkata based clubs Peerless SC and Mohammedan.

Churchill Brothers

After a lackluster start to his career which saw him play for Indian club Mohammedan, and Bangladeshi club Muktijoddha SKC where he scored 34 goals from 28 appearances. In 2005, Okolie went back to India and signed for Churchill Brothers as a striker. He debuted for the club in 2005–06 National Football League Second Division and scored 4 goals, which helped the club getting promoted to the National Football League. 2006–07 National Football League was break out season for him, as he scored 18 goals and became the top scorer of the league. Okolie was the top scorer in newly formed I-League in two consecutive seasons and won the league in 2008–09. He scored record 113 top division league goals for the club.

Mohun Bagan

On 1 June 2011, he signed a then record one-year deal with Mohun Bagan for approximately $600,000. On 23 October 2011, Odafa scored a hat-trick in his debut for Bagan in a 3–1 victory over Pailan Arrows.

Return to Churchill Brothers and loan to Sporting Goa

On 13 May 2014, Okolie re-joined Churchill Brothers, but later in March 2015, he joined Sporting Goa on a loan deal after Churchill brothers were excluded from the I-League. He helped the club narrowly avoid relegation and was subsequently retained for another season.

Southern Samity

In March 2017, Okolie Joined I-League 2nd Division club Southern Samity. He scored 9 goals in the 2016–17 I-League 2nd Division and became the top scorer.

Gokulam Kerala

In January 2018, Okolie joined I-League club Gokulam Kerala.

Career statistics

As of match played 15 January 2018

1. One appearance in AFC Champions League qualifying play-off, Four appearance and three goals AFC Cup

Honours

Churchill Brothers

• I-League: 2008–09; runner-up 2007–08
• Durand Cup: 2007, 2009
• IFA Shield: 2009

Muktijoddha SKC

• Federation Cup (Bangladesh) runner-up: 2005

Individual

• National Football League (India) Golden Boot: 2006–07 (18 goals)
• I-League top scorer: 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10

References

1. "From the history book, roll of honour". the-aiff.com. All India Football Federation. 10 January 2015. Archived from the original on 9 January 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
2. Sengupta, Somnath (13 July 2011). "Tactical Evolution Of Indian Football: Part Four – Modern Era (1999—2011)". thehardtackle.com. Kolkata: The Hard Tackle. Archived from the original on 18 September 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
3. "Player profile of Odafe". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 2 May 2012. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
4. ^ Mohun Bagan sign Odafe for record Rs 3 crore one-year deal
5. By the numbers: Mohun Bagan soar past 600 goals in national league Archived 27 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine ESPN.in
6. Mohun Bagan signs Odafe for record Rs. 3 crore one-year deal
7. ^ "From the History Book". All India Football Federation. the-aiff.com. Archived from the original on 17 July 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
8. "NFL Champions and Goalscorers". Rediff. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
9. "From defence to attack: Odafa is the man for all seasons". indianexpress.com. Archived from the original on 12 September 2014.
10. ^ "Leading Goal Scorers". Rediff.com. 14 May 2004. Archived from the original on 28 August 2004. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
11. I-League 2008-2009 points table and statistics Archived 22 July 2021 at the Wayback Machine worldfootball.net. Retrieved 22 July 2021
12. "Goal.com, Match statistics between Mohun Bagan and Pailan Arrows". Archived from the original on 27 December 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
13. "Sporting Clube de Goa seek Odafa's scoring touch". Sportingclubedegoa. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
14. "Debutants Gokulam Kerala FC set to sign ex-Mohun Bagan star Odafa Okolie". mykhel.com. 2 January 2018. Archived from the original on 31 December 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
15. Odafa Onyeka Okolie at Soccerway
16. "India 2005/06". Archived from the original on 14 October 2022.
17. Chaudhuri, Arunava (24 November 2011). "1st "ONGC" I-League — Division 1 2007/08: from 24.November 2007 upto 23.February 2008 all over the country". IndianFootball.de. Archived from the original on 16 March 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
18. "ONGC I - LEAGUE 2007 - 2008 :Kolkatafootball.com". www.kolkatafootball.com. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
19. "I-League 2007–08". Indian Football. 24 November 2011. Archived from the original on 16 March 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
20. "I-League 2008–09". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 22 September 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2014.

Bibliography

• Kapadia, Novy (2017). Barefoot to Boots: The Many Lives of Indian Football. Penguin Random House. ISBN 978-0-143-42641-7.
• Mukhopadhay, Subir (2018). সোনায় লেখা ইতিহাসে মোহনবাগান (transl. Mohun Bagan in the history written in gold). ISBN 978-93-850172-0-9.
• Banerjee, Argha; Basu, Rupak (2022). মোহনবাগান: সবুজ ঘাসের মেরুন গল্প (transl. Mohun Bagan: Green fields' Maroon stories). Shalidhan. ISBN 978-81-954667-0-2.
• Dineo, Paul; Mills, James (2001). Soccer in South Asia: Empire, Nation, Diaspora. London, United Kingdom: Frank Cass Publishers. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-7146-8170-2. Archived from the original on 25 July 2022.
• Martinez, Dolores; Mukharji, Projit B (2009). Football: From England to the World: The Many Lives of Indian Football. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-138-88353-6. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022.
• Nath, Nirmal (2011). History of Indian Football: Upto 2009–10. Readers Service. ISBN 9788187891963. Archived from the original on 22 July 2022.
• Chattopadhyay, Hariprasad (17 January 2015). "Time to regain lost glory". telegraphindia.com. Kolkata: The Telegraph India. Archived from the original on 5 May 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
• "The Telegraph Calcutta — Odafe comes to Bagan with hope and promise". telegraphindia.com. Kolkata. 2 June 2012. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2011.

External links

• Odafa Onyeka Okolie at FBref.com
• Odafa Onyeka Okolie at GSA (archived)

• 1985 births
• Living people
• Nigerian men's footballers
• Expatriate men's footballers in India
• Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in India
• Churchill Brothers FC Goa players
• Expatriate men's footballers in Bangladesh
• I-League players
• Mohun Bagan Super Giant players
• SC de Goa players
• Muktijoddha Sangsad KC players
• Nigerian expatriate men's footballers
• Men's association football forwards
• Calcutta Football League players
• 21st-century Nigerian sportsmen