Peter Osaze Odemwingie is a footballer who plays as a winger or forward for Premier League side
West Bromwich AlbionWest Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...
. His name, Osaze, means "God chooses (for you)".
Raised in Russia, Odemwingie chose to pledge his allegiances to the
national team of NigeriaThe Nigeria national football team, nicknamed the Super Eagles or Green Eagles, is the national team of Nigeria and is controlled by the Nigeria Football Federation . The team has ranked as high as 5th in the FIFA World Rankings, in April 1994...
, although he was also eligible for
RussiaThe Russia national football team represents Russia in association football and is controlled by the Russian Football Union , the governing body for football in Russia. Russia's home grounds are Luzhniki Stadium, Lokomotiv Stadium , and Petrovsky Stadium in St.Petersburg and their head coach is...
and
UzbekistanThe Uzbekistan national football team represents Uzbekistan in association football and is controlled by the Uzbekistan Football Federation, the governing body for football in Uzbekistan...
.
Early career
Born in
TashkentTashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...
, Uzbek SSR,
USSRThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, Odemwingie played in the
youth systemYouth system is a sporting terminology used to refer to a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team if they show enough promise, and to fill up squads numbers in some teams...
s at
KAMAZKAMAZ is a Russian football club based in Naberezhnye Chelny, Tatarstan. The club is currently in the Russian First Division.Colours are all white. Light blue shirts, white shorts.-History:...
and
CSKA. He first plied his trade with
Nigerian Premier LeagueThe Nigeria Premier League is the highest level of domestic Nigerian football. It is fed into by the two First Division groups: the Nigerian Division 1-A and Nigerian Division 1-B. It is organized by the Nigeria Football Association. The NPL Chairman is Davidson Owunmi.- History :The league was...
side Bendel Insurance, where he scored 19 goals in 53 league appearances from 2000 to 2002. He signed for Belgian club
La LouvièreR.A.A. Louviéroise, sometimes referred to as La Louvière or RAAL, was a Belgian football club located in the city of La Louvière, in the province of Hainaut. It had been playing its latest run in the Belgian First Division from 2000-01 to 2005-06 included...
in 2002 and made his mark by helping the club to win the
Belgian CupThe Belgian Cup is the main knockout football competition in Belgium, run by the Belgian Football Association. The first cup was held in 1911-12. The most successful cup club is Club Brugge KV with 10 titles followed by RSC Anderlecht and R Standard de Liège...
in his first season. Scoring nine goals in 44 appearances attracted the attention of the French
Ligue 1Ligue 1 , is the French professional league for association football clubs. It is the country's primary football competition and serves as the top division of the French football league system. Ligue 1 is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Professionnel, the other being Ligue 2....
side
Lille OSCLOSC Lille Métropole is a French association football club based in Lille. The club was founded in 1944 as a result of a merger and currently play in Ligue 1, the first division of French football. Lille plays its home matches at the Stade Lille-Metropole in nearby Villeneuve-d'Ascq. In 2012, the...
and before long he was a starter in the first team playing in the French
Ligue 1Ligue 1 , is the French professional league for association football clubs. It is the country's primary football competition and serves as the top division of the French football league system. Ligue 1 is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Professionnel, the other being Ligue 2....
. Famous for his technique and pace, the Nigerian player was being monitored by a number of prestigious European clubs. Odemwingie indicated that he wanted to stay at Lille and help them fight for the league the following season and scored five league goals for them in the 2006–07 season as well as two against
A.C. MilanAssociazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
at the
San SiroThe Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, originally and commonly referred to as the San Siro because of its location, officially given its current name on 3 March 1980, is a football stadium located in the San Siro district in Milan, Italy. It is the home of both A.C. Milan and F.C. Internazionale Milano...
to take Lille to the
UEFA Champions LeagueThe UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
knockout stages.
However, on 16 July 2007, he signed for
Lokomotiv MoscowThe following years were rather successful as Lokomotiv were consistent in the national championships. However, performances after World War II suffered and actually in the space of five year Lokomotiv were relegated to the Soviet First League twice. In 1951, Lokomotiv came second and eventually...
for a reported fee of
$The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
14 million on a four-year contract. In three seasons for Lokomotiv, Odemwingie became the driving force of the attack and one of their most important players. During his time at
Lokomotiv StadiumLokomotiv Stadium may refer to the following stadia:* In Bulgaria:** Lokomotiv Stadium ** Lokomotiv Stadium ** Lokomotiv Stadium ** Lokomotiv Stadium * In Georgia:** Locomotive Stadium * In Russia:...
, Odemwingie managed 21 goals in the
Russian Premier LeagueThe Russian Premier League , currently called SOGAZ Russian Football Championship due to sponsorship reasons, is the top division of Russian football. There are 16 teams in the competition...
from 75 games.
West Bromwich Albion
On 20 August 2010 Odemwingie signed for English Premier League club
West Bromwich AlbionWest Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...
for an undisclosed fee on a two-year contract, with the option of a third year in the club's favour. A day later, he scored the 81st-minute winning goal on his Premier League debut, a 1–0 win against
SunderlandSunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
. Shortly after signing for West Brom, photographs showed Lokomotiv Moscow fans celebrating the sale of Odemwingie through the use of racist banners targeted at the player. One banner included the image of a banana and read "Thanks West Brom". Before West Brom's game against
Tottenham HotspurTottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
in September 2010, it was announced that West Brom fans would unfurl a banner to counter the racist one, the banner read 'Thanks Lokomotiv' and is accompanied by a picture of Odemwingie celebrating his winner on his debut against Sunderland. Odemwingie scored again for West Brom as they defeated
ArsenalArsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
3–2 at the
Emirates StadiumAshburton Grove, currently known as the Emirates Stadium, is a UEFA elite football stadium which is home to Arsenal FC, where they moved from Highbury in 2006. It has an current capacity of 60,361, and there have been rumours of an expansion...
on 25 September 2010. Odemwingie scored a brace for West Brom on 5 December 2010, as they defeated fellow promoted side
Newcastle UnitedNewcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
3–1 at the Hawthorns.
On 19 March 2011, Arsenal travelled to
The HawthornsThe Hawthorns is an all-seater football stadium in West Bromwich, Sandwell, England, with a capacity of 26,484. It has been the home of West Bromwich Albion F.C. since 1900, when it became the sixth ground to be used by the club. The ground was the last Football League ground to be built in the...
. The reverse fixture saw West Brom win 3–2 away from home, this time they were able to secure a 2–2 draw. Odemwingie scored the second goal for West Brom which brought his season tally in the Premier League to 10 goals, only two behind
Robert EarnshawRobert Earnshaw is a Welsh footballer who plays for Cardiff City and Wales. He is the only player to have scored a hat-trick in the English Premier League, Championship, League One, League Two , the League Cup, the FA Cup and for his country at International level.Earnshaw was born in Mufulira,...
's Premier League record for the club. 9 April saw West Brom travel to the
Stadium of LightThe Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England. With space for 49,000 spectators, the Stadium of Light has the fifth-largest capacity of any English football stadium. The stadium primarily hosts Sunderland A.F.C. matches...
to play Sunderland. Odemwingie continued to impress and scored a goal in the 29th minute to level the scores. His side eventually won 3–2, three points significantly helping his side's survival hopes. After the game, he announced his desire to keep on playing well for West Brom by aiming to score 15 league goals. On 16 April Odemwingie edged closer to this personal target when he became West Brom's joint top goalscorer ever in a single season in the Premier League with a goal against
ChelseaChelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
, bringing his tally to 12. Because of his continued success in his debut season in England, Odemwingie was reportedly targeted by a number of big clubs, including Italian giants
JuventusJuventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
. But Odemwingie along with his agent shunned these moves, saying that he desires to play for West Brom next season and that he is happy there.
Odemwingie continued his fine form, scoring a lovely curling effort with his left foot in the fifth minute against
Tottenham HotspurTottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
. This brought him on to 13 league goals for the season, and meant that he had scored four in his last five games. On 30 April, Odemwingie became the first player in West Brom's Premier League history to score in four consecutive games. This goal came against
Aston VillaAston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
and meant he had scored 15 goals thus far in his debut season. It would also contribute to Odemwingie's second Premier League
Player of the MonthThe Player of the Month is an association football award that recognises the best Premier League player each month of the season. The recipient is chosen by a panel assembled by the League's sponsor, and announced alongside the Manager of the Month on the first or second Friday of the following month...
award of the season. Odemwingie is only the sixth man to have received the accolade twice in a season in the award's history. His side faced
EvertonEverton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
at The Hawthorns on 14 May and Odemwingie provided an assist for
Youssuf Mulumbu to score the only goal of the game. The result put West Brom on 46 points, bolstering their chances of finishing as the Midland's highest placed club in the Premier League.
On 30 April 2011, it was reported in the
Birmingham MailThe Birmingham Mail is a tabloid newspaper based in Birmingham, UK but distributed around Birmingham, The Black Country, Solihull, Warwickshire and parts of Worcestershire and Staffordshire. The newspaper, which was re-branded from the Birmingham Evening Mail in October 2005, is one of the biggest...
that
AustralianAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
confectionary business owner and Albion fan Spencer Samaroo had promised to deliver a hamper of Australia's finest chocolate bars to Odemwingie should he reach 15 goals for the club that season. Nonetheless, Odemwingie ended the 2010–11 season as West Bromwich Albion's top goalscorer with a club record of 15 league goals.
On 18 August it was announced that Odemwingie had signed a new three-year agreement with West Bromwich Albion, after a £4 m bid from Wigan Athletic was turned down by the club.
After some injury setbacks, he scored his first goal of the 2011-12 season away to Norwich City, pouncing on a confusion between
Richie De LaetRitchie Ria Alfons De Laet is a Belgian footballer who currently plays as a defender for English side Norwich City on loan from Manchester United.-Stoke City:De Laet began his career at Belgian club Royal Antwerp...
and
Declan RuddDeclan Thomas Rudd is an English professional footballer, who plays for Norwich City as a goalkeeper.-Early life:Rudd joined the Norwich academy at the age of 9...
. Odemwingie's second goal of the season came in the Black Country derby, where West Bromwich Albion defeated the Dingles 2-0.
Club career statistics
|-
| 2000
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;"|Bendel Insurance
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;"|
Nigerian Premier LeagueThe Nigeria Premier League is the highest level of domestic Nigerian football. It is fed into by the two First Division groups: the Nigerian Division 1-A and Nigerian Division 1-B. It is organized by the Nigeria Football Association. The NPL Chairman is Davidson Owunmi.- History :The league was...
| 18 || 3 || colspan="2"|– || colspan="2"|– || colspan="2"|– || 18 || 3
|-
| 2001
| 17 || 7 || colspan="2"|– || colspan="2"|– || colspan="2"|– || 17 || 7
|-
| 2002
| 18 || 9 || colspan="2"|– || colspan="2"|– || colspan="2"|– || 18 || 9
|-
|-
| 2002–03
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;"|
La LouvièreR.A.A. Louviéroise, sometimes referred to as La Louvière or RAAL, was a Belgian football club located in the city of La Louvière, in the province of Hainaut. It had been playing its latest run in the Belgian First Division from 2000-01 to 2005-06 included...
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;"|Belgian First Division
| 14 || 2 || colspan="2"|– || colspan="2"|– || colspan="2"|– || 14 || 2
|-
| 2003–04
| 27 || 5 || colspan="2"|– || colspan="2"|– || 2 || 1 || 29 || 6
|-
| 2004–05
| 3 || 2 || colspan="2"|– || colspan="2"|– || colspan="2"|– || 3 || 2
|-
|-
| 2004–05
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;"|
Lille OSCLOSC Lille Métropole is a French association football club based in Lille. The club was founded in 1944 as a result of a merger and currently play in Ligue 1, the first division of French football. Lille plays its home matches at the Stade Lille-Metropole in nearby Villeneuve-d'Ascq. In 2012, the...
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;"|
Ligue 1Ligue 1 , is the French professional league for association football clubs. It is the country's primary football competition and serves as the top division of the French football league system. Ligue 1 is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Professionnel, the other being Ligue 2....
| 20 || 4 || colspan="2"|– || colspan="2"|– || 4 || 0 || 24 || 4
|-
| 2005–06
| 26 || 14 || colspan="2"|– || colspan="2"|– || 8 || 1 || 34 || 15
|-
| 2006–07
| 29 || 5 || 2 || 0 || colspan="2"|– || 9 || 2 || 40 || 7
|-
|-
| 2007
| rowspan="4" style="text-align:center;"|
Lokomotiv MoscowThe following years were rather successful as Lokomotiv were consistent in the national championships. However, performances after World War II suffered and actually in the space of five year Lokomotiv were relegated to the Soviet First League twice. In 1951, Lokomotiv came second and eventually...
| rowspan="4" style="text-align:center;"|
Russian Premier LeagueThe Russian Premier League , currently called SOGAZ Russian Football Championship due to sponsorship reasons, is the top division of Russian football. There are 16 teams in the competition...
| 14 || 4 || colspan="2"|– || colspan="2"|– || 5 || 2 || 19 || 6
|-
| 2008
| 26 || 10 || colspan="2"|– || colspan="2"|– || colspan="2"|– || 26 || 10
|-
| 2009
| 25 || 7 || colspan="2"|– || colspan="2"|– || colspan="2"|– || 25 || 7
|-
|
2010The 2010 Russian Premier League is the 19th season of the Russian football championship since the dissolution of the Soviet Union and 9th under the current Russian Premier League name. The season started on 12 March 2010. The last matches have been played on 29 November 2010. On 14 November 2010,...
| 10 || 0 || colspan="2"|– || colspan="2"|– || colspan="2"|– || 10 || 0
|-
|-
|
2010–11The 2010–11 season was West Bromwich Albion's fifth season in the Premier League. Albion return to the Premier League after being promoted from the Championship...
| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"|
West Bromwich AlbionWest Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...
| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"|Premier League
| 32 || 15 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || colspan="2"|– || 32 || 15
|-
|
2011–12The 2011–12 season is West Bromwich Albion's second consecutive season in the Premier League, their sixth in total. They will also compete in the League Cup and the FA Cup.-2011–12 Premier League squad:-Reserves and academy:...
| 3 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || colspan="2"|– || 3 || 1
|-
53 || 19 || colspan="2"|– || colspan="2"|– || colspan="2"|– || 53 || 19
44 || 9 || colspan="2"|– || colspan="2"|– || 2 || 1 || 46 || 10
75 || 23 || 2 || 0 || colspan="2"|– || 21 || 3 || 98 || 26
75 || 21 || colspan="2"|– || colspan="2"|– || 5 || 2 || 80 || 23
35 || 15 || colspan="2"|– || colspan="2"|– || colspan="2"|– || 35 || 15
282 || 87 || 2 || 0 || colspan="2"|– || 28 || 6 || 312 || 93
Odemwingie chose to represent Nigeria where his father was born. His first match came as a substitute in a 3–0 victory over
on 4 May 2002. In the finals, he scored in the 80th and 82nd minute against
. He also played in the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations where he played in the semi-final losing to Ivory Coast 1–0. He was included to play for
He captained the team for the 2010 Cup of Nations, and when Nigeria bowed out of the competition at the semi-final stage, Odemwingie controversially openly criticized coach
's tactics, blaming them for the defeat. He was chosen as part of the Best XI of the tournament.
He was selected as the only over-aged player of the Nigerian football team at the
. During the tournament, he scored one goal and made one assist. Nigeria eventually lost the final to defending champions