Obafemi Martins

Obafemi Martins was one of the most promising players of the early 2000s. However, he had a disappointing career despite a very good start.

530

Games

201

Goals

Assists

Trophies

2000/01 AC Reggiana (ITA) 2 games

2001/06 Inter Milan (ITA) 136 games, 49 goals

(Serie A: 88 games, 28 goals)

(Italian Cup: 16 games, 9 goals)

(Italian Super Cup: 1 game)

(Champions League: 27 games, 10 goals)

(Europa League: 4 games, 2 goals)

2006/09 Newcastle United (ENG) 104 games, 35 goals

(Premier League: 88 games, 28 goals)

(FA Cup: 2 games)

(Carabao Cup: 5 games, 1 goal)

(Europa League: 9 games, 6 goals)

2009/10 VfL Wolfsburg (GER) 25 games, 7 goals

2010/12 Rubin Kazan (RUS) 35 games, 5 goals

2011 Birmingham City (ENG) (loan) 6 games, 2 goals

2012/13 Levante UD (SPA) 27 games, 9 goals

2013/16 Seattle Sounders (USA) 84 games, 43 goals

2016/18 Shanghai Shenhua (CHI) 59 games, 32 goals

2020 Shanghai Shenhua (CHI) 4 games

2020/21 Wuhan FC (CHI) 6 games, 1 goal

With the National Team :

42 caps, 18 goals

(Friendly matches: 10 caps, 4 goals)

(World Cup Qualifiers: 12 caps, 10 goals)

(World Cup: 2 caps)

(Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers: 6 caps, 1 goal)

(Africa Cup of Nations: 12 caps, 3 goals)

1st cap: May 29, 2004 against Ireland (3-0)

Last cap: November 17, 2015 against Swaziland (2-0)

Obafemi Akinwunmi Martins

Born October 28, 1984 in Lagos (NIG)

Nigerian, Striker, 1m70

A young player with immense talent

Obafemi Martins was born on October 28, 1984 in Lagos, Nigeria. He joined AC Reggiana to begin his professional career during the 2000/01 season when he was only 15 years old. Inter Milan quickly spotted in the young African an enormous potential and a talent enhanced by his incredible speed.

First in the reserve team, he joined the first team of Inter Milan during the 2002/03 season, then aged 17, for his first season in the elite of football, he will play a few matches including some in the Champions League, a competition in which he performed well. He scored his first goal in the Champions League against Bayer Leverkusen before scoring a second goal in the semi-final of the competition against AC Milan.

The following season, the Nigerian rocket will have a match worthy of the greatest against Arsenal. 1 goal, 1 assist, 4 successful dribbles, 75% successful passes, 2 key passes, 10 duels won out of 12 on the ground and 5 fouls won. He then followed up a few months later with another very good performance, scoring a double against Benfica in the round of 16 of the Europa League.

Significant events

In 2005, the player was hit by a scandal, that of having falsified his age. The source comes from the official website of the Nigeria Football Federation which announces his date of birth as May 1978 and not October 1984. After investigation, the administrator of the site will be arrested for having published erroneous information.

At the same time, the player became a regular in this incredible Inter Milan team alongside a certain Adriano. In the 2004/05 season, he played in 46 matches for 22 goals and 6 assists. In terms of actual play, it was as if the player had played 31 matches, showing how crazy the 20-year-old's statistics were. He also scored 5 goals in 8 Champions League matches, and also 6 goals in 6 Coppa Italia matches, a Cup he won.

The following season, the player scored less but was still very impressive and precocious in his game. And he was transferred to England, to Newcastle United. For his first season in England, he had very good statistics, 17 goals and 5 assists in 46 matches including 6 goals in the Europa League in 9 matches. He was also very good during the double confrontation against Tottenham in the Premier League, 2 goals and 2 assists.

But during the following season, 2007/08, the player became a luxury substitute and he suffered the first injuries of his career. From that moment on, it was already the end of the player's great performances and he would no longer exceed 10 goals per season in Europe. The player was notably marked in June 2007 when he was going to play a match for his country, being the victim of an armed attack where there were shots fired and his friend who was hit in the hand and shoulder.

A disappointing end to a career

During the summer of 2009, the player relaunched himself in Germany, with Vfl Wolfsburg, but the adventure was a failure. He went through a series of transfers and failures until 2013 when he joined the USA and Seattle Sounders, where he found a good level, scoring 43 goals and 22 assists in 84 games played.

He then decided to go to China, in the utopian project that the country was setting up at the time. He then joined Shanghai Shenhua in 2016, when he was already 32 years old. He had a great sporting experience there, winning the Chinese Cup in 2017 before putting his career on hold, then returning to play a few matches in 2020 at the club and then being transferred to Wuhan FC, where he retired in 2021, at the age of 37.

His career with the Niger national team was disappointing, only wearing the country's jersey 42 times. He scored 18 goals and provided 1 assist.