David Ezeh

Last updated
David Ezeh
Personal information
Date of birth (2006-02-13) 13 February 2006 (age 18)
Place of birth Helsinki, Finland
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Centre-forward
Team information
Current team
 HJK
Number 20
Youth career
0000–2014 Gnistan
2015–2018 HPS
2019–2022 HJK
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2022– Klubi 04 42 (22)
2023– HJK 6 (1)
International career‡
2021–2022 Finland U16 5 (1)
2022–2023 Finland U17 15 (6)
2023– Finland U18 7 (5)
2023– Finland U19 5 (4)
Medal record
HJK
Gold medal icon.svg Veikkausliiga 2023
Gold medal icon.svg Finnish League Cup 2023
Finland U18
Gold medal icon.svgBaltic Cup2023 [1]
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 27 April 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 24 March 2024

David Ezeh (born 13 February 2006) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a centre-forward for Veikkausliiga club HJK and the Finland under-19 national team. [2] [3] [4] Ezeh has been described as one of the most talented teenagers in Finland. [5]

Contents

Early years

Ezeh was born in Helsinki to Finnish mother and Nigerian father from Imo State, and was raised in Puistola and Oulunkylä. [6] He started playing football in a youth team of IF Gnistan, after his family had moved to Oulunkylä. Before choosing football, his first sport was Greco-Roman wrestling, which lasted only six months. [7] He moved to the youth team of Helsingin Palloseura (HPS) in 2015, and after four years with HPS, he joined the HJK Helsinki youth academy after the 2018 season. In October 2021, Ezeh was awarded the Best Player Trophy in the annual U15 Kai Pahlman tournament, organized by Finnish FA. Ezeh scored eight goals in six games, helping HJK youth team to win the tournament. [8]

Club career

HJK

On 14 January 2022, Ezeh signed his first professional contract with HJK, at the age of 15. [9] He made his senior debut on 19 April 2022 with the club's reserve team Klubi 04 in the third tier level Kakkonen, in a 3–3 draw against Honka II. [10] He made 19 appearances in total for Klubi 04 in the 2022 season, scoring four goals.

Ezeh's contract was extended on 4 January 2023 until the end of 2025, after he had trialed with Midtjylland for a week. [11] He made his Veikkausliiga debut on 29 April 2023 against Haka at the age of 17, coming in from the bench for the final minutes, as a substitute for Bojan Radulović. [12] In the 2023 season, Ezeh mostly played for Klubi 04, scoring 18 goals in 24 matches in the division, making him the top goalscorer in Kakkonen Group A. He was also named the player of the year in the Group A. [13]

Ezeh represented HJK in the 2023–24 UEFA Youth League campaign, scoring three goals and providing an assist in four matches, against Malmö FF Youth and Nantes Youth. [14] [15] [16]

He scored his first goal in Veikkausliiga on 6 April 2024, in the opening match of the 2024 season, in a 3–1 away loss against Kuopion Palloseura (KuPS). [17]

International career

A regular Finnish youth international, Ezeh has represented Finland in various age brackets from U16 to U19 level, scoring at every level.

In March 2022, Ezeh was part of the Finland U17 squad in the 2022 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualification Elite round matches against Portugal, Bulgaria and Ireland. [18]

In September 2022, Ezeh was named in the Finland U17 squad for the 2023 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualification tournament against Greece, Italy and Kosovo, scoring one goal in three games. Finland finished 2nd in the group and qualified to the Elite round in March 2023. [19]

Ezeh was part of the Finland U18 squad winning the friendly tournament Baltic Cup in June 2023, [20] scoring two goals in three games.

In October 2023, Ezeh was part of the Finland U19 squad in the 2024 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification tournament, scoring three goals in three games against Romania, Czech Republic and San Marino.

Career statistics

As of 27 April 2024 [21]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cup [lower-alpha 1] OtherContinentalTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Klubi 04 2022 Kakkonen 18410——194
2023 Kakkonen241800——2418
Total42221000004322
HJK 2023 Veikkausliiga 10004 [lower-alpha 2] 00050
2024 Veikkausliiga51002 [lower-alpha 2] 00071
Total61006000121
Career total48231060005623
  1. ↑ Includes Suomen Cup
  2. 1 2 Appearance(s) in Finnish League Cup

Honours

HJK

Finland U18

Individual

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References

  1. 1 2 Finnish FA
  2. ↑ Virtanen, Ari (21 January 2023). "HJK:n nuoret pelaajat eivät arkailleet vaan osuivat heti debyytissään Hakaa vastaan". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  3. ↑ ""Mahtava kokemus pelata edustuksen kanssa" - hyökkääjälupaus David Ezeh nautti HJK-debyytistään" (in Finnish). Veikkausliiga. 26 January 2023. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  4. ↑ "U17-pojat hakee toista voittoaan Belgiasta" (in Finnish). Finnish FA. 25 January 2023. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  5. ↑ "David Ezeh". footballtalentscout.net. 30 January 2023.
  6. ↑ "HJK Helsinki Teen Star David Ezeh Commits Future To Nigeria". completesports.com. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  7. ↑ "David Ezehin painiharrastus päättyi lapsena kyyneliin - ensimmäinen viikko liigajoukkueen mukana loksautti leaut" (in Finnish). HJK. 4 May 2022.
  8. ↑ Tulospalvelu: HJK:n David Ezeh palkittiin Kai Pahlman -turnauksen parhaana, tässä joukkueiden sijoitukset, Aamulehti, 21 October 2021
  9. ↑ "David Ezeh akatemiasta HJK Klubi 04:een" (in Finnish). HJK. 14 January 2022.
  10. ↑ HONKA AKATEMIA VS. KLUBI-04 3 - 3, int.soccerway.com
  11. ↑ "Midtjyllandin testissä käynyt David Ezeh jatkosopimukseen" (in Finnish). HJK. 4 January 2023.
  12. ↑ HJK VS. HAKA 2 - 0, int.soccerway.com
  13. 1 2 3 Captain's Ball 2023 – Palkitut osa 1, Finnish FA, 1 December 2023
  14. ↑ David Ezeh, players profile, UEFA
  15. ↑ Historiallinen temppu! HJK:n nuoret tähdet jyräsivät Malmön UEFA Youth Leaguessa, hjk.fi, 4 October 2023
  16. ↑ HJK:n matka päättyi UEFA Youth Leaguessa upeasta taistelusta huolimatta, hjk.fi, 22 November 2023
  17. ↑ KuPS – HJK, veikkausliiga.com
  18. ↑ EM-karsinnat U17-pojat MAAOTTELUT 2022, Finnish FA/ Palloliitto
  19. ↑ U17-pojat päättää EM-karsinnat tiistaina, Finnish FA/ Palloliitto, 10 October 2022
  20. ↑ U18-pojat nimetty kesäkuun Baltic Cupiin, Football Association of Finland, 30 May 2023
  21. ↑ REF soccerway
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