Mutiu Adepoju

Last updated

Mutiu Adepoju
MutiuAdepoju.JPG
Adepoju playing with Real Madrid veterans
Personal information
Full name Mutiu Adepoju
Date of birth (1970-12-22) 22 December 1970 (age 53)
Place of birth Ibadan, Nigeria
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1986–1987 Femo Scorpions
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1988 Shooting Stars
1989 Julius Berger
1989–1992 Real Madrid B 67 (27)
1992–1996 Racing Santander 124 (25)
1996–2000 Real Sociedad 88 (8)
2000–2001 Al-Ittihad 10 (2)
2001–2002 Salamanca 14 (0)
2002–2003 Samsunspor 8 (0)
2003–2004 AEL Limassol 5 (1)
2004–2005 Eldense
2005–2006 Cobeña
International career
1990–2002 Nigeria 48 (6)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Mutiu Adepoju (born 22 December 1970) is a former Nigerian professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

Contents

He spent most of his career in Spain, amassing La Liga totals of 175 games and 22 goals over the course of seven seasons and representing mainly Racing de Santander and Real Sociedad. [1]

A Nigeria international for 12 years, Adepoju appeared for the country in three World Cups and as many Africa Cup of Nations.

Club career

Born in Ibadan, Adepoju (also called by his first name in Spain) left Nigeria in 1989 to join Real Madrid, but never made it past their reserves. The 1992–93 season was impressive as he scored 11 Segunda División goals to help Racing de Santander return to La Liga, [2] [3] and he continued to feature regularly for the Cantabrians over the next three years.

Mutiu left for Real Sociedad for 1996–97 but, after a solid first campaign, struggled heavily to hold down a regular place with the Basques. In 2001–02 he represented Saudi Arabia's Al-Ittihad Club (Jeddah), but quickly returned to Spain where he featured rarely for second division club UD Salamanca.

After two more weak years, in Turkey and Cyprus, Adepoju retired in 2006 in Spain's lower leagues. He subsequently returned to his first team Shooting Stars FC, as general manager. [4]

International career

Adepoju was a member of the Nigeria U20 team that played in the 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship. His brace against the United States (which featured Kasey Keller in goal) in the semi-finals ensured a final against Portugal, a 2–0 defeat.

Adepoju went on to collect 48 caps for the full side, with six goals. He made his debut against Togo in August 1990, but his breakthrough came during the 1992 Africa Cup of Nations, [5] and he helped his nation win the next continental edition. [6]

Adepoju was part of Nigeria's squads for the FIFA World Cups in 1994, 1998 – where he scored in a 3–2 win against Spain [7] – and 2002, although he did not play in the latter tournament.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paco Gento</span> Spanish footballer (1933–2022)

Francisco "Paco" Gento López was a Spanish footballer who played as an outside left. A fast runner, Gento was referred to as the "Gale of the Cantabrian Sea" in reference to his speed down the wing. He was voted by IFFHS as the greatest Spanish footballer and 30th greatest world footballer of the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danilo Turcios</span> Honduran footballer and manager (born 1978)

Danilo Elvis Turcios Funez is a Honduran former professional football player and manager.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santillana (footballer)</span> Spanish footballer

Carlos Alonso González, known as Santillana, is a Spanish former footballer who played as a striker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rashidi Yekini</span> Nigerian footballer (1963–2012)

Rashidi Yekini was a Nigerian professional footballer who played as a forward. He is the all-time top goalscorer for his nation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mario Regueiro</span> Uruguayan footballer (born 1978)

Mario Ignacio Regueiro Pintos is a Uruguayan retired footballer who played mainly as a left winger but also on the other flank, and even as a forward.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pedro Munitis</span> Spanish footballer and manager

Pedro Munitis Álvarez is a Spanish retired footballer who played mainly as a forward, currently a manager.

Gonzalo Colsa Albendea is a Spanish retired professional footballer who played mainly as a central midfielder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dmitri Radchenko</span> Russian footballer (born 1970)

Dmitri Leonidovich Radchenko is a Russian football coach and former player who played as a striker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Racing de Santander</span> Spanish professional football club

Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D., also known as Racing de Santander or simply Racing, is a football club based in Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. It was founded in 1913 and it holds home games at El Sardinero, with a capacity for 22,222 spectators. It is one club of the ten founding clubs of La Liga.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pedro Uralde</span> Spanish footballer

Pedro Uralde Hernáez is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a striker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcelino García Toral</span> Spanish footballer and manager

Marcelino García Toral, known simply as Marcelino, is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He is the current head coach of La Liga club Villarreal.

Marcos Alonso Peña was a Spanish football player and manager.

Cristóbal Parralo Aguilera, known simply as Cristóbal as a player, is a Spanish retired professional footballer, currently manager of Racing de Ferrol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sergio Canales</span> Spanish footballer (born 1991)

Sergio Canales Madrazo is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Liga MX club Monterrey.

Juan Enrique 'Quique' Estebaranz López is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a forward.

Mohammed Oladimeji Lawal is a former Nigerian footballer who played as a midfielder for clubs in Nigeria, Spain and Belgium. He is a FIFA-licensed players' agent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alain Eizmendi</span> Spanish footballer

Alain Eizmendi Blanco is a Spanish footballer who plays as a winger.

During the 1995–96 Spanish football season, Valencia CF competed in La Liga and the Copa del Rey.

During the 1996–97 season Valencia CF competed in La Liga, Copa del Rey and UEFA Cup.

During the 1997–98 Spanish football season, Valencia CF competed in La Liga and Copa del Rey.

References

  1. ↑ "Mutiu, Adepoju Mutiu - Footballer". www.bdfutbol.com. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  2. ↑ HISTORIA / Cap. 12 Descenso a 2ªB y ascenso a Primera (HISTORY / Ch. 12 Relegation to 2ªB and promotion to Primera); at Racing Santander (in Spanish)
  3. ↑ Aquel ascenso inolvidable (That unforgettable promotion); El Diario Montañés, 29 June 2018 (in Spanish)
  4. ↑ Mutiu Adepoju: Shooting Stars will recruit only six players; Goal, 1 October 2012
  5. ↑ African Nations Cup 1992; at RSSSF
  6. ↑ African Nations Cup 1994; at RSSSF
  7. ↑ Nigeria rallies to stun Spain with late goal; The Washington Post, 13 June 1998
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.