Nurudeen Orelesi

Nurudeen Orelesi

Personal information
Full name	Nurudeen Adegbola Orelesi
Date of birth	(1989-04-10) 10 April 1989 (age 35)
Place of birth	Lagos, Nigeria
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team	Apolonia
Number	21
Youth career
0000	Bolowotan FC
0000–2006	First Bank
2006–2007	Salamanca
2007–2008	Bonifika
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2008–2009	Bonifika	1	(0)
2009–2010	ECO Lagos	11	(1)
2010–2011	Dinamo Tirana	26	(0)
2011–2014	Skënderbeu Korçë	66	(3)
2014–2016	Metalurh Zaporizhya	31	(1)
2016–2017	Skënderbeu Korçë	48	(0)
2017–2018	Vllaznia Shkodër	30	(0)
2018–2019	Kamza	13	(0)
2022–	Apolonia	53	(0)
International career
2009–2010	Nigeria U20	4	(1)
2011–2012	Nigeria U23	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 1 June 2024

Nurudeen Adegbola Orelesi (born 10 April 1989) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Albanian club Apolonia. ^[1] He is well known for his powerful and accurate long shots.

Club career

Early career

Orelesi began his career with First Bank, later joined to UD Salamanca. On 2 October 2007, he left Spain to sign with Slovenian Second League club SC Bonifika, ^[2] Orelesi played his first season in the reserve team before being promoted to the senior side in July 2008, appearing in three games in his first professional season 2008–09. ^[3] In September 2009, he signed than for ECO F.C. Lagos.

Dinamo Tirana

Orelesi joined Albanian champions Dinamo Tirana on 1 August 2010 for a reported fee of €25,000 from ECO Lagos FC, signing a one-year contract with the club holding the option of renewing for an additional year. ^[4]

Skënderbeu Korçë

He signed for his second Albanian side, Skënderbeu Korçë on 23 June 2011 on a four-year contract. ^{[5] [6]}

Metalurh Zaporizhya

On 20 August 2014 Orelesi signed for Ukraine club Metalurh Zaporizhya, ^{[7] [8]} for a fee of €100,000 from Skënderbeu Korçë. ^[9] He made his competitive debut on 14 September in the matchday 6 against Volyn, playing full-90 minutes as the team suffered a 3–0 away loss. ^[10] He scored his maiden goal later on 23 November in a 2–4 home loss to Dynamo Kyiv. ^[11] During the 2014–15 season, Orelesi made 19 appearances, including 18 as starter, collecting 1539 minutes, as Metalurh finished in a respectable 7th place. He also played two times in Ukrainian Cup, as the team was eliminated in round of 16 to Olimpik Donetsk. ^[12]

Return to Skënderbeu Korçë

On 21 January 2016, Orelesi returned to Skënderbeu Korçë for his second spell with the Albanian champions. ^[13] He was allocated the squad number 80 and during the second part of 2015–16 season he contributed with 15 league appearances, helping the club to win its six consecutive league title, his fourth personal. ^[14] Skënderbeu did not play European football in the summer of 2016 due to their ban over match-fixing allegations. ^[15] In league, however, Orelesi was ever-presented, making 33 appearances, including 31 as starter, collecting 2657 minutes as Skënderbeu lost the championship to Kukësi in the penultimate matchday, eventually finishing third after a 2–2 draw against Partizani Tirana in the final match. ^[16] In cup, Orelesi played in four matches, as Skënderbeu lost in the final to Tirana, a match which Orelesi didn't play. ^[17]

Vllaznia Shkodër

On 10 August 2017, Orelesi completed a transfer to fellow Albanian Superliga side Vllaznia Shkodër by penning one-year contract with an option of a further one for an undisclosed fee. ^[18] Overall, he played 30 league matches as the team was relegated to Albanian First Division for the first time in 60 years. ^[19]

Kamza

On 4 August 2018, Kamza announced to have signed Orelesi on a contract running until the end of 2018–19 season. ^[20]

International career

He represented Nigeria at 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt. ^[21]

Career statistics

As of 13 May 2018 ^[1]

Club statistics

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
SC Bonifika	2007–08	Slovenian Second League	0	0	0	0	—		—		0	0
	2008–09		1	0	1	0	—		—		2	0
	Total		1	0	1	0	—		—		2	0
ECO Lagos	2009–10	Nigeria National League	11	1	0	0	—		—		11	1
Dinamo Tirana	2010–11	Albanian Superliga	26	0	7	1	0	0	1 [a]	0	34	1
Skënderbeu Korçë	2011–12	Albanian Superliga	25	1	13	0	2 [b]	0	1 [c]	0	41	1
	2012–13		25	2	6	1	2 [b]	0	1 [c]	0	34	3
	2013–14		16	0	3	0	6 [d]	1	1 [c]	0	26	1
	2014–15		—		—		2 [b]	0	0	0	2	0
	Total		66	3	22	1	12	1	3	0	103	5
Metalurh Zaporizhya	2014–15	Ukrainian Premier League	19	1	2	0	—		—		21	1
	2015–16		12	0	0	0	—		—		12	0
	Total		31	1	2	2	—		—		33	1
Skënderbeu Korçë	2015–16	Albanian Superliga	15	0	2	0	—		—		17	0
	2016–17		33	0	4	0	—		1 [c]	0	38	0
	Total		48	0	6	0	—		1	0	55	0
Vllaznia Shkodër	2017–18	Albanian Superliga	30	0	4	0	—		—		34	0
Kamza	2018–19	Albanian Superliga	0	0	0	0	—		—		0	0
Career total			213	5	42	2	12	1	5	0	272	8

1. All appearance(s) in Albanian Superliga relegation playoffs
2. All appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
3. Appearance in Albanian Supercup
4. Four appearances and one goal in UEFA Champions League, two in UEFA Europa League

Honours

Skënderbeu Korçë ^[1]

• Albanian Superliga: 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2015–16
• Albanian Supercup: 2013, 2014

References

1. Nurudeen Orelesi at Soccerway. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
2. "Registracijski zapisnik NZS" [NZS registration record](PDF) (in Slovenian). Nzs.si. 1 October 2007. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
3. "Orelesi Nurudeen Adegbola - NK Bela krajina" (in Slovenian). nk-bk.com. Archived from the original on 27 February 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
4. "Nurudeen Orelesi joins FC Dinamo". All Nigeria Soccer. 8 September 2010. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
5. "Nureedin Orelesi firmos per Skenderbeun" [Nureedin Orelesi signs for Skënderbeu] (in Albanian). Albania Sport. 23 June 2011. Archived from the original on 26 June 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
6. "Nurudeen Orelesi: FC Kryvbas Offered Me A Two - Year Contract". All Nigeria Soccer. 8 February 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
7. "Orelesi Joins Ukrainian Club Metalury Zaporizhzhia". Soccer Laduma. 10 August 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
8. "Orelesi Heading To Ukraine". S100.ng. 8 September 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
9. "Orelesi drejt Ukrainës" [Orelesi towards Ukraine] (in Albanian). Ora Sport. 20 August 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
10. "Volyn vs. Metalurh Zaporizhya 3 – 0". Soccerway. 14 September 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
11. "Metalurh Zaporizhya vs. Dynamo Kyiv 2 – 4". Soccerway. 23 November 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
12. "Metalurh Zaporizhya vs. Olimpik Donetsk 2 – 4". Soccerway. 28 October 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
13. Rinald Bregasi (21 January 2016). "Zyrtare, Orelesi rikthehet te Skënderbeu" [Official, Orelesi returns to Skënderbeu] (in Albanian). SuperSport Albania. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
14. "Skënderbeu kampion i Shqipërisë, korçarët fitojnë titullin e 6-të radhazi (VIDEO)" [Skënderbeu champion of Albania, "korçarët" win their 6th consecutive championship] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 18 May 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
15. "Albania's KF Skenderbeu banned from Europe for match-fixing". espnfc.co.uk. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
16. "Kukësi, kampion për herë të parë në histori" [Kukësi, champion for the first time in history] (in Albanian). SuperSport Albania. 20 May 2017. Archived from the original on 23 May 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
17. "Tirana fiton Kupën e Shqipërisë, sezoni 2016-2017" [Tirana wins Albanian Cup, 2016-2017 season] (in Albanian). FSHF.org. 31 May 2017. Archived from the original on 6 June 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
18. "ZYRTARE/ Vllaznia firmos me Orelesin" [Official, Vllaznia signs with Orelesi] (in Albanian). Sport Ekspres. 10 August 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
19. "Goleada më e hidhur në histori, Vllaznia bie nga kategoria!" [The most bitter goal fest in history, Vllaznia relegated] (in Albanian). Top-Channel.tv. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
20. "Kamza godet në merkato, firmos me ish-futbollistën e Skënderbeut" [Kamza strikes in transfer market, signs with ex-footballer of Skënderbeu] (in Albanian). Panorama Sport. 4 August 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
21. List of Players - FIFA.com

External links

• Nurudeen Orelesi at the Albanian Football Association (in Albanian and English)
• Nurudeen Orelesi – UEFA competition record ( archive )