Ogenyi Onazi

Ogenyi Onazi
MON

Onazi with Lazio
Personal information
Full name	Ogenyi Eddy Onazi
Date of birth	(1992-12-25) 25 December 1992 (age 31) [1]
Place of birth	Jos, Nigeria
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) [2]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
	El Kanemi Warriors
	My People
	Bodens BK
2011–2012	Lazio
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010–2011	El Kanemi Warriors	35	(7)
2012–2016	Lazio	76	(4)
2016–2019	Trabzonspor	69	(6)
2020	Denizlispor	9	(0)
2020–2021	SønderjyskE	2	(0)
2021	Žalgiris	19	(2)
2021	Denizlispor	11	(0)
2022	Al-Adalah	15	(0)
2022–2023	Casertana	11	(0)
2023	East Riffa	0	(0)
2023	Kitchee	3	(0)
2023–2024	Avezzano	14	(0)
International career‡
2009	Nigeria U17	7	(0)
2011	Nigeria U20	5	(0)
2012–2018	Nigeria	52	(1)
Medal record Representing   Nigeria Africa Cup of Nations Winner 2013 South Africa Men's Football FIFA U-17 World Cup Runner-up 2009 Nigeria U-17 Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13 November 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14 October 2019

Ogenyi Eddy Onazi MON (born 25 December 1992) is a Nigerian professional footballer who most recently played as a midfielder for Italian Serie D club Avezzano.

He has also played for the Nigeria national team, with whom he won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2013.

Club career

Early years

Onazi began playing football in the streets of Jos in 1998. His skills drew a lot of attention afforded him the opportunity to play in some academies in the city.

His footballing abilities came to prominence when he moved to the city of Lagos to play for My People. ^[3]

Lazio

Onazi joined Lazio in 2011, ^[4] alongside his teammate, Sani Emmanuel. ^[5] The pair trialled in England, Greece and Italy ^[3] following appearances at the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup, in which Nigeria reached the final on home soil, losing to Switzerland.

Onazi was first promoted to the Lazio first team during the 2011–12 season after appearing at youth level. ^[6] He made his Serie A debut as a substitute in the penultimate match of the season, replacing Senad Lulić in the 90th minute. Lazio recorded a 2–0 victory over Atalanta at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia in Bergamo. ^{[5] [7]}

In the following 2012–2013 season, Onazi was granted more playing time Under coach Vladimir Petković featuring in a defensive midfielder role alongside Cristian Ledesma. Notably, he started in a UEFA Europa League match against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane, ^[5] which ended in a 0–0 draw. ^[8] On 7 March 2013, he scored his first goal for Lazio against Stuttgart in the last sixteen of the Europa League. ^{[9] [10]} He scored his first Serie A goal in a 3–1 win over Inter Milan on 8 May 2013. ^[11]

On 13 April 2014, he scored his second Serie A goal for Lazio in a 4–2 defeat to Napoli. ^[12]

On 22 September 2014, Onazi signed a two-year contract extension with Lazio until 2018. Lazio had previously received transfer enquiries in the summer transfer window by three Premier League clubs Everton, Southampton and Sunderland with interest from German, French, Spanish and Russian clubs also being reported. ^[4] On 31 May 2015, his 88th-minute goal for the final score of 3–2 in Lazio's win over Napoli helped secure the last Champions League place for the club. ^[13]

Trabzonspor

On 2 August 2016, Onazi moved to Trabzonspor for €3.5 million. ^{[14] [15] [16]}

Denizlispor

On 15 January 2020, Denizlispor confirmed the arrival of Onazi from Trabzonspor, another club of Turkey's top-tier football league, on a free transfer. it was said that Onazi and Denizlispor reached an agreement for a six-month contract with an option for a further one year. ^[17] He had a contract with Trabzonspor until May 2020.

SønderjyskE

On 4 October 2020, Onazi joined Danish Superliga team SønderjyskE on a deal for the 2020–21 season with an option to extend the deal with two further years. ^[18] He was released by the club on 5 January 2021, three months after arriving. ^{[19] [20]}

Žalgiris

On 18 February 2021, Onazi signed for Lithuanian champions Žalgiris. On 13 July 2021, he scored his first goal for the club against Linfield in the Champions League qualifying stage. ^[21]

On 18 August 2021, he left FK Žalgiris. ^[22] In 2021 A Lyga he played 19 matches and scored two goals.

Denizlispor

On 20 August 2021, Onazi joined Turkish side Denizlispor. ^{[23] [24]}

Al-Adalah

On 19 January 2022, Onazi joined Saudi side Al-Adalah. ^[25]

Casertana

On 29 August 2022, Onazi returned to Italy after six years, as he officially joined Serie D side Casertana. ^{[26] [27]}

Kitchee

On 12 July 2023, Onazi joined Hong Kong Premier League club Kitchee.

Avezzano

In December 2023 he joined Italian Serie D team Avezzano Calcio.

International career

Onazi with Nigeria at 2014 FIFA World Cup against Iran

As a 16-year-old, Onazi represented his country at the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup, where Nigeria finished runners-up. ^[3] However, he was overlooked for selection at the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup two years later, despite participating in the training camps in Portugal and Panama. ^[3]

He made his debut for the senior Nigeria national team in an African Cup of Nations qualification match against Liberia. His first goal came in his second international match, a 3–1 friendly win over Venezuela in Florida. ^[5]

Onazi was called up to Nigeria's 23-man squad for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations. ^[28] He came on as a substitute in Nigeria's first match of the tournament against Burkina Faso, whom they would eventually face again in the final, before going to on to play every minute of all Nigeria's games in the knockout phase, including the final.^{[ citation needed ]}

He was selected for Nigeria's squad at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. ^[29] but missed out of the tournament as he suffered a slight knee knock a few weeks before the competition.^{[ citation needed ]}

Onazi was named in Nigeria's final squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil and started in all four games as Nigeria were eliminated by France in the round of 16. ^[4] He was also part of the squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, ^[30] though he did not figure in any of the team's three matches. Onazi was expectedly left out of the national teams provisional squad to AFCON 2019 after failing to fully recover from an Achilles injury suffered in December 2018 while playing for his club in Turkey.^{[ citation needed ]}

Personal life

In November 2019, Onazi said he would help pay for Sani Emmanuel's medical expenses. ^[31]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 23 December 2018 ^[32]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Lazio	2011–12	Serie A	1	0	0	0	–		–		1	0
	2012–13		15	1	2	0	11	1	–		28	2
	2013–14		29	1	2	0	8	1	1	0	40	2
	2014–15		16	1	3	0	–		–		19	1
	2015–16		15	1	0	0	6	1	1	0	22	2
	Total		76	4	7	0	25	3	2	0	110	7
Trabzonspor	2016–17	Süper Lig	32	2	6	0	–		–		38	2
	2017–18		21	2	2	1	–		–		23	3
	2018–19		16	2	0	0	–		–		16	2
	Total		69	6	8	1	0	0	0	0	77	7
Career total			145	10	15	1	25	3	2	0	187	14

International

As of match played 22 June 2018 ^[33]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Nigeria	2012	2	1
	2013	15	0
	2014	13	0
	2015	7	0
	2016	5	0
	2017	5	0
	2018	4	0
Total		51	1

Honours

Lazio

• Coppa Italia: 2012–13

Trabzonspor

• Turkish Cup: 2019–20

Nigeria

• African Cup of Nations: 2013

Orders

• Member of the Order of the Niger ^[34]

References

1. Ogenyi Onazi – FIFA competition record (archived)
2. "2018 FIFA World Cup: List of players" (PDF). FIFA. 23 June 2018. p. 19. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
3. Audu, Samm (11 October 2012). "Eaglet Onazi soars to fly with the Super Eagles". African Football. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
4. Okeleji, Oluwashina (22 September 2014). "Nigeria's Ogenyi Onazi signs new improved Lazio deal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
5. Enyadike, Emeka (4 June 2014). "World Cup 2014: Nigeria profile – Ogenyi Onazi". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
6. "Lazio midfielder attracts Swansea City interest". Gazetta World . 20 January 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
7. Audu, Samm (6 May 2012). "Onazi Ogenyi finally debuts for Lazio". African Football. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
8. Osborne, Chris (20 September 2012). "Tottenham 0–0 Lazio". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
9. "Europa League: Lazio stroll to Stuttgart win in Germany". Sky Sports. 7 March 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
10. "first Lazio goal Onazi delighted". The Nation . 9 March 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
11. Alaka, Babajide (9 May 2013). "Nigerians Abroad: Ogenyi Onazi scores a rocket against Inter as Moses comes on as a sub in Chelsea draw". Goal. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
12. "Higuain hero for Napoli". SkySports. 13 April 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
13. "Lazio Ogenyi Onazi winner vs Napoli ensures Champions League". ESPNFC. 31 May 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
14. "RELAZIONE FINANZIARIA SEMESTRALE CONSOLIDATA AL 31 DICEMBRE 2016" (PDF) (in Italian). S.S. Lazio. 30 March 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
15. "UFFICIALE: Lazio, il centrocampista Onazi passa al Trabzonspor - TUTTOmercatoWEB.com" . Retrieved 28 March 2018.
16. "Onazi joins Turkish club". Punch Newspapers. 2 August 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
17. Amosu, Adeboye (15 January 2020). "Onazi Joins Turkish Club Denizlispor". Complete Sports. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
18. Navnkundig nigerianer til SønderjyskE, soenderjyske.dk, 4 October 2020
19. Ravn, Jacob (5 January 2021). "Onazi stopper i SønderjyskE". soenderjyske.dk (in Danish). SønderjyskE Fodbold . Retrieved 5 January 2021.
20. Margren, Sara (5 January 2021). "Onazi stopper i SønderjyskE efter tre måneder". bold.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 5 January 2021.
21. "Ogenyi Onazi: Lithuanian champions Zalgiris sign Super Eagles midfielder | Goal.com".
22. "O. Onazi persikėlė į kitą klubą | A Lyga | Aukščiausia Lietuvos futbolo lyga".
23. "O.Onazi jau pasirašė sutartį su Turkijos klubu".
24. "Hoş Geldin Ogenyi Onazi » Haberler | Denizlispor Kulübü Resmi İnternet Platformu".
25. "الاداره العدلاويه تعزز خط وسط فريقها الكروي بالنيجيري اوجينا اونازي".
26. "Onazi: "Avevo dato la mia parola al presidente. Qui per vincere!"". www.casertanafc.it (in Italian). 29 August 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
27. Torrisi, Antonio (29 August 2022). "La Lazio, la Turchia e la Serie D, Onazi torna in Italia: giocherà nella Casertana". Goal.com. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
28. Oluwashina Okeleji (10 January 2013). "Nations Cup 2013: Nigeria pick six locally-based players". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
29. "Nigeria to take new-look squad to Confederations Cup". BBC Sport. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
30. "Revealed: Every World Cup 2018 squad – Final 23-man lists | Goal.com".
31. "Sani Emmanuel: Onazi pays for ex-Nigeria U-17 star's surgery". BBC Sport. 25 November 2019.
32. "Ogenyi Onazi".
33. "Ogenyi Onazi". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
34. Okeleji, Oluwashina (13 February 2013). "Presidential reward for Super Eagles". Sport. BBC. Lagos. Retrieved 19 March 2024.

External links

• Ogenyi Onazi at Soccerway