Uche Kalu

Not to be confused with Kalu Uche.

Uche Kalu

Personal information
Full name	Uche Kalu
Date of birth	(1986-05-16) 16 May 1986 (age 38)
Place of birth	Aba, Nigeria
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Altyn Asyr
Youth career
	Bussdor United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2006–2007	Bussdor United	10	(7)
2007–2013	Enyimba	9	(4)
2012–2013	→ Çaykur Rizespor (loan)	12	(9)
2013–2014	Çaykur Rizespor	8	(0)
2014	→ Adanaspor (loan)	14	(2)
2015–2016	Tobol	22	(5)
2016	Adanaspor	14	(5)
2016–2017	Gaziantep BB	28	(6)
2018	Adanaspor	11	(3)
2018–2019	Al-Markhiya
2019–	Altyn Asyr
International career
2012	Nigeria	7	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15:13, 24 December 2019 (UTC)

Uche Kalu (born 16 May 1986) ^[1] is a Nigerian football player who plays for Altyn Asyr FK in the Turkmenistan Higher League. ^[2]

He is not related to former Enyimba teammate Henry Uche nor fellow Nigeria international and India-based midfielder Kalu Uche.

Career

In 2007, he was named^{[ by whom? ]} as "Most Valuable Player" in the Nigerian Premier League after joining Enyimba from second-level team Bussdor United F.C. ^[3] He however struggled with injuries the next few years. After a failed transfer attempt to Botola team Wydad Casablanca in February 2012, ^[4] he rejoined Enyimba.

He moved to Turkish second-tier team Çaykur Rizespor in August 2012, and had a goal and assist in his debut. ^[5]

In January 2014, Uche Kalu joined Adanaspor on a loan deal. ^[6]

In January 2015, Kalu went on trial with Kazakhstan Premier League side FC Tobol, ^[7] signing a year-long contract with the club on 6 February 2015. ^[8]

Kalu returned to Adanaspor in January 2016, signing a one-and-a-half-year contract.

On 24 April 2016 Adanaspor guaranteed to play in the first tier of Turkish football after 12 years. Kalu Uche played a very pig part in this success story. ^[9]

In August 2019, Niger Uche Kalu and Kenya Peter Opiyo signed a contract with FC Altyn Asyr from Turkmenistan. ^[10] This is the first foreign footballer in the history of the club and the first legionnaire in the 2019 Ýokary Liga season.

International career

He was a member of the Nigeria B team that won the 2010 WAFU Nations Cup. His regained form saw him called up by Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi in 2012. He made his senior debut in the Eagles' 0-0 tie against Angola in January 2012. He scored his first goal in a friendly later that year against Egypt.

References

1. Enyimba team page
2. "Altyn Asyr FK - Team Info". GSA. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
3. "SPECIAL REPORT – LIST OF SCORERS IN THE NIGERIA FOOTBALL LEAGUE 2009-2010 (PART ONE)". westafricanfootball.com. 17 October 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
4. "Striker Uche Kalu rejoins Enyimba after failed Wydad transfer - Goal.com". goal.com. 18 February 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
5. Kalu dazzles on Turkish debut
6. "Error - /article.xhtml: value of context variable is not an instance of the component bound to the context variable: news. If you are using hot deploy, you may have attempted to hot deploy a session or application-scoped component definition while using an old instance in the session". nigeriafootball.com. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
7. "Уче Калу прибыл в расположение Тобола". sports.kz/ (in Russian). 29 January 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
8. "Нигерийский кочевник". fc-tobol.kz/ (in Russian). FC Tobol. 6 February 2015. Archived from the original on 6 February 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
9. "Adanaspor Uche Kalu'yu 1.5 yıllığına renklerine bağladı". www.adanaspor.com.tr/ (in Turkish). Adanaspor. 7 January 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
10. "Uche Kalu - Soccer player profile & career statistics - Global Sports Archive".