Afolabi soon left his home country by moving to Belgium to Standard Liège after impressing at the 1997 Meridian Cup. Once he made a move to Belgium, Afolabi immediately fell in love with the style of play.[1] In the 1997–98 season, he played in three matches in the Eerste Klasse, of which two in the first team. Standard, however, played a poor season and finished 9th place in the table. In the next season he played in 26 league games, scored a goal and with Liège finishing in sixth place in the league. Standard has also played in the final of Cup of Belgium, losing 1–3 to Lierse S.K. In the 1999–2000 season, Standard finished fifth place; Afolabi made 24 appearances scoring 1 goal.
Having become a regular player at Standard Liège, Afolabi signed for Italian Serie A side Napoli on loan ahead of the 2000–01 season. At Napoli, he failed to break into the first team, in part due to injuries. When fit, he played in the club's reserves.
After half a season in Italy, he returned to Liege. After the 2001–02 season he was named the best defender in Belgium, Standard finished fifth. The next season was not as successful: Afolabi played only 14 league matches, Standard completed the season in the 7th position.
Austria Wien
In 2003, Afolabi decided to move to an Austrian club Austria Wien on a free transfer.[2] He made his debut for the club in the Austrian Supercup, which Wien won 2–1 against FC Kärnten. Five days, he made his league debut for the club, again versus FC Kärnten, in a 2–1 loss. In his first season, Afolabi played a total of 33 matches.
In summer 2004 interest for was reported from Marseille, as well as other clubs. He played in 27 league games in the 2004–05 season, all from the first until the last minute, and scored one goal in a 3–0 win away match against FC Wacker Tirol. Austria finished third place, just behind rival Rapid Wien and Grazer AK.
The following season, Afolabi played in the 2004–05 UEFA Cup tournament with Austria Wien, until the club was eliminated by Italian side Parma. Like last season, the club also won the Austrian Supercup.
Sochaux
After the 2004–05 season, some Austria Wien players were linked a move away from clubs. Among them was also Afolabi, who joined Sochaux for a €2 million transfer fee. In his Ligue 1 debut on 13 August 2005 he came on as a substitute for youngster Jérémy Ménez. Sochaux won the away match against Nice 2–1 but Afolabi was sent off in the 87th minute of the match. Towards the end of the season, Afolabi scored his first goal, on 6 May 2006, in a draw at home to Troyes. The club finished in 15th place.
Afolabi spent four seasons at Sochaux. In his time there, he earned one title, the 2006–07 Coupe de France. He later stated that winning the cup was the greatest moment of his career.[1]
Red Bull Salzburg
Afolabi in a match during his time at Salzburg
After leaving Sochaux at the end of 2008–09 season as a free agent,[3] Afolabi returned to Austria, signing a two-year contract with Red Bull Salzburg[4] having been previously linked with newly promoted Premier League side Burnley.[5] He became a regular starter in central defence. In February 2010, he scored the winning goal away to title rivals SK Rapid Wien which helped keep the Red Bulls on course for the championship. Eventually, Red Bull Salzburg would win the title.[6]
On 7 November 2010, he made his 100th Austrian Bundesliga match having made 60 appearances for FK Austria Wien and 40 for Red Bull Salzburg). In December, it was reported that Salzburg were looking to transfer Afolabi in the winter transfer window.[7] After his second season in Salzburg, his contract was not renewed.
Monaco
Following his release from Salzburg, Afolabi was linked with German side Eintracht Frankfurt but on 31 August 2011, he returned to France joining recently relegated Monaco on a free transfer, agreeing to a two-year contract with the club.[8] On 19 September 2011, he scored his debut goal in a 1–0 victory over against Arles-Avignon.[9] Over time, he featured less and less at Monaco and after one year at the club, it was announced he had left the club by mutual consent with one year of his contract remaining.[10]
SønderjyskE and retirement
After eight months without a club, Afolabi went on trial at Danish Superliga club SønderjyskE, with a view of earning a contract.[11] On 13 March 2013, he eventually signed with the club for the rest of the 2012–13 season.[12]
On his debut for SønderjyskE, a match against Silkeborg IF on 28 March 2013, Afolabi helped his team to a 5–0 victory over its bottom-table rivals. He was named as one of the best players on the field. Having played three matches he fractured a rib and was substituted during a match against Midtjylland. Afterwards, it was announced he would be out for between three and four weeks.[13] Following his return, he went on to make five appearances in total helping the club survive relegation and finishing in eighth place. At the end of the season, the club remained keen on keeping him by offering him a new contract.[14] However, Afolabi chose to leave the club after three months there.[15]
After leaving Denmark, he announced his retirement and the intent to pursue a career in football management and scouting, having earned a certificate.[1]
International career
Afolabi played a vital role for Nigeria in the 1999 African Youth Championship, coming from defence to score the two goals against Cameroon in the semi-final. Nigeria eventually finished second in the tournament after losing 0–1 to the hosts, Ghana, in the final.
Afolabi is a strong and lanky central defender, who is good aerially and has a thunderous shot. He is also very versatile and can play as a fullback or defensive midfielder as well. Offensively, he is dangerous on set pieces.
Trivia
His name, Afolabi, means "Born into wealth".[16] His nickname in Nigeria is Robocop because of his stiff movements.
In 2011, Afolabi was involved in a charity called "The Rabiu Afolabi Educational Foundation" by setting up a foundation, which he started out with a donation of 50,000 customised books worth about $20,000 to selected public primary and secondary schools in his home state of Oshun State.[17]
Related Research Articles
Niko Kovač is a Croatian professional football coach and former player. He is currently head coach of Bundesliga club VFL Wolfsburg.
Andreas Ivanschitz is an Austrian retired footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.
FC Red Bull Salzburg is an Austrian professional football club based in Wals-Siezenheim, that competes in the Austrian Bundesliga, the top flight of Austrian Football. Their home ground is the Red Bull Arena. Due to sponsorship restrictions, the club is known as FC Salzburg and wears a modified crest when playing in UEFA competitions.
Stefan Maierhofer is an Austrian professional footballer who plays as a striker. Currently a free agent, he last played for Würzburger Kickers. Between 2008 and 2011, he made 19 appearances for the Austria national team, scoring one goal.
Louis Clément Ngwat-Mahop is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays for the Junior team of Austrian side SC Rheindorf Altach and in addition, he is responsible for the integration of foreign and young players for the first team of the club. He plays as a forward or a right winger.
Rubin Rafael Okotie is an Austrian former professional footballer who played as a forward.
Nikola Pokrivač is a former Croatian footballer who played as midfielder.
Alan Douglas Borges de Carvalho, simply known as Alan or Ā Lán (阿兰), is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Fluminense. Born in Brazil, he represents the China national team.
Marco Djuricin is an Austrian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Slovak First League club Spartak Trnava, on loan from Croatian First League club Rijeka.
Daniel Royer is a former Austrian professional footballer who played as a winger.
Taxiarchis Fountas is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a forward for Major League Soccer club D.C. United and the Greece national team.
Takumi Minamino is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Ligue 1 club Monaco and the Japan national team.
The 2013–14 FC Red Bull Salzburg season was the 81st season in club history. Red Bull Salzburg finished the season as champions of the Bundesliga and the ÖFB-Cup, completing a domestic double. In Europe, Salzburg where knocked out of the Champions League by Fenerbahçe in the Third Qualifying Round, dropping into the Europa League where they reached the Round of 16 before defeat to Basel.
Amadou Haidara is a Malian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Bundesliga club RB Leipzig and the Mali national team.
Mërgim Berisha is a German professional footballer who plays as a centre-forward for Bundesliga club FC Augsburg and the Germany national team.
Noah Arinzechukwu Okafor is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as striker for Austrian Bundesliga club Red Bull Salzburg and the Switzerland national team.
Karim-David Adeyemi is a German professional footballer who plays as a forward for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund and the Germany national team.
The 2020–21 Austrian Football Bundesliga, also known as Tipico Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, was the 109th season of top-tier football in Austria. Red Bull Salzburg were the seven-times defending champions.
Samson Okikiola Tijani is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Red Bull Salzburg. He also represents the Nigeria national team.
The 2018–19 season was Club Brugge's 127th season in existence and the club's 59th consecutive season in the top flight of Belgian football.
↑ "Monaco: Afolabi a résilié". Mercato.fr. 31 August 2012. Archived from the original on 13 August 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
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.
