Profile Obafemi Martins

Personal information :

Full name : Obafemi Akinwunmi Martins
Date of birth : 28 October 1984
Place of birth : Lagos, Nigeria
Height : 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Playing position : Striker/Winger
Current club : Birmingham City
(on loan from Rubin Kazan)
Number : 17
Youth career :
1999–2000 F.C. Ebedei
2000–2001 Reggiana
2001–2002 Internazionale
Senior career :
2002–2006 Internazionale
2006–2009 Newcastle United
2009–2010 VfL Wolfsburg
2010– Rubin Kazan
2011– → Birmingham City (loan)
National team :
2004– Nigeria

Club career

Internazionale

A €750,000 convey payment took Martins to Internazionale in 2001,[citation needed] and in his first time of the year he counted 23 goals for the youth assembly, aiding them to the Italian Under-18 title. His configuration for the youth boundary commanded to his first-team governing body debut the subsequent time of the year, in a correspond in resistance to Parma in December 2002. He didn't become a standard component of the first assembly squad until the 2002–03 season. He acted in his first UEFA Champions League correspond that time of the year, and came on as a replacement in resistance to his future employers, Newcastle United, at St. James' Park. He counted his first Champions League objective in a correspond in resistance to Bayer 04 Leverkusen to sheltered Inter's position in the quarter finals; footage of his celebratory somersaults were subsequently employed by UEFA to promulgate the subsequent season's competition. He counted over in the semi-final correspond in resistance to Inter's arch-rivals A.C. Milan, but couldn't stop the group suffer forfeit out on away goals to the competition's eventual winners. He finished the time of the year with one governing body objective in four games

Martins noted a eventual bond with Inter Milan in 2005 which ran until 2010 and was worth throughout €2.5 million annually.[6] His good configuration for Inter carried on and he was called to play in the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations for Nigeria. Although he had some triumph with Inter, counting 28 goals for the group in 88 governing body recreational activities as well as 11 goals in European contests, the youthful Nigerian was marketed in August 2006. This was due to Inter carrying in two new strikers; first Argentinian Hernán Crespo was fetched in on advance from Chelsea and then the Swede Zlatan Ibrahimović was paid for by Inter from Juventus. When Obafemi was at Inter he often sauntered his dog at the restricted open space, close to the San Siro.

Newcastle United

With Martins giving in a convey appeal in August 2006, some English groups were made mindful to his availability. From the onset, Newcastle were reflected to be the front runners and it was no astonish when on 24 August 2006, Martins concluded his progress to Newcastle United from Internazionale, noting for throughout £10 million in a five year deal. He was paraded in front of the Geordie buff before their UEFA cup fasten in resistance to FK Ventspils. It was afterwards substantiated he would be taking the renowned number 9 garment, returning club-record goalscorer Alan Shearer subsequent his retirement. Martins made his debut on 27 August, in the 2–0 overcome to Aston Villa, in which he was stretchered off with a knee injury. It turned out that Martins tolerated a serious dead leg and inside bleeding. His unremarkable first small number appearances for Newcastle produced director Glenn Roeder to chat out in his defence.

However, on 17 September, Martins counted his first objective for Newcastle. It was the second objective in a 2–0 win over West Ham United at Upton Park, and from there his goalscoring configuration commenced to enhance steadily. Reports on 11 January 2007, showed that Chelsea were deeming establishing an offer for Martins services after his amazing form. These descriptions were afterwards rubbished by Roeder and Martins himself. On 14 January, in a 2–3 away win in resistance to Tottenham Hotspur, Martins' 20-yard shot rocketed into the net. This beat was time kept details by Sky Sports at a tempo of 84 mph (135 km/h), establishing it unofficially the ninth hardest shot ever kept details in football as showed by the Guardian website. This was his tenth objective for Newcastle. Martins finished his first time of the year on Tyneside with 17 goals in 46 games.

His second time of the year was to some extent mixed. With new director Sam Allardyce having a preference to play Michael Owen and Mark Viduka up front, Martins encountered himself being employed as an consequence replacement for the first half of the season. Despite this he supervised to count consistently, and when Allardyce was discharged and Kevin Keegan was selected, Martins encountered himself being employed as part of a three pronged assault along with Owen and Viduka. Martins counted less goals in his second time of the year with Newcastle, chiefly due to him no longer being the focal purpose of all their attacks as he was in his first time of the year with them, as well as his time of the year being disturbed with the African Cup of Nations participation with Nigeria in December. Martins counted 6 goals in 12 governing body recreational activities as long as the first half of the 2008–09 time of the year before a frayed hamstring led him out for numerous games. It was substantiated on 7 January 2009, that Martins would undergo hernia surgery in Germany the next Monday. He was be ran on by renowned authority Dr. Ulrike Muschaweck. He did make it back in time for the last two recreational activities of the time of the year, counting in a relegation six-pointer derby in resistance to Middlesbrough. However, he could not finish Newcastle being relegated to the Coca-Cola Championship. He at the start restated his wish for to stay and aid the group revisit to the Premier League for the 2009-10 time of the year, but he ultimately left for VfL Wolfsburg. His last game was on a preseason congenial in resistance to Leyton Orient F.C., which Newcastle lost 1-6. During his three-year curse on Tyneside, Martins amassed 39 goals in all contests from 105 games.

Wolfsburg

On 29 July 2009 Newcastle agreed to a £9million offer from Bundesliga champions Wolfsburg, the convey was substantiated on 31 July with Martins noting a four year contract. The four year deal was completed on August 12, with the group publically divulging the Nigerian global to the press and Wolfsburg supporters'. For his debut, Martins came on as a second half replacement in resistance to FC Koln at the Rhein Energie Stadion, with his assembly deadlocked at 1-1. He aided in the buildup to the second objective and capped off his first facade in the Bundesliga for Wolfsburg with a well-taken objective after dribbling past two on-rushing guards and then cooly closing from six courtyards out, slotting the ball past the Cologne keeper to the far post.

Rubin Kazan

On 9 July 2010, Martins was marketed for a stated €17 million to reigning Russian Premier League champions Rubin Kazan. He noted a three-year bond and advised BBC Sport: "I am uniting a assembly of champions and I expect to carry my best to the group to make them even greater." Martins' branch, Nicola Walter, uncovered that Rubin joined all of the player's prerequisites and that director Kurban Berdyev had a "massive role" for him to play, subsequent the embarkation of striker Aleksandr Bukharov. Martins was competent to make his debut with Rubin after August 1, when the convey window was opened.

Birmingham City (loan)

Following the birth of his young offspring, Martins appealed a progress to England to be nearer to his family. On 31 January 2011, he united Premier League group Birmingham City on advance until the end of the time of the year, with the pick of a £5m lasting deal in the summer of 2011. He made his debut, which had been delayed by the formalities of receiving a toiling visa, in the commencing eleven in resistance to Stoke City on 12 February; he acted for 75 minutes as Birmingham won 1–0. He counted his first objective for Birmingham City in a 3-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup 5th around on the 19th February.

International career

Martins has counted seventeen goals in 32 appearances for Nigeria. He was a part of the Nigerian assembly that closed third in the 2006 African Cup of Nations. Martins counted two goals in the struggle, both drawing close in resistance to Senegal in the first round. His future for the countrywide assembly has been left in suspect on several functions after split episodes of controversy. In August, 2006 the Nigerian FA website mistakenly had his day of the year of birth down as 1 May 1978. This would have made him twenty-eight years of age, as an alternative twenty-one. The Nigerian FA before long substantiated that it had been an administrative wrongdoing and recognised clear fault for the bewildering it had caused. However Martins vulnerable to leave playing for the countrywide assembly after the error had at the start put his progress to Newcastle in doubt.

On 6 February 2007, he did not turn up for the 4–1 congenial overcome in resistance to Ghana, in spite of being ranked to play. He afterwards described his nonexistence was due to the item he had toured to Lagos in rank to visit his unwell mother. The Nigerian caretaker trainer Augustine Eguavoen was irate with Martins and vulnerable to outlaw him from the countrywide team. On 14 February 2007, Martins recognised clear fault for missing the game but said he trusted his mother's fitness was more important. He in addition said that he will be obtainable to play for Nigeria in the future. He made his revisit to the countrywide boundary on 24 March 2007, playing the full correspond in resistance to Uganda in an African Cup of Nations Qualifying correspond and won.

Following the end of Nigeria's 2008 Africa Cup of Nations condition operation, Nigeria faced Mexico in Ciudad Juárez for a congenial match. Martins counted two goals in a 2–2 draw. On 17 November 2007, Martins captained Nigeria for the first time, in a congenial correspond in resistance to Australia for his nineteenth appearance.On 12 November 2009 he counted a amazing objective in the 83rd minute in resistance to Kenya in Nairobi, hence assuring Nigeria's condition for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. "Obagoal" as he is fondly called, could not make any important addition looked frontwards to of a striker, to Nigeria's operation at the 2010 FIFA world cup in South Africa. His assembly, the Super Eagles was ousted from the struggle with just a point. It was the poorest excursion of the Super Eagles at the World Cup