Shola Ameobi
Encyclopedia
Foluwashola "Shola" Ameobi (born 12 October 1981) is an Nigerian footballer who plays for Premier League club Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...

 as a forward. Born in Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

 but raised in Newcastle, he played for England at under-21
England national under-21 football team
England's national Under-21 football team, also known as England Under-21s or England U21, is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team....

 level. He is the older brother of fellow footballers Tomi
Tomi Ameobi
Oluwatomiwo "Tomi" Ameobi is an English footballer of Nigerian descent who plays as a forward for BÍ/Bolungarvík.-Leeds United:...

 and Sammy
Sammy Ameobi
Samuel "Sammy" Ameobi is an English footballer of Nigerian descent, currently playing for Premier League club Newcastle United as a striker or a left winger.-Club career:...

. Ameobi has made more appearances for Newcastle than any other current player at the club, and received a winner's medal in 2010 when the team lifted the Championship trophy.

Early life

Born in Zaria
Zaria
Zaria may refer to:*Zaria, a city in Kaduna State, Nigeria*Zaria , or Zoria, the Slavic goddess of beauty*Countess Zaria of Orange-Nassau, Jonkvrouwe van Amsberg, a member of the Dutch royal family...

, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

, Ameobi moved to Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...

, England when he was five. His initial promise was spotted whilst attending the Walker Central Boys Club, before he was invited to attend Newcastle United's Academy.

Club career

Ameobi signed a pre-contract with Newcastle on 1 July 1997. He progressed through the youth setup, making his debut in the reserves in 1998 on the 11th of October against Sunderland. He made his first team debut two years later, 9 September 2000, in a home game against Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...

. He went on to make 22 appearances for Newcastle that season, in lieu of the injured Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer OBE, DL is a retired English footballer. He played as a striker in the top level of English league football for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and for the England national team...

 and Carl Cort
Carl Cort
Carl Edward Richard Cort is an Guyanese-English footballer who plays as a forward. Most recently, he played for League One side Brentford until he was released in January 2011....

.

The 2002–03 Champions League saw some of Ameobi's finest performances including an equalising goal against FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....

 in a 3–1 defeat at the Nou Camp as well as scoring two goals against Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer 04 Leverkusen is a German football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the most well-known department of TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen, a sports club whose members also participate in athletics, gymnastics, basketball and other sports.-Origins and early years:On 27 November...

 in a 3–1 victory.

His erratic form has earned him some criticism in the past, and although never having been claimed as a prolific goalscorer, many of his games were as a substitute. Due to injuries in the latter stages of the 2005–06 season
FA Premier League 2005-06
The 2005–06 season of the FA Premier League began on 13 August 2005, and concluded on 7 May 2006. The season saw Chelsea F.C retain their title after defeating Manchester United 3–0 at Stamford Bridge towards the end of April...

, Ameobi gained a regular starting place, and scored six goals in Newcastle's last 12 Premier League games.

In the 2006 UEFA Intertoto Cup
UEFA Intertoto Cup 2006
The UEFA Intertoto Cup 2006 was the first after a major change of the competition format. There were only three rounds instead of five, and eleven teams qualified for the second qualifying round of the UEFA Cup...

, Ameobi scored twice in Newcastle's away tie at Lillestrøm SK (3–0), taking him to second place in the club's table of leading goalscorers in European competition with twelve goals, behind only Shearer.

During the 2006–07 season, Ameobi needed a hip operation, a problem which had been plaguing him for two seasons. Newcastle's shortage of match-fit first team strikers during the previous season had forced him to be postpone this surgery. The problem eventually forced Glenn Roeder
Glenn Roeder
Glenn Victor Roeder is an English football manager and former player, most recently in charge at Norwich City. As a player, Roeder represented England B on 7 occasions...

 to send Ameobi for surgery two months before the transfer window, making the 0–0 draw away game to Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...

 his last game and ruling him out for the rest of the season. He had made 13 appearances (three as a substitute) and scored five goals.

Ameobi and the Newcastle medical team reported his hip operation in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 was a success and that the club doctors and medical staff would work on his rehabilitation. It was originally thought that he would not be fit to play until the start of the 2007–08 season, but his rehabilitation progressed quickly and he returned with three games remaining in the season, clocking approximately 30 minutes of match action against Reading
Reading F.C.
Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...

 and making a further two appearances.

However, after failing to impress Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce
Sam Allardyce
Samuel "Sam" Allardyce , nicknamed "Big Sam", is an English football manager and former professional player. In June 2011 he was appointed as manager of West Ham United....

, or Kevin Keegan
Kevin Keegan
Joseph Kevin Keegan, OBE is a former international footballer and former manager of the England national football team and several English clubs, most notably Newcastle United....

 on 27 March 2008, Ameobi agreed a loan deal with Stoke City
Stoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...

 until the end of the season, to help their promotion campaign. It is understood that a loan fee of around £500K was agreed and that a possible permanent transfer was also discussed subject to Stoke winning promotion. Ameobi made his debut for Stoke against Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...

 on 29 March, the game ended 1–1. After playing for six games and not managing to score, Ameobi returned to Newcastle, and Stoke decided not to sign him permanently.

On 14 August, Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town F.C.
Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02....

 manager Jim Magilton
Jim Magilton
James "Jim" Magilton is a Northern Irish former footballer and manager, who is currently employed as Football Consultant at Shamrock Rovers F.C. after being appointed on 6 July 2011....

 confirmed that the club were in talks with Ameobi and that the club were keen to get the deal finalised as long as Ameobi was willing to play in the Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...

. However, on 17 August, Ameobi failed a medical, showing hamstring problems, and the deal collapsed.
Due to long term injuries to Mark Viduka
Mark Viduka
Mark Anthony Viduka is a former Australian soccer player who played as a centre forward. He captained the Australian national team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany to the last 16.-Melbourne Croatia:...

 and Alan Smith, as well as shorter term injuries to Michael Owen
Michael Owen
Michael James Owen is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Manchester United.The son of former footballer Terry Owen, Owen began his senior career at Liverpool in 1996. He progressed through the Liverpool youth team and scored on his debut in May 1997...

 and Obafemi Martins
Obafemi Martins
Obafemi Akinwunmi Martins is a Nigerian footballer who plays as a striker for Rubin Kazan and the Nigeria national team. He is known for his speed on the ball....

, Ameobi was able to start the 2008–09 season in the first team squad. He managed to score his first goal in two years for Newcastle in a 2–2 home draw with Manchester City on 20 October. After the match, interim manager Joe Kinnear
Joe Kinnear
Joseph Patrick "Joe" Kinnear is an Irish football manager and former player. He was most recently the manager of Newcastle United....

 praised Ameobi and backed him to kick-start his career. He followed this up with a goal in his next game away to Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...

 in a 2–1 defeat on 25 October. He signed a new deal with the club in January 2009 to keep him contracted until 2012.

He scored a penalty to mark his 50th goal for Newcastle on 1 February 2009 against local rivals Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...

 to make the final score 1–1. He scored his first ever career hat-trick in Newcastle's first home match in the Championship
2009–10 Football League Championship
The Football League Championship season 2009–10 is the sixth season of the league under its current title and eighteenth season under its current league division format...

 against Reading
Reading F.C.
Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...

 on 15 August. The first two goals were diving headers, and he completed his hat-trick with a penalty, which he placed in the bottom left corner, sending the keeper the wrong way. He scored in the next game in a 1–0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday taking his tally to four goals in three games, equalling his total for the previous season. Following these early season performances he was named the Championship player of the month for August.
He got injured in Newcastle's 4–3 win over Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town F.C.
Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One...

 in the League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...

. The injury kept him out for three months but on his return he scored against Coventry with a left footed strike from the edge of the box. He followed this up by scoring the second in Newcastle's 2–0 home win over Middlesbrough and their 2–2 away draw with Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...

 on Boxing Day taking his tally to an impressive 8 goals from 9 starts. Ameobi was subsequently sidelined with a hamstring injury but made the bench against Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...

 on 29 March 2010. Ameobi appeared early in the second half as a substitute, and soon made his presence felt, firing in an angled left-footed shot off the post to give United the lead in a 2–0 victory. On 3 April 2010, Ameobi scored the decisive goal in a 3–2 victory at Peterborough United
Peterborough United F.C.
Peterborough United Football Club are a professional English football club based in Peterborough. Peterborough United formed in 1934 and played in the old Midland League, which they won six times; eventually being admitted to the Football League in 1960, replacing Gateshead. Their home ground is...

.

On 22 September 2010 Ameobi scored two goals in a surprise victory away at Chelsea in the League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...

, including the winner in the 90th minute. On 16 October 2010, Ameobi came off the bench to score Newcastle's first in a 2-2 draw against Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic F.C.
Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English Premier League Association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Wigan's current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.They have played at the DW...

. After his good performance against Wigan, he started the next game against West Ham United alongside Andy Carroll
Andy Carroll
Andrew Thomas "Andy" Carroll is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Liverpool and the England national team....

 putting in a good performance as The Magpies came from 1-0 down to win 2-1. He scored twice in Newcastle's next league game on 31 October 2010 as Newcastle crushed local rivals Sunderland 5-1 at St. James' Park. On 2 January 2011, he scored the winner in a 1-0 win at Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic F.C.
Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English Premier League Association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Wigan's current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.They have played at the DW...

.

Despite suffering with a cheek bone injury in February which required him to wear a mask which impaired his vision upon his return, he was a regular starter after Christmas with the sale of Andy Carroll
Andy Carroll
Andrew Thomas "Andy" Carroll is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Liverpool and the England national team....

. He signed a contract extension to the end of the 2013–14 season on 10 August 2011. His current deal was due to expire at the end of the season.

International career

Nigerian-born Ameobi had a three-year spell with England's under-21 team
England national under-21 football team
England's national Under-21 football team, also known as England Under-21s or England U21, is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team....

, netting seven goals between 2000 and 2003. Ameobi is the joint eighth highest goal scorer for the under-21s
England national under-21 football team
England's national Under-21 football team, also known as England Under-21s or England U21, is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team....

.

In late 2009, Ameobi declared his interest in playing for Nigeria
Nigeria national football team
The Nigeria national football team, nicknamed the Super Eagles or Green Eagles, is the national team of Nigeria and is controlled by the Nigeria Football Federation . The team has ranked as high as 5th in the FIFA World Rankings, in April 1994...

. On 14 January 2011, he was announced in the Nigerian national squad for the first time, for a friendly against Guatemala
Guatemala national football team
The Guatemala national football team is the association football team representing the country of Guatemala and is controlled by the Federación Nacional de Fútbol de Guatemala. Founded in 1919, it affiliated to FIFA in 1946, and it is a member of CONCACAF....

 in the United States, in February. He withdrew from the replacement game against Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone national football team
The Sierra Leone national football team, nicknamed the Leone Stars, is the national team of Sierra Leone and is controlled by the Sierra Leone Football Association...

 after breaking his cheekbone in a Premier League match.

On 1 November 2011, it was announced that FIFA had cleared Ameobi to play for Nigeria.

Club

Season Club Division League FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...

Europe Total Discipline
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
2000–01
2000–01 Newcastle United F.C. season
During the 2000–01 English football season, Newcastle United F.C. competed in the FA Premier League. This article covers the squad and match results for that season.-Season summary:...

Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...

Premier League 20 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 22 2 0 0
2001–02
2001–02 Newcastle United F.C. season
-Season summary:Sir Bobby Robson felt that his side could aim for eighth place in the final table as the season began, but they were soon looking like unlikely contenders for the Premiership title. This brought renewed hope for the club after four seasons of struggle, though in the end Newcastle...

15 0 1 0 3 2 6 3 25 5 3 0
2002–03
2002–03 Newcastle United F.C. season
During the 2002-03 English football season, Newcastle United F.C. participated in the FA Premier League . Newcastle had mounted a surprise title challenge the previous season following four seasons in midtable, and mounted a similar challenge in the 2002-03 season...

28 5 1 1 0 0 10 4 39 10 4 0
2003–04
2003–04 Newcastle United F.C. season
During the 2003-04 season, Newcastle United participated in the FA Premier League.-Season summary:For the third season in a row Newcastle qualified for European competition via the league...

26 7 1 0 1 0 13 5 41 12 2 0
2004–05
2004–05 Newcastle United F.C. season
During the 2004-05 season, Newcastle United participated in the Premier League. The season began poorly for Newcastle, with no wins in their first four matches, and manager Bobby Robson was sacked, bringing to an end his 5-year tenure at the club...

31 2 5 3 2 1 7 3 45 9 6 1
2005–06 30 9 3 0 0 0 2 1 34 10 5 0
2006–07 12 3 0 0 0 0 4 3 16 6 1 0
2007–08 6 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 8 0 0 0
2007–08 Stoke City
Stoke City F.C.
Stoke City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire that plays in the Premier League. Founded in 1863, it is the oldest club in the Premier League, and considered to be the second oldest professional football club in the world, after Notts...

 (Loan)
Championship 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 2 0
2008–09 Newcastle United
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...

Premier League 22 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 22 4 1 0
2009–10 Championship
Championship
Championship is a term used in sport to refer to various forms of competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.- Title match system :...

18 10 2 0 1 1 0 0 21 11 2 0
2010-11
2010–11 Newcastle United F.C. season
The 2010–11 season marked the return of Newcastle United to the Premier League following a season in the Championship. They finished in 12th place....

Premier League 28 6 0 0 2 3 0 0 30 9 3 0
2011-12
2011–12 Newcastle United F.C. season
The 2011–12 season will be the 119th season in the history of . The club is competing in the Premier League for the second consecutive season, after relegation to the Championship in 2008–09 and subsequent promotion the following season. The club went for 11 games unbeaten, until a 3-1 defeat at ,...

6 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 7 1 1 0
Newcastle United Total 24249153127411231071281
248
49 15 3 12 7 41 12 316 71 30 1

Honours

Newcastle United
  • Football League Championship
    Football League Championship
    The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...

    : 2009–2010
    2009–10 Football League Championship
    The Football League Championship season 2009–10 is the sixth season of the league under its current title and eighteenth season under its current league division format...

  • UEFA Intertoto Cup
    UEFA Intertoto Cup
    The UEFA Intertoto Cup, also abbreviated as UI Cup and originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition for European clubs that had not qualified for one of the two major UEFA competitions, the Champions League and the UEFA Cup. The competition was discontinued...

    : 2006

External links

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