Vincent Enyeama
Encyclopedia
Vincent Enyeama is a Nigerian football
goalkeeper. Since 2002, he has played for the national team of Nigeria
. He currently plays for Lille
, who he signed for in June 2011.
twice, with one noteworthy mention: He was always substituted before penalty shootouts.
"I don't know why I was substituted before penalties, but it worked," he said in an interview back in 2006. "In Israel I stopped many penalties and now everyone knows that I can handle penalties."
After three seasons with Enyimba and one with FC Heartland, Enyeama moved to a minor club in Israel, Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv
.
He had a fantastic first season, showing amazing physical and athletic skills. In his first season with Bnei Yehuda, the team qualified for the final of the Israel State Cup
and achieved fourth place in the Israeli Premier League, which qualified the team for the 2006 UEFA Cup. Enyeama has played for Hapoel Tel Aviv
since 2007.
Hapoel Tel Aviv endured a poor season in 2007/2008, but Enyeama just kept on improving. He proved to be a real leader helping the team to avoid relegation and reach the state cup final. This included an emotional letter he wrote to his fellow players, encouraging them to fight together for the club. Slowly he started to feel that he belonged to the club, Enyeama has been performing extremely well in recent seasons, showing steady improvement from year to year.
On 18 August 2010 he scored his first goal of the 2010-11 season with a penalty against Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League qualifiers.
In June 2011 he moved to French side Lille
for an undisclosed fee on a three year contract. He made his debut on the 18 October 2011 against Inter Milan in the 2012 UEFA Champions League
group stage, where Inter managed a 1-0 victory
. He only played one match in that tournament, keeping a clean sheet against England
, and has since taken over the spot after Shorunmu's international retirement. Since then he has been the first-choice goalkeeper for the national team, playing in the 2004 African Cup of Nations
and 2006 African Cup of Nations
. In the 2010 African Cup of Nations
, Enyeama also had a good tournament with Nigeria in the 2006 CAN; he stopped three penalties in the quarter-final against Tunisia, but could not prevent a loss to Côte d'Ivoire
in the semi-final. Goalkeeper Enyeama turned out the hero for the Nigerians as he saved Thomas Nyirenda’s spot kick after both teams had scored their previous three kicks.
He put his own kick past his opposite number Mweene in a battle of the goalkeepers, after Mweene had scored his seconds earlier, to set up a semi-final clash with Ghana, which Nigeria lost 1-0 only to end up settling for the third place by beating Algeria by a slim 1-0 victory margin
Vincent Enyeama justified claims as one of the best shot-stoppers in football at the moment, with a defiant display to restrict Argentina to a 1-0 win in their Group B 2010 FIFA World Cup
match. Enyeama, who was playing his 56th international for the Super Eagles, made six fine saves, four of them from Lionel Messi
, and was the major reason for Nigeria coming so close to almost pinching a draw against the two-time world champions. Despite the loss, he was named Man of the Match and Goal.com World Player Of The Week. Argentine coach Maradona praised him as the reason Leo Messi was not able to score a goal.
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
goalkeeper. Since 2002, he has played for the national team of 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...
. He currently plays for Lille
Lille OSC
LOSC Lille Métropole is a French association football club based in Lille. The club was founded in 1944 as a result of a merger and currently play in Ligue 1, the first division of French football. Lille plays its home matches at the Stade Lille-Metropole in nearby Villeneuve-d'Ascq. In 2012, the...
, who he signed for in June 2011.
Club career
During his spell with Enyimba he won the CAF Champions LeagueCAF Champions League
The CAF Champions League is an annual international club football competition run by the Confederation of African Football . The top club sides from Africa's football leagues are invited to participate in this competition, which is the premier club football competition on the continent and the...
twice, with one noteworthy mention: He was always substituted before penalty shootouts.
"I don't know why I was substituted before penalties, but it worked," he said in an interview back in 2006. "In Israel I stopped many penalties and now everyone knows that I can handle penalties."
After three seasons with Enyimba and one with FC Heartland, Enyeama moved to a minor club in Israel, Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv
Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv
Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv F.C. , commonly known as just Bnei Yehuda, is an Israeli football club from the Hatikva Quarter of Tel Aviv. The club is currently a member of the Israeli Premier League and plays its home matches at Bloomfield Stadium.-History:...
.
He had a fantastic first season, showing amazing physical and athletic skills. In his first season with Bnei Yehuda, the team qualified for the final of the Israel State Cup
Israel State Cup
The State Cup , is a knockout cup competition in Israeli football, run by the Israeli Football Association.The State Cup was first held in 1927–28 as the Palestine Cup...
and achieved fourth place in the Israeli Premier League, which qualified the team for the 2006 UEFA Cup. Enyeama has played for Hapoel Tel Aviv
since 2007.
Hapoel Tel Aviv endured a poor season in 2007/2008, but Enyeama just kept on improving. He proved to be a real leader helping the team to avoid relegation and reach the state cup final. This included an emotional letter he wrote to his fellow players, encouraging them to fight together for the club. Slowly he started to feel that he belonged to the club, Enyeama has been performing extremely well in recent seasons, showing steady improvement from year to year.
On 18 August 2010 he scored his first goal of the 2010-11 season with a penalty against Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League qualifiers.
In June 2011 he moved to French side Lille
Lille OSC
LOSC Lille Métropole is a French association football club based in Lille. The club was founded in 1944 as a result of a merger and currently play in Ligue 1, the first division of French football. Lille plays its home matches at the Stade Lille-Metropole in nearby Villeneuve-d'Ascq. In 2012, the...
for an undisclosed fee on a three year contract. He made his debut on the 18 October 2011 against Inter Milan in the 2012 UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
group stage, where Inter managed a 1-0 victory
International career
Enyeama was selected for the 2002 World Cup as a cover for Ike ShorunmuIke Shorunmu
Ike Ibrahim Shorunmu is a football goalkeeper from Nigeria.-Career:After a few years in Nigeria he moved to play in Switzerland, and made his mark there. He was bought by Turkish club Beşiktaş J.K. in 1999 for $2,400,000 — but they released him as they thought he spent too much time with the...
. He only played one match in that tournament, keeping a clean sheet against England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
, and has since taken over the spot after Shorunmu's international retirement. Since then he has been the first-choice goalkeeper for the national team, playing in the 2004 African Cup of Nations
2004 African Cup of Nations
The 2004 African Cup of Nations was the 24th edition of the African Cup of Nations, the soccer championship of Africa . It was hosted by Tunisia. Just like in 2002, the field of sixteen teams was split into four groups of four...
and 2006 African Cup of Nations
2006 African Cup of Nations
-Group B:---------------------Group C:---------------------Group D:---------------------Knockout stage:-Quarter-finals:-------------Semi-finals:-----Third-place play-off:-Final:-Scorers:...
. In the 2010 African Cup of Nations
2010 African Cup of Nations
The 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 27th Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial football championship of Africa...
, Enyeama also had a good tournament with Nigeria in the 2006 CAN; he stopped three penalties in the quarter-final against Tunisia, but could not prevent a loss to Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...
in the semi-final. Goalkeeper Enyeama turned out the hero for the Nigerians as he saved Thomas Nyirenda’s spot kick after both teams had scored their previous three kicks.
He put his own kick past his opposite number Mweene in a battle of the goalkeepers, after Mweene had scored his seconds earlier, to set up a semi-final clash with Ghana, which Nigeria lost 1-0 only to end up settling for the third place by beating Algeria by a slim 1-0 victory margin
Vincent Enyeama justified claims as one of the best shot-stoppers in football at the moment, with a defiant display to restrict Argentina to a 1-0 win in their Group B 2010 FIFA World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
match. Enyeama, who was playing his 56th international for the Super Eagles, made six fine saves, four of them from Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi
Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi is an Argentine footballer who plays for FC Barcelona and captains the Argentina national team, mainly as a striker. Messi received several Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations by the age of 21, and won in 2009 and 2010...
, and was the major reason for Nigeria coming so close to almost pinching a draw against the two-time world champions. Despite the loss, he was named Man of the Match and Goal.com World Player Of The Week. Argentine coach Maradona praised him as the reason Leo Messi was not able to score a goal.
Car Accident
In 2004 Enyeama was involved in a car accident in Uyo, south eastern Nigeria, in which two motorcycle passengers were killed, and the driver of the car which Enyeama was in was left in a critical condition. Despite the severity of the accident Enyeama only came out with bruises as the car somersaulted twice as it swerved to avoid a motorbike.Honours
- Nigerian Premier LeagueNigerian Premier LeagueThe Nigeria Premier League is the highest level of domestic Nigerian football. It is fed into by the two First Division groups: the Nigerian Division 1-A and Nigerian Division 1-B. It is organized by the Nigeria Football Association. The NPL Chairman is Davidson Owunmi.- History :The league was...
: 3- 2001, 2002, 2003
- CAF Champions LeagueCAF Champions LeagueThe CAF Champions League is an annual international club football competition run by the Confederation of African Football . The top club sides from Africa's football leagues are invited to participate in this competition, which is the premier club football competition on the continent and the...
: 2- 2003, 2004
- Africa Cup of Nations:
- Third Place (3): 2004, 2006, 2010
- Israel State CupIsrael State CupThe State Cup , is a knockout cup competition in Israeli football, run by the Israeli Football Association.The State Cup was first held in 1927–28 as the Palestine Cup...
(2):- 2010, 2011
- Israeli Premier League (1):
- 2009-10