Christian Obodo

Christian Obodo
Personal information
Full name	Christian Udubuesi Obodo
Date of birth	11 May 1984 (age 40)
Place of birth	Warri, Nigeria
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Youth career
	Plateau United
Senior career*
Years	Team
2001–2004	Perugia
2004–2005	Fiorentina
2005–2012	Udinese
2010–2011	→ Torino (loan)
2011–2012	→ Lecce (loan)
2013	Dinamo Minsk
2014	Olhanense
2014–2016	Skoda Xanthi
2016	Concordia Chiajna
2016	Pandurii Târgu Jiu
2017	Apollon Smyrnis
Total
International career
2004–2008	Nigeria
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15 June 2017

Christian Obodo (born 11 May 1984 in Warri, Nigeria) is a Nigerian former footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.

Football career

He was plucked from relative obscurity in the Nigerian league, playing for Plateau United before he became one of the hottest properties in the Italian Serie A where he had a brilliant season at Perugia. He scored his first ever Serie A goal in a 2–2 draw against Inter at the end of the season 2003.

Fiorentina signed him as a key part of their renovation as the team came back to Serie A in 2004. They only bought half the registration rights and in 2005 La Viola and Perugia were forced to make a blind auction to decide his future. Perugia won the auction but immediately sold him to Udinese.^[2]

Obodo played his first UEFA Champions League with Le zebrette in 2005–06 season, partnered in midfield with Sulley Muntari, up until Muntari's exit for Portsmouth F.C. in 2007.

On 28 January 2014, the Portuguese side S.C. Olhanense announced they had agreed to a deal with Obodo after playing in a training game against Lokomotiv Moscow.^[3]

International career

In 2001, Obodo played for the Flying Eagles coached by Stephen Keshi at the African Youth Championship in Ethiopia. Though the team crashed out of the tournament with just one point from 3 games, Obodo showed a lot of promise in a team that had other players such as Bartholomew Ogbeche and Christopher Justice.

Obodo is regarded by many as one of the most skilful and talented midfielders to play for the Super Eagles since the 1994 era. Little wonder, a sports radio personality and media mogul – noted for nicknaming Nigerian footballers – describes him as bundle of skills, a phrase which later stuck and is now synonymous with Obodo's skilfulness.

Obodo exudes a high level of confidence in games. He is never shy of taking on opponents. Renowned for his dribbling, energetic play and surging runs, he is best when he plays through the centre of the pitch where he dribbles and often makes surging runs towards goal.

He made his long-awaited debut for the Super Eagles in the LG Cup tournament in 2003 featuring in the games versus Ghana and Cameroon. He also made a substitute appearance in the prestigious Brazil friendly, playing as a striker. He has also appeared in Nigeria's 4–1 win over Malawi in an ANC 2004 qualifier. Obodo scored his first goal in a 5–2 win at Algeria.

He made six appearances out of 10 in the 2006 World Cup qualification series, scoring a goal. At the 2006 African Cup of Nations, he featured in 4 of Nigeria's six games, scoring in the 2–0 win over Zimbabwe. Obodo last played for the Super Eagles in 2008.

Abduction

On the morning of 9 June 2012, Obodo was reportedly kidnapped by gunmen near Warri, Delta State. He was rescued the next day in nearby Isoko by men of the Nigerian police force, no ransom was paid, and suspects were arrested.^[4]

Career statistics

Club

Club performance			League		Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Italy			League		Coppa Italia		Europe		Total
2001–02	Perugia	Serie A	1	0	0	0	-		1	0
2002–03			30	1	5	0	0	0	35	1
2003–04			31	0	5	1	10	0	46	1
2004–05	Fiorentina	Serie A	33	2	6	0	-		39	2
2005–06	Udinese	Serie A	28	1	1	1	12	0	41	2
2006–07			30	5	3	1	-		33	6
2007–08			1	0	3	0	-		4	0
2008–09			18	0	0	0	8	1	26	1
2009–10			1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
2010–11	Torino	Serie B	16	1	1	1	-		17	2
2011–12	Lecce	Serie A	20	0	1	0	-		21	0
Country	Italy		189	11	24	3	30	1	243	15
Total			189	11	24	3	30	1	243	15

International

^[5]

Nigeria national team
Year	Apps	Goals
2003	3	0
2004	5	0
2005	3	1
2006	5	2
2007	2	0
2008	3	1
Total	21	4

International goals

Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
4 September 2005	Oran, Algeria	Algeria	5–2	Won	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
27 January 2006	Port Said, Egypt	Zimbabwe	2–0	Won	2006 Africa Cup of Nations
2 September 2006	Abuja, Nigeria	Niger	2–0	Won	2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
11 October 2008	Abuja, Nigeria	Sierra Leone	4–1	Won	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification