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Personal information | ||||||||||||||
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Full name | Onyekachi Apam | |||||||||||||
Date of birth | 30 December 1986 | |||||||||||||
Place of birth | Aba, Nigeria | |||||||||||||
Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) | |||||||||||||
Position(s) | Defender | |||||||||||||
Youth career | ||||||||||||||
–2003 | Pepsi Football Academy | |||||||||||||
2004–2005 | Enugu Rangers | |||||||||||||
2005–2006 | Nice | |||||||||||||
Senior career* | ||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||
2006–2010 | Nice | 105 | (1) | |||||||||||
2010–2014 | Rennes | 23 | (0) | |||||||||||
2014 | Seattle Sounders FC | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||
Total | 128 | (1) | ||||||||||||
International career | ||||||||||||||
2005 | Nigeria U20 | 6 | (0) | |||||||||||
2008 | Nigeria U23 | 5 | (0) | |||||||||||
2007–2010 | Nigeria | 14 | (0) | |||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Onyekachi Apam (born 30 December 1986 in Aba) is a Nigerian former footballer who retired in 2014 after sustaining injuries playing for the Seattle Sounders FC.[1] He represented Nigeria at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing as part of the men's football team.[2]
Career
In 2005, Apam tried out for OGC Nice, where he eventually signed. He made 105 appearances and extended his contract to end in 2013 rather than 2012 before transferring to Stade Rennes in 2010.[3][4] Apam sat out most his time at Stade Rennes due first to a knee injury and later to an ankle injury.[5][6] He left Rennes in early 2014 after appearing only 23 times in four years and signed with Seattle Sounders FC in September just before the MLS roster freeze.[3][7] He was released without making an appearance on 5 December.[8]
Team Nigeria
During his career, Apam represented Nigeria's national team 14 times, including the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship;[9] the 2008 Africa Cup and the Summer Olympics;[10] and the FIFA World Cup[11] and the Africa Cup of Nations in 2010.[12][3] Nigeria won a silver medal at the 2008 Olympics.[13][14]
Personal life
On 31 December 2007 in Enugu, Apam's car was stolen and he was kidnapped for forty-five minutes before being released.[16][17]
Apam's nephew is footballer Lesley Ugochukwu, who also played for Stade Rennes until 2023.[1]
References
- ^ a b Mabuka, Dennis (3 July 2021). "Lesley Ugochukwu: Nigeria target signs contract extension at Rennes". GOAL. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
- ^ Azikiwe, Ifeoha. Nigeria Echoes of a Century - Volume Two 1999-2014. p. 357.
- ^ a b c "Sounders FC Signs Onyekachi Apam". Sounders FC. 19 September 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
- ^ "Nice's Nigerian Apam Extends Contract". GOAL.com. 21 October 2008. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
- ^ "Apam Eyes EPL switch in summer". DisNaija. 4 May 2013. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
- ^ "Onyekachi Apam". Stade Rennais. 30 July 2002. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
- ^ Mumuni, Moutakilou (6 January 2014). "Nigerian Onyekachi Apam quits Rennes". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
- ^ "Sounders Terminate Apam's Contract, Two Other Nigerians". 5 December 2014.
- ^ "FIFA World Youth Championship Netherlands 2005". FIFA. 2005. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
- ^ "Apam robbed at gunpoint". BBC. 31 December 2007. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
- ^ "Anichebe and Utaka named to Nigeria squad". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 11 May 2010. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
- ^ Doyle, Paul (20 January 2010). "Africa Cup of Nations: Nigeria v Mozambique – as it happened". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
- ^ "Apam wants Siasia as Eagles coach". Vanguard. 8 September 2010. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
- ^ "Soccer-World-Penpix of Nigeria squad". Reuters. 17 May 2010. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
- ^ Bello, Aderonke (8 November 2015). "The Dominance of the Igbo Tribe in Nigerian Football by Aderonke Bello". LinkedIn. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
- ^ "5 Super Eagles Players Who Have Been Terrorized By Kidnappers in Nigeria". Naija World. n.d. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
- ^ Okeleji, Oluwashina (28 November 2015). "Nigeria U-23 coach Samson Siasia's mother released". BBC. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
External links
- Onyekachi Apam's profile, stats & pics
- Onyekachi Apam – French league stats at LFP – also available in French (archived)