Chidiebere Nwakali
{{short description|Nigerian footballer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Use Nigerian English|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Chidiebere Nwakali
| image =
| caption =
| fullname = Chidiebere Chijioke Nwakali
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1996|12|26|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Owerri, Nigeria
| height = 1.73 m
| position = Defender
| currentclub = Al-Sahel
| clubnumber = 5
| youthyears1 =
| youthclubs1 = Shuttle Sports Academy
| youthyears2 = 2014–2015
| youthclubs2 = Manchester City
| years1 = 2015–2018
| clubs1 = Manchester City
| caps1 = 0
| goals1 = 0
| years2 = 2015
| clubs2 = → Málaga B (loan)
| caps2 = 2
| goals2 = 0
| years3 = 2015–2016
| clubs3 = → Girona (loan)
| caps3 = 0
| goals3 = 0
| years4 = 2016
| clubs4 = → Start (loan)
| caps4 = 22
| goals4 = 3
| years5 = 2017
| clubs5 = → Sogndal (loan)
| caps5 = 26
| goals5 = 4
| years6 = 2018
| clubs6 = → Aberdeen (loan)
| caps6 = 5
| goals6 = 0
| years7 = 2018
| clubs7 = Raków Częstochowa
| caps7 = 1
| goals7 = 0
| years8 = 2019–2020
| clubs8 = Kalmar FF
| caps8 = 0
| goals8 = 0
| years9 = 2020–2021
| clubs9 = Tuzlaspor
| caps9 = 2
| goals9 = 0
| years10 = 2021–2023
| clubs10 = Tuwaiq
| caps10 =
| goals10 =
| years11 = 2023–2024
| clubs11 = Al-Jubail
| caps11 =
| goals11 =
| years12 = 2024–
| clubs12 = Al-Sahel
| caps12 = 1
| goals12 = 1
| nationalyears1 = 2013
| nationalteam1 = Nigeria U17
| nationalcaps1 = 8
| nationalgoals1 = 2
| nationalyears2 = 2015
| nationalteam2 = Nigeria U20
| nationalcaps2 = 1
| nationalgoals2 = 0
| medaltemplates = {{Medal|Sport|Men's football}}
{{Medal|Country|{{fb|NGR}}}}
{{MedalCompetition|FIFA U-17 World Cup}}
{{Medal|W|2013 United Arab Emirates|}}
| club-update = 10:32, 26 December 2023 (UTC)
| nationalteam-update =
}}
Chidiebere Chijioke Nwakali ({{IPAc-en||audio=Ig-Chidiebere Chijioke Nwakali.ogg}}; born 26 December 1996) is a Nigerian professional footballer who currently plays for Al-Sahel as a defender.
Club career
On 20 January 2014, Nwakali signed a four-year deal with Manchester City from Shuttle Sports Academy, after impressing with Nigeria under-17s in 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup.{{cite news |last1=Mosselhi |first1=Mohamad |title=Manchester City sign Nigeria's youngstar Nwakali : Agent - Africa - Sports |url=http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/6/54/92169/Sports/Africa/Aboutus.aspx |access-date=27 January 2021 |work=Al-Ahram |date=21 January 2014}} He was also a part of the first team's pre-season tour to USA in July.{{cite web|url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/report-nigerian-starlets-kelechi-iheanacho-7321005|title=Report: Nigerian starlets to join City's pre-season tour|publisher=Manchester Evening News|date=25 June 2014|accessdate=1 November 2015}}
On 31 January 2015, Nwakali was loaned to Málaga CF until June 2017, being assigned to the reserves in Tercera División.{{cite web|url=https://mcfc.co.uk/news/team-news/2015/january/zuculini-evans-and-nwakali-agree-loan-moves|title=Trio secure loan moves|publisher=Manchester City's official website|date=31 January 2015|accessdate=1 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322172035/http://www.mcfc.co.uk/news/team-news/2015/january/zuculini-evans-and-nwakali-agree-loan-moves|archive-date=22 March 2016|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://malaga.eldesmarque.com/malaga-cf/38724-el-city-cede-a-nwakali-hasta-2017|title=El City cede a Nwakali hasta 2017|trans-title=City loans Nwakali until 2017|publisher=El Desmarque|language=es|date=30 January 2015|accessdate=1 November 2015}} He made his senior debut on 22 February, starting in a 1–0 home win against Antequera CF.{{cite web|url=http://www.malagacf.com/en/news/reserve-team-makes-things-difficult-for-antequera-cf-1-0|title=Reserve team makes things difficult for Antequera CF (1–0)|publisher=Málaga's official website|date=22 February 2015|accessdate=1 November 2015}}
On 31 August 2015, Nwakali was loaned to Segunda División side Girona FC, in a season-long deal.{{cite web|url=http://www.gironafc.cat/-/el-girona-fc-incorpora-linternacional-nigeria-nwakali|title=El Girona FC incorpora al internacional nigeriano Nwakali|trans-title=Girona FC signs Nigerian international Nwakali|publisher=Girona's official website|language=es|date=31 August 2015|accessdate=1 November 2015}}{{dead link|date=August 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} However, he had to wait until 5 October to be officially available, due to a work permit.{{cite web|url=http://www.gironafc.cat/-/nwaka-1|title=Nwakali ya entrena con el equipo|trans-title=Nwakali already trains with the squad|publisher=Girona's official website|language=es|date=5 October 2015|accessdate=1 November 2015}}{{dead link|date=August 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
On 31 March 2016, Nwakali terminated his loan with the Catalans, after failing to play a single minute for the club, and immediately joined Tippeligaen side IK Start.{{cite web|url=http://futbol.as.com/futbol/2016/03/31/segunda/1459420097_022244.html|title=Nwakali pone fin a su cesión sin haber jugado ningún minuto|trans-title=Nwakali ends his loan without playing a single minute|publisher=Diario AS|language=es|date=31 March 2016|accessdate=21 April 2016}} On 2 April he made his professional debut, coming on as a second-half substitute for Mathias Rasmussen in a 1–0 home loss against Viking FK.{{cite web|url=http://www.ikstart.no/latest-news/article/1lnni22lqa7p21p9ob7kge52ky/title/debuterte-for-start|title=Debuterte for Start|trans-title=Debutant for Start|publisher=Start's official website|language=no|date=2 April 2016|accessdate=21 April 2016|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404235844/http://www.ikstart.no/latest-news/article/1lnni22lqa7p21p9ob7kge52ky/title/debuterte-for-start|archivedate=4 April 2016}}
On 8 February 2017, Nwakali moved to Sogndal Fotball on loan.{{cite news|url=http://www.sogndalfotball.no/nyheiter/englandsproff-pa-lan-ut-august |title=Englandsproff på lån ut august |date=8 February 2017 |publisher=Sogndal Fotball Official Site|language=no}}
He was then loaned to Aberdeen in January 2018.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/42632147 |title=Aberdeen sign Chidi Nwakali on loan from Manchester City |work=BBC Sport |publisher=BBC |date=10 January 2018 |accessdate=10 January 2018}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/category/aberdeen-fc/|title=Aberdeen FC Archives}}
In summer 2018, he joined Polish club Raków Częstochowa but after just two appearances in all competitions, he left the club for personal reasons.{{cite web|url=http://www.90minut.pl/news/291/news2916628-Chidiebere-Nwakali-odszedl-z-Rakowa.html|title=Chidiebere Nwakali odszedł z Rakowa|website=90minut.pl|date=16 November 2018|accessdate=19 November 2018|language=Polish}}
On 22 January 2019, Kalmar FF announced that they had signed Nwakali on a four-year contract.[http://kalmarff.se/nyheter/2019/01/22/nwakali-klar-kalmar-ff Nwakali klar för Kalmar FF!]{{Dead link|date=December 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, kalmarff.se, 22 January 2019 In February 2020 Nwakali was sacked from Kalmar FF over his failure to return on time from Christmas break {{Cite web|url=https://www.legit.ng/1298249-chidiebere-nwakali-nigerian-footballer-sacked-swedish-club-kalmar-ff.html|title=Kalmar FF sack ex-Man City star Nwakali for returning late from Christmas break|date=31 January 2020}}
On 21 May, Nwakali traveled to the remote Faroe Islands for a trial with last season's champions, KÍ Klaksvík.[https://nordlysid.fo/tidindi/65061/hesin-skal-royndarvenja-vid-ki Hesin skal royndarvenja við KÍ], nordlysid.fo, 23 Mai 2020
On 9 September 2023, Nwakali joined Al-Jubail.{{cite web |title=Done Deal: Nwakali Joins Saudi Arabia Clubside Al-Jubail Club |url=https://nigeriasportsnews.com/done-deal-nwakali-joins-saudi-arabia-clubside-al-jubail-club/}}
Career statistics
{{updated|27 July 2018}}{{cite web |title=C. Nwakali |url=https://us.soccerway.com/players/chidiebere-nwakali/319128/ |work=Soccerway |publisher=Perform Group |accessdate=10 January 2018}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition | ||||||||||
| rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season !colspan="3"|League !colspan="2"|National Cup !colspan="2"|League Cup !colspan="2"|Other !colspan="2"|Total | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| rowspan="5"|Manchester City
|0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2015–16
|Premier League |0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2016–17
|Premier League |0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2017–18
|Premier League |0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| colspan=2|Total
!0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Girona (loan)
|0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | colspan=2|– | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| IK Start (loan)
|2016 |22 | 3 | 1 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | colspan="2"|— | 23 | 3 | |||
| Sogndal (loan)
|2017 |26 | 4 | 1 | 0 | colspan="2"|— | 1Appearance in the Eliteserien relegation play-offs | 0 | 28 | 4 | ||
| Aberdeen (loan)
|5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| colspan="3"|Career total
!53 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 59 | 7 |
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
Honours
Nigeria U17
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{BDFutbol|20163}}
- {{FIFA player|372605}}
- {{Soccerway|chidiebere-nwakali/319128}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nwakali, Chidiebere}}
Category:Footballers from Owerri
Category:Nigerian men's footballers
Category:Men's association football defenders
Category:Manchester City F.C. players
Category:Atlético Malagueño players
Category:Sogndal Fotball players
Category:Aberdeen F.C. players
Category:Raków Częstochowa players
Category:Al-Jubail Club players
Category:Al-Sahel SC (Saudi Arabia) players
Category:Scottish Professional Football League players
Category:Saudi Second Division players
Category:Nigeria men's under-20 international footballers
Category:Nigerian expatriate men's footballers
Category:Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in England
Category:Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Scotland
Category:Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Norway
Category:Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Spain
Category:Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey
Category:Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia
Category:Expatriate men's footballers in England
Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland
Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Norway
Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Spain
Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Poland
Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey
Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia