Seyi Olofinjana
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| Seyi Olofinjana | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Oluwaseyi George Olofinjana | |
| Date of birth | June 30, 1980 | |
| Place of birth | Lagos, Nigeria | |
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | |
| Playing position | Midfielder | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Stoke City | |
| Number | 4 | |
| Youth career | ||
| 1998–1999 | Crown F.C. | |
| Senior career1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1999–2003 2003–2004 2004–2008 2008– |
Kwara United Brann Wolverhampton Wanderers Stoke City |
58 (12) 34 (11) 135 (16) 18 (2) |
| National team2 | ||
| 2000– | Nigeria | 45 (0) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Oluwaseyi George "Seyi" Olofinjana (born 30 June 1980 in Lagos) is a Nigerian footballer, who plays for Stoke City in the English Premier League. "Seyi" is a nickname for the Yoruba name "Oluwaseyi" (meaning "God made this").[1]
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[edit] Playing career
Olofinjana started his professional football career at FC Crown Ogbomoso, and later moved on to play in the Nigerian Premier League for Kwara United. During this time, he also broke into the Nigerian national team, the Super Eagles, making his debut on June 6, 2000 in a 3-2 friendly win over Malawi.
The midfielder moved to Norwegian club Brann in 2003, where he played one season, and went on to play in every game of the 2004 African Cup of Nations in Tunisia, as Nigeria finished third.
He then moved to Wolverhampton Wanderers, newly-relegated from the Premier League, in a £1.7 million deal in July 2004. He had also attracted interest from FC Copenhagen[1], Rosenborg[2], Monaco and Auxerre.
He immediately became a first choice player at Molineux but struggled for consistency in performances. A back injury in Autumn 2005 kept him out for the rest of the season, forcing him to miss the 2006 African Cup of Nations.
He found his form in the 2006/07 season, however, finishing as the club's top goalscorer as they made the play-offs under Mick McCarthy. He netted Wolves' opening goal of the following campaign in a 2-1 defeat to Watford, but could not repeat his goalscoring antics of the previous season, scoring only twice more, against Burnley and Plymouth respectively. He missed part of the season as he competed in the 2008 African Cup of Nations where Nigeria lost in the quarter-finals.
In June 2008, following Wolves failure to reach the play-offs, they confirmed that they had accepted a transfer request from the player. The midfielder had signed a four-year contract in October 2007, but a release clause was inserted which had now been activated.[2] On 26 July 2008, he gained his wish of a move to the Premier League when Stoke City signed him on a four-year deal for £3m to play in their inaugural campaign in the division. A work permit was agreed on 1 August 2008. [3] He scored his first goal for Stoke City in the home game against Everton on 14 September 2008. He scored his second goal for Stoke City on 1st November 2008, against Arsenal F.C to put his team 2-0 up in a game Stoke eventually won 2-1.
[edit] Personal life
Olofinjana is a graduate of Chemical Engineering from the Ladoke Akintola University Of Technology, Ogbomoso and also sat exams as part of his Masters degree in Chemical Engineering in July 2007.
[edit] References
- ^ Meaning of Oluwaseyi in Nigerian.name
- ^ "Olofinjana granted move request". BBC Sport. 23 June 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/wolverhampton_wanderers/7469156.stm.
- ^ "Stoke sign midfielder Olofinjana". BBC Sport. 26 July 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/stoke_city/7526822.stm.
[edit] External links
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