Emmanuel Amunike (born 25 December 1970) is a Nigerian professional football manager and former professional football player who played as a winger.[2][3]

Emmanuel Amunike
Amunike in 2017
Personal information
Date of birth (1970-12-25) 25 December 1970 (age 54)
Place of birth Eziobodo, Nigeria
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Position(s) Winger
Team information
Current team
Nigeria (assistant coach)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990 Concord FC
1991 Julius Berger FC
1991–1994 Zamalek 71 (26)
1994–1996 Sporting CP 51 (17)
1996–2000 Barcelona 19 (1)
2000–2002 Albacete 17 (1)
2002–2003 Busan IPark
2003–2004 Al-Wehdat 12 (3)
2004–2006 Al Najma Club 18 (0)
International career
1993–2001 Nigeria 27 (9)
Managerial career
Reocín (youth)
2008 Al Hazm (assistant)
2008–2009 Julius Berger
2009–2011 Ocean Boys
2014–2017 Nigeria U17
2017–2018 Al Khartoum
2018–2019 Tanzania
2020 Misr Lel Makkasa
2020-2021 Misr Lel Makkasa (director of academy)
2021–2022 Nigeria (assistant)
2022 Zanaco
2022–2023 Zanaco (consultant)
2024– Heartland F.C
Medal record
Representing  Nigeria
Men's football
Africa Cup of Nations
Winner 1994 Tunisia
Runner-up 2000 Ghana–Nigeria
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1996 Atlanta
Men's football
Representing  Nigeria (as manager)
FIFA U-17 World Cup
Winner 2015 Chile
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career

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Amunike played for Zamalek, Sporting CP, Barcelona, and Albacete. He played 27 times for Nigeria, scoring nine goals.[4] He was part of the team that participated at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States, scoring against Bulgaria and Italy;[5][6] also in that year, he helped the Super Eagles win the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia, and was voted African Footballer of the Year.

Amunike played all of Nigeria's games at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, scoring the winning goal in the final as the national team won the gold medal.[7] Knee problems kept him out of the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

Managerial career

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After retiring at the end of 2004, Amunike moved to Cantabria in 2006, where he lived with his Spanish wife, Fatima, and took coaching courses.[8] At the same time, he was also coaching some youth teams at SD Reocín.[8] After a spell at Saudi club Al Hazm as an assistant coach, Amunike took charge of the local Nigerian club Julius Berger in August 2008.[9]

On 23 December 2008, Amunike took on training duties for some teams in Nigeria, after completing two years of training courses in Europe.[10][11][12] In November 2009, he took charge of Ocean Boys.[13]

Amunike coached the Nigeria U17 national team to win the World Cup in 2015. On 6 August 2018, he was appointed as the coach of the Tanzania national team.[14] He managed to qualify for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, but he resigned from training the team after losing all three games.[15][16] In November 2019, he said he was looking for a new job.[17]

Amunike was appointed the manager of Egyptian Premier League club, Misr Lei Makkasa in February 2021.[18] In March 2021, his role was changed to director of academies.[19]

He became assistant coach of the Nigeria national team in February 2022.[20]

Personal life

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Amunike's younger brothers, Kingsley and Kevin, have also been footballers.[21] Both also played several years in Portugal, amongst other countries.

Honours

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Player

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Julius Berger FC

Zamalek

Sporting CP

Barcelona

Nigeria

Individual

Manager

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Nigeria U17

  • FIFA U-17 World Cup: 2015

References

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  1. ^ Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Emmanuel Amunike (Player)". www.national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  2. ^ "EMMANUEL AMUNEKE: Love for coaching took me to Sudan". Sportinglife.ng. 3 February 2018.
  3. ^ "Las lesiones no dejaron cicatrices en Amunike" [Injuries left no scars in Amunike] (in Spanish). FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 28 June 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  4. ^ World Cup France 1998 – Nigeria; at Sports Illustrated
  5. ^ Eagles grounded as Baggio wakes; FIFA.com
  6. ^ The Super Eagle with broken wings; FIFA.com
  7. ^ Emmanuel AmunikeFIFA competition record (archived)
  8. ^ a b «Siempre supe que el fútbol era mi destino», elcorreo.com, 19 March 2006
  9. ^ Nigeria’s Emmanuel Amuneke appointed Tanzania coach, guardian.ng, 6 August 2018
  10. ^ Amunike bags Berger job; All Africa, 23 December 2008
  11. ^ Why I left Berger Archived 7 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine; The Punch
  12. ^ Ex-Barcelona winger Emmanuel Amunike to coach Nigeria's Ocean Boys; Goal.com, 3 November 2009
  13. ^ Ex-Barcelona Winger Emmanuel Amuneke To Coach Nigeria's Ocean Boys, goal.com, 3 November 2009
  14. ^ "Tanzania appoint former Nigeria winger Amuneke as head coach". BBC Sport. 6 August 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  15. ^ Okeleji, Oluwashina (3 July 2019). "Africa Cup of Nations: Tanzania must learn from exit, says Amuneke". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  16. ^ "Amuneke leaves post as Tanzania coach by mutual consent". BBC Sport. 8 July 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  17. ^ "Emmanuel Amuneke: Nigerian coach seeks new job". BBC Sport. 2 November 2019.
  18. ^ "Emmanuel Amuneke: New boss of Egypt's El-Makkasa admits to 'big task'". BBC Sport. 2 February 2021.
  19. ^ "Emmanuel Amuneke explains role change at Egypt's El-Makkasa". BBC Sport. 4 March 2021.
  20. ^ "Nigeria: Augustine Eguavoen to remain in charge of Super Eagles on interim basis". BBC.com. 8 February 2022.
  21. ^ Scott, Carl-Gustaf (16 September 2015). African Footballers in Sweden: Race, Immigration, and Integration in the Age of Globalization. Springer. ISBN 978-1-1375-3509-2.
  22. ^ "NPFL".
  23. ^ "CHAMPIONS CUP 1993 - FINAL". Footballdatabase.eu. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  24. ^ "CAF SUPER CUP 1994 - FINAL". Footballdatabase.eu. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  25. ^ "Sporting 2-0 Maritimo". zerozero.pt. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  26. ^ "Histórico da Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira" [Supercup Cândido de Oliveira all-time record] (PDF) (in Portuguese). Portuguese Football Federation. 11 August 2012. p. 10. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  27. ^ "Spain Cups 1996/97". RSSSF. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  28. ^ "Nigeria - Squad Africa Cup 2000 Ghana/Nigeria". Worldfootball.net. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  29. ^ "Amuneke takes charge of Egypt's El-Makkasa". BBC Sport.
  30. ^ "History of BBC African Footballer of the Year". BBC Sport.
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