Nwankwo Kanu

Nigerian association football player (born 1976)

Nwankwo Kanu (born 1 August 1976) is a Nigerian football player. He plays for Portsmouth and Nigeria national team.

Nwankwo Kanu
Kanu in a friendly in 2017
Personal information
Full name Nwankwo Kanu[1]
Date of birth (1976-08-01) 1 August 1976 (age 48)[2]
Place of birth Owerri, Nigeria
Height 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)[3]
Position(s) Forward[2]
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1992–1993 Iwuanyanwu Nationale 25 (15)
1993–1996 Ajax 54 (25)
1996–1999 Inter Milan 12 (1)
1999–2004 Arsenal 119 (30)
2004–2006 West Bromwich Albion 53 (7)
2006–2012 Portsmouth 143 (20)
Total 406 (98)
National team
1993 Nigeria U17 6 (5)
1996 Nigeria U23 6 (3)
1994–2011 Nigeria 87 (12)
Honours
Men's Football
Representing  Nigeria
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1996 Atlanta Team Competition
Africa Cup of Nations
Runner-up 2000 Ghana-Nigeria
FIFA U-17 World Cup
Winner 1993 Japan
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Personal Life

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Nwankwo Kanu is married to fitness enthusiast, Amara Kanu and they have 3 children together. Two sons and one daughter.

Career statistics

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Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Iwuanyanwu Nationale 1992–93[4] Nigerian Premier League 25 15 25 15
Ajax 1993–94 Eredivisie 6 2 0 0 6 2
1994–95 Eredivisie 18 10 1 1 7[a] 1 26 12
1995–96 Eredivisie 30 13 0 0 9[a] 0 3[b] 0 42 13
Total 54 25 1 1 0 0 16 1 3 0 74 27
Inter Milan 1996–97[5] Serie A 0 0 0 0 0 0
1997–98[5] Serie A 11 1 2 0 5[c] 0 18 1
1998–99[5] Serie A 1 0 1 0 2 0
Total 12 1 3 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 20 1
Arsenal 1998–99[6] Premier League 12 6 5 1 0 0 0 0 17 7
1999–2000[6] Premier League 31 12 2 0 1 1 15[d] 3 1[e] 1 50 17
2000–01[6] Premier League 27 3 1 0 0 0 14[a] 2 42 5
2001–02[6] Premier League 23 3 5 2 2 1 9[a] 0 39 6
2002–03[6] Premier League 16 5 1 0 1 0 8[a] 1 26 6
2003–04[6] Premier League 10 1 3 0 4 2 7[a] 0 24 3
Total 119 30 17 3 8 4 53 6 1 1 198 44
West Bromwich Albion 2004–05[6] Premier League 28 2 2 1 0 0 30 3
2005–06[6] Premier League 25 5 1 0 2 1 28 6
Total 53 7 3 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 58 9
Portsmouth 2006–07[6] Premier League 36 10 2 2 0 0 38 12
2007–08[6] Premier League 25 4 5 2 1 1 31 7
2008–09[6] Premier League 17 1 2 0 1 0 5[c] 1 25 2
2009–10[6] Premier League 23 2 1 0 4 2 28 4
2010–11[6] Championship 32 2 1 0 1 0 34 2
2011–12[6] Championship 10 1 0 0 1 0 11 1
Total 143 20 11 4 8 3 5 1 0 0 167 28
Career total 406 98 35 9 18 8 79 8 4 1 542 124
  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  2. One appearance in 1995 Intercontinental Cup, one appearance in 1995 UEFA Super Cup, one appearance in 1995 Dutch Supercup
  3. 3.0 3.1 Appearances in UEFA Cup
  4. Appearances in UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup
  5. One appearance in 1999 FA Charity Shield

International

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Appearances and goals by national team and year[7]
National team Year Apps Goals
Nigeria 1994 3 0
1995 2 1
1996 0 0
1997 1 0
1998 5 1
1999 0 0
2000 10 1
2001 6 2
2002 11 0
2003 4 3
2004 7 0
2005 6 2
2006 8 0
2007 6 2
2008 6 0
2009 5 0
2010 5 0
2011 1 0
Total 86 12
Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kanu goal.[source?]
List of international goals scored by Nwankwo Kanu
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 21 October 1995 Pakhtakor Markaziy Stadium, Tashkent   Uzbekistan 3–1 3–2 1995 Afro-Asian Cup of Nations
2 5 June 1998 Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam   Netherlands 1–3 1–5 Friendly
3 22 April 2000 Lagos National Stadium, Lagos   Eritrea 4–0 4–0 2002 World Cup qualifier
4 27 January 2001 Liberation Stadium, Port Harcourt   Sudan 3–0 3–0 2002 World Cup qualifier
5 5 May 2001 Liberation Stadium, Port Harcourt   Liberia 1–0 2–0 2002 World Cup qualifier
6 25 May 2003 Independence Park, Kingston   Jamaica 2–2 2–3 Friendly
7 7 June 2003 Abuja Stadium, Abuja   Malawi 3–1 4–1 2004 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier
8 4–1
9 26 March 2005 Liberation Stadium, Port Harcourt   Gabon 2–0 2–0 2006 World Cup qualifier
10 8 October 2005 Abuja Stadium, Abuja   Zimbabwe 4–1 5–1 2006 World Cup qualifier
11 24 March 2007 MKO Abiola Stadium, Abeokuta   Uganda 1–0 1–0 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier
12 17 June 2007 Stade Général Seyni Kountché, Niamey   Niger 1–0 3–1 2008 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier

Honours

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Iwuanyanwu Nationale

Ajax

Inter Milan

Arsenal

Portsmouth

Nigeria U17

Nigeria U23

Nigeria

Individual


References

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  1. "List of Players under Written Contract Whose Registrations have been Terminated by Either Party Between 01/07/2012 and 31/07/2012". The Football Association. p. 36. Archived from the original on 23 October 2019.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Nwankwo Kanu". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  3. 3.0 3.1 "Kanu: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  4. "Nwankwo Kanu". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Nwankwo Kanu » Club matches". worldfootball.net. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  6. 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 Nwankwo Kanu at Soccerbase
  7. Nwankwo Kanu – International Appearances. RSSSF. Retrieved on 11 January 2012.
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 "Nwankwo Kanu – Career Honours". Soccerway.
  9. "2. Finals" (PDF). UEFA Champions League Statistics Handbook 2016/17. Nyon, Switzerland: Union of European Football Associations. 2017. p. 1. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  10. "Arsenal lift FA Cup". BBC Sport. 4 May 2002. Archived from the original on 16 December 2002.
  11. "Arsenal retain FA Cup". BBC Sport. 17 May 2003. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  12. "Owen shatters Arsenal in Cup final". BBC Sport. 12 May 2001. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  13. "Parlour gives Gunners Wembley win". BBC News. 1 August 1999. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  14. "Penalty heartbreak for Arsenal". BBC News. 17 May 2000. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  15. McNulty, Phil (17 May 2008). "Portsmouth 1–0 Cardiff". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  16. "Top 10 Super Eagles of Nigeria's Most Amazing Moments". buzznigeria.com. Chuka Udeze. 31 October 2023.
  17. "Africa Cup of Nations 2000". The Shot.
  18. Trumpeta, Imo (2012-10-29). "'Papilo' Kanu Nkwankwo (The concluding part)". Imo Trumpeta newspaper. Retrieved 2023-11-15.
  19. "Timber voted Talent of the Year". Ajax.nl.
  20. "African Player of the Year". rsssf.com. 1 January 2000. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  21. Edwards, Piers (12 November 2016). "History of the BBC African Footballer of the Year award". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  22. "FA Cup final: Kanu punishes Cardiff to win Cup". Telegraph. 8 May 2008. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  23. "IFFHS announce the 48 football legend players". IFFHS. 25 January 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  24. "IFFHS". IFFHS. 29 May 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.