Julius Aghahowa


Julius Efosa Aghahowa is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a striker.
Aghahowa played in Ukraine, England, and Turkey during his career. Known for his pace and acrobatic goal celebrations, he performed six consecutive backflips after scoring a goal against Sweden at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Early career

Born in Benin City, Aghahowa began his career with the Police Machines, a local police team, and went on to Bendel Insurance. He signed for Danish lower division team Herning Fremad before the 1999 African Youth Championship, but performed so well there that he wanted to play for a bigger club. He ended up with the Tunisian champions, Espérance, when he procured a contract with the Tunisians which predated the Herning Fremad contract.

Shakhtar Donetsk

In the middle of the 2000–01 season, Aghahowa transferred to Shakhtar Donetsk, who soon won the Ukrainian league championship. Aghahowa won the game for Shakhtar in the 2006 Ukrainian Championship against Dynamo Kyiv, heading the winner in extra-time, and was named man of the match. His performance in the final has been widely seen as the "saving grace" of his career at Shakhtar, with his future at the club looking bleak earlier in the season. After playing over six years for Shakhtar Donetsk, Aghahowa left for Wigan Athletic.

Wigan Athletic

His work permit was passed and on 30 January 2007, he signed for Wigan Athletic for an undisclosed fee, playing his first Premiership match for them against Portsmouth on 3 February. Aghahowa did not score for Wigan in one and a half years and on 20 June 2008, he signed for Kayserispor.

Return to Shakhtar Donetsk

On 4 July 2009, Shakhtar Donetsk signed Aghahowa on a free transfer after he was released by Kayserispor. He had already played for Shakhtar from 2000 to 2007 and declared a great desire to play for his old club. However, he could not find himself as a regular starter and was loaned out to Sevastopol at the beginning of the 2010–11 season. He was released at the end of the 2011–12 season, announcing his retirement from the game in April 2013.

International career

Although he played for the U-20 team at the FIFA World Youth Championship in 1999, Aghahowa had never played for the Senior side prior and was a surprise inclusion for the 2000 African Nations Cup co-hosted by Ghana and Nigeria. He had a fairytale introduction to International Football scoring on his debut barely 35 minutes upon coming on as a substitute for a misfiring Benedict Akwuegbu and producing the now iconic backflip goal celebration for the first time. Aghahowa played 32 matches and scored 14 goals for the Nigeria national team, including their only goal at the 2002 World Cup against Sweden. He became Nigeria's top goalscorer at the 2002 African Nations Cup. He also played at the 2000 Summer Olympics.

Career statistics

International

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1National Stadium, Lagos, Nigeria2–02–02000 African Cup of Nations
2National Stadium, Lagos, Nigeria1–12–12000 African Cup of Nations
3National Stadium, Lagos, Nigeria2–12–12000 African Cup of Nations
4Al-Merrikh Stadium, Omdurman, Sudan3–04–02002 FIFA World Cup qualification
5St Mary's Stadium, Southampton, England2–22–2Friendly
6Stade du 26 Mars, Bamako, Mali1–01–02002 African Cup of Nations
7Stade Baréma Bocoum, Mopti, Mali1–01–02002 African Cup of Nations
8Stade Amary Daou, Ségou, Mali1–11–22002 African Cup of Nations
9Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen, Scotland1–12–1Friendly
10Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen, Scotland2–12–1Friendly
11Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Republic of Ireland1–02–1Friendly
12Kobe Wing Stadium, Kobe, Japan1–01–22002 FIFA World Cup
13National Sports Stadium, Harare, Zimbabwe1–03–02006 FIFA World Cup qualification
14Liberation Stadium, Port Harcourt, Nigeria1–02–02006 FIFA World Cup qualification

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, Australia2–03–22000 Summer Olympics

Honours

Espérance
Shakhtar Donetsk