Abiodun Agunbiade
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 2 January 1983 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Zaria, Nigeria | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Midfielder | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1998–2000 | Plateau United | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2003 | Sporting Braga | 52 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2001 | → Sporting Braga B (loan) | 50 | (18) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2004 | Naval | 25 | (4) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2006 | Național București | 40 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2009 | Politehnica Timișoara | 53 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2010 | Internațional Curtea de Argeș | 10 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | Çetinkaya Türk | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2014 | Merelinense | 41 | (7) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | CD Celeirós | 11 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 282 | (39) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005 | Nigeria | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Abiodun Agunbiadeⓘ(born 2 January 1983) is a Nigerian former football player. He was a pacey and highly skillful dribbling midfielder that usually played on the right wing.[1]
Early career
Abiodun was born on 2 January 1983 in Zaria, Nigeria.[2][3] He began playing football in 1998 at Plateau United, with whom he won the 1999 Nigeria Federation Cup.[2][3]
Portugal
He joined Sporting Braga, making his Primeira Liga debut on 19 May 2001 when coach Manuel Cajuda sent him at half-time to replace Boher Samson in a 1–0 away loss to Farense.[3][4][5] In his following game, Abiodun scored his first goal in a 5–3 home loss to Leiria.[3][4][6] In the next two seasons, he played regularly for Braga, scoring two more goals, the first in a 1–1 draw against Benfica in March 2002 and the second in a 2–2 draw against Moreirense played in February 2003.[2][3][7] Over the course of three seasons, he made a total of 52 Primeira Liga appearances with three goals scored for Braga.[2][8] During the same period, Abiodun also played 50 games and scored 18 goals for Braga's B squad in the third league.[2][8] Subsequently, he spent the 2003–04 season at Naval in the Portuguese second league.[2][3][8]
Romania
Abiodun went to play for Romanian side, Național București, making his Liga I debut under coach Cosmin Olăroiu on 31 July 2004 in a 2–1 home win over FC Brașov.[2][3][8][9] In the following round, he scored his first goal in the league when he opened the score in a 4–1 away victory against Politehnica Timișoara.[8][3][10] In the following season, he scored two goals in two away wins over Gloria Bistrița and Argeș Pitești.[11] The team also reached the 2006 Cupa României final where coach Cristiano Bergodi used him the entire match in the 1–0 loss to Rapid București.[12][13]
Between the summer of 2006 and February 2007, Abiodun and teammate Wayne Srhoj didn't play a single official game, as they claimed their contract with Național had run out at the end of the 2005–06 season.[14] After seven months of controversial court hearings and delays, the final decision favored the players who then signed with Politehnica Timișoara.[14][15] In his first season with Politehnica, he reached the 2007 Cupa României final, being used for the full 90 minutes by coach Valentin Velcea in the 2–0 loss to Rapid București.[16][17] In the following season, Abiodun played regularly for the team, scoring three goals in three league victories against Gloria Bistrița, Pandurii Târgu Jiu and in the West derby against UTA Arad.[2][8][18] In his last season spent with Politehnica, the team finished runner-up in the league and in the Cupa României, but this time coach Velcea did not use him in the final.[2][8][19][20] He also made his only appearance in European competitions, playing in a 2–1 home loss to Partizan Belgrade in the 2008–09 UEFA Cup first round.[8][21] In 2009, Abiodun signed with Internațional Curtea de Argeș where on 16 March 2010, he played his last Liga I match in a 2–1 away win over FC Brașov, having a total of 103 appearances with six goals scored in the competition.[2][8][22]
Late career
In 2010, Abiodun joined Northern Cyprus side, Çetinkaya Türk with whom he won the domestic cup in 2011.[2][23] Afterwards, Abiodun returned to Portugal, concluding his career with three seasons spent in the third league at Merelinense and CD Celeirós.[2][8][24]
International career
Abiodun played one friendly match for Nigeria on 16 November 2005, when coach Daniel Amokachi used him as a starter in a 3–0 loss to Romania.[2][25]