Wilson Oruma
Nigerian footballer (born 1976)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wilson Oruma (born 30 December 1976) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He spent most of his career in France.[1]
|
Oruma with Marseille in 2008 | |||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 30 December 1976 | ||||||||||
| Place of birth | Warri, Nigeria | ||||||||||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||
| Position | Midfielder | ||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||
| 1993–1994 | Bendel Insurance | ||||||||||
| 1994–1998 | Lens | 42 | (2) | ||||||||
| 1996–1997 | → Nancy (loan) | 22 | (0) | ||||||||
| 1998–1999 | Samsunspor | 21 | (4) | ||||||||
| 1999–2000 | Nîmes | 25 | (2) | ||||||||
| 2000–2002 | Servette | 49 | (12) | ||||||||
| 2002–2005 | Sochaux | 77 | (6) | ||||||||
| 2005–2008 | Marseille | 56 | (3) | ||||||||
| 2008–2009 | Guingamp | 24 | (5) | ||||||||
| 2009–2010 | Kavala | 23 | (0) | ||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||
| 1995–2006 | Nigeria | 19 | (3) | ||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||
Club career
Oruma was born in Warri, Nigeria. He arrived at RC Lens from Bendel Insurance in 1994.[2] A season after being loaned to Nancy,[2] he returned to Lens and played seven matches during their 1997–98 Ligue 1 title campaign.[2][3] After representing Nigeria at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, he moved to Turkish side Samsunspor,[2] returning to France one year later to play for Nîmes.[2]
In 2000, Oruma was transferred to Swiss side Servette,[2] playing two season before coming back to France again, where he played until 2009 for Sochaux,[2] Marseille[2] and Guingamp,[2] winning the 2003–04 Coupe de la Ligue with Sochaux[4] and the 2008–09 Coupe de France with Guingamp, despite them being a Ligue 2 club at the time.[5] He was handed a trial by Cardiff City - a club based in Wales but who play in the English football league system – in the summer of 2008[6] and scored in a 2–2 pre-season friendly at Chasetown,[7][8] but was not awarded a contract due to a lack of fitness.[8]
He retired from professional football in 2010[9] after a season with Greek club AO Kavala.[10][11]
International career
Oruma was part of the Nigeria under-17 team which won the 1993 FIFA U-17 World Championships,[12] captaining his side[12] and becoming the tournament's top goalscorer with 6 goals.[12] He played 19 times international matches over 11 years for Nigeria[13] and was part of the team that participated in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, where he scored in the only appearance he made in the tournament against Paraguay.[14] He also was part of the squad that won the Olympic gold medal in 1996,[8][12] a year after he debuted for Nigeria, and also a member of the Nigerian squad at the 2002 and 2006 Africa Cup of Nations, finishing both competitions at third place. After a club career in Europe, where he played for the likes of french Ligue 1 sides Lens, Marseille, Sochaux, Guingamp, as well as a stint at Swiss side Servette, winning the UEFA Intertoto Cup, Ligue 1 and French Cup, and earning pay to sustain himself and family after life away from football.[15]
Personal life
In 2018, Oruma suffered emotional disorder as a result of how he was reportedly duped by an unknown pastor. He was broke and in a status of mental disorder six years after he was reportedly defrauded by a clergyman and some fake oil businessmen. It was learnt that Oruma eventually lost a whopping sum, close to N2 billion to an investment.[16]
Oruma holds Nigerian and French nationalities.[17]
Honours
Lens
Sochaux
Marseille
Guingamp
Nigeria
