View source for Emmanuel Olisadebe

{{Short description|Footballer (born 1978)}}
{{BLP sources|date=February 2012}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Emmanuel Olisadebe
| image = Emmanuel Olisadebe.jpg
| caption = Olisadebe with [[Henan Construction]] in 2009
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1978|12|22}}
| birth_place = [[Warri]], Nigeria
| height = 1.80 m
| currentclub = 
| position = [[Striker (association football)|Striker]]
| youthyears1 = 1992–1995
| youthclubs1 = [[Jasper United F.C.|Jasper United]]
| years1 = 1995–1997
| years2 = 1997–2001
| years3 = 2001–2005
| years4 = 2005–2006
| years5 = 2006–2007
| years6 = 2007–2008
| years7 = 2008–2010
| years8 = 2010–2011
| years9 = 2011–2012
| years10 = 2011–2012
| clubs1 = [[Jasper United F.C.|Jasper United]]
| clubs2 = [[Polonia Warsaw]]
| clubs3 = [[Panathinaikos FC|Panathinaikos]]
| clubs4 = [[Portsmouth F.C.|Portsmouth]]
| clubs5 = [[Skoda Xanthi]]
| clubs6 = [[APOP Kinyras Peyias FC|APOP Kinyras Peyias]]
| clubs7 = [[Henan Construction F.C.|Henan Construction]]
| clubs10 = [[Veria F.C.|Veria]]
| caps1 = 40
| caps2 = 66
| caps3 = 74
| caps4 = 2
| caps5 = 9
| caps6 = 17
| caps7 = 63
| caps9 = 0
| caps10 = 9
| goals1 = 20
| goals2 = 20
| goals3 = 24
| goals4 = 0
| goals5 = 0
| goals6 = 6
| goals7 = 24
| goals9 = 0
| goals10 = 1
| totalcaps = 276
| totalgoals = 95
| nationalyears1 = 2000–2004
| nationalteam1 = [[Poland national football team|Poland]]
| nationalcaps1 = 25
| nationalgoals1 = 11
}}

'''Emmanuel Olisadebe''' ({{IPA|pl|ɛmaˈnuɛl olisaˈdɛbɛ}}; born 22 December 1978) is a former professional [[association football|footballer]] who played as a [[striker (association football)|striker]]. Born in Nigeria, he played for the [[Poland national football team|Poland national team]]. He scored 11 international goals in 25 caps between 2000 and 2004, and participated in the [[2002 FIFA World Cup]]. In 2001, he won the [[Piłka Nożna magazine plebiscite|Polish Footballer of the Year]] Award.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.worldfootball.net/footballer_of_the_year/polen/# |title=Player of the year – Poland |website=worldfootball.net |access-date=22 December 2024}}</ref>

Olisadebe began his career with [[Jasper United F.C.|Jasper United]] in his native Nigeria, before signing with Polish top flight club [[Polonia Warsaw]] in 1997. At Polonia he became a first team regular, and helped the club to the [[Ekstraklasa]] title, and [[Ekstraklasa Cup]] and [[Polish Super Cup]]. After meeting the residency requirements, Olisadebe became a Polish national in 2000 making him available for selection for the Poland national football team. He was subsequently called up to the national team and in the process become the first black player to represent Poland.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thesefootballtimes.co/2016/11/16/emmanuel-olisadebe-the-immigrant-who-enriched-a-footballing-nation/|title=Emmanuel Olisadebe: the immigrant who enriched a footballing nation|last=Mason|first=Tom|date=16 November 2016|website=thesefootballtimes.co|publisher=[[These Football Times]]|access-date=12 September 2021}}</ref>

After leaving Poland he went on to play in Greece, Cyprus, England and China before retiring.

==Club career==
===Polonia Warsaw===
Olisadebe began playing for [[Polonia Warsaw]] during the [[1997–98 Ekstraklasa]] season where in his first season he played in 13 league games.<ref name="national-football-teams.com">{{NFT player|id=5226|accessdate=}}</ref> During his time in the Polish capital he helped them secure their first championship title in 50 years in the [[1999–2000 Ekstraklasa|1999–2000 season]], scoring 12 goals in the process. He also won the League Cup and the Super Cup that season.

===Panathinaikos===
Olisadebe moved to [[Panathinaikos F.C.|Panathinaikos]] where he scored 24 goals in 74 matches.<ref name="national-football-teams.com"/> In 2004, he helped the club win the title for the first time in 7 years by scoring all the winning goals in the last three of four games of [[2003-04 Alpha Ethniki|the championship]]. He also won [[2003-04 Greek Cup|the cup that year]], making it a [[Double (association football)|double]]. However, during his time at Panathinaikos he suffered an injury that required surgery in Greece.{{citation needed|date=February 2012}}

===Portsmouth===
On 4 January 2006, he joined [[Portsmouth F.C.|Portsmouth]] until the end of the [[2005–06 Portsmouth F.C. season|2005–06 season]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/4582378.stm|title=Portsmouth seal Olisadebe swoop|date=4 January 2006 |publisher=bbc.co.uk|access-date=10 February 2012}}</ref> He made his debut ten days later, replacing [[Richard Hughes (footballer)|Richard Hughes]] after 61 minutes of an eventual 1–0 [[Premier League]] defeat to [[Everton F.C.|Everton]] at [[Fratton Park]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Portsmouth 0-1 Everton|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/4590274.stm|access-date=27 May 2015|work=BBC Sport|date=14 January 2006}}</ref> A week later he made his only other appearance for the club, playing the final 37 minutes of a 5–0 defeat at [[Birmingham City]], this time in place of [[Vincent Péricard]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Birmingham 5-0 Portsmouth|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/4612190.stm|access-date=27 May 2015|work=BBC Sport|date=21 January 2006}}</ref>

His contract was terminated after four months, at which point he moved to [[Skoda Xanthi F.C.|Skoda Xanthi]], where he played for nine matches.<ref>{{cite news|title=Εμμάνουλ Ολισαντέμπε|url=https://www.trifilara.gr/i-podosferistes-me-parelthon-se-panathinaiko-ke-xanthi/}}</ref>

===APOP Kinyras Peyias===
He then featured for [[APOP Kinyras Peyia FC]] where he played in the 2007–08 season where he played in 17 games scoring 6 goals.<ref name="national-football-teams.com"/>

===Henan Construction===
In 2008, he was offered a deal with [[Chinese Super League]] club [[Henan Construction F.C.|Henan Construction]]. In his second match with Henan, the third round of 2008 Chinese Super League against [[Liaoning Hongyun|Liaoning]], he scored two goals. In first season at Henan he scored 12 goals in 26 games in the Chinese super league.

On 27 September, Olisadebe scored the opening goal for Henan in a 2–0 win over [[Shanghai Shenhua F.C.|Shanghai Shenhua]] to regain lead in the league less than ten minutes before injuring his knee. Initial diagnosis showed that he had torn his [[cruciate ligament]] of the left knee, and the injury could end his entire football career.<ref>{{cite web| title = 奥贝初步诊断十字韧带断裂 赛季报销恐将提前退役| publisher= sina.com.cn| url = http://sports.sina.com.cn/j/2009-09-27/23104608263.shtml| access-date = 28 September 2009}}</ref> Further results confirmed that he injured his [[patellar ligament]] and would only miss the rest of the season.<ref>{{cite web| title = 奥贝确诊髌腱韧带脱落 缺席本赛季不危及职业生涯| publisher= sina.com.cn| url = http://sports.sina.com.cn/j/2009-09-28/18324609795.shtml| access-date = 29 September 2009}}</ref>
He was nominated for the MVP awards two years consecutively only to be 2nd in both occasions.{{citation needed|date=February 2012}} Due to his performance he has been granted by the government of Henan province citizenship.{{citation needed|date=February 2012}}

==International career==
Though Nigerian by birth, Olisadebe became a Polish citizen in 2000 and was selected by the [[Poland national football team|Poland national team]]. He scored eight goals in ten [[2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)|qualification matches]] as coach [[Jerzy Engel]]'s team reached the [[2002 FIFA World Cup]], their first since [[1986 FIFA World Cup|1986]], gaining one vote for [[2001 FIFA World Player of the Year]]. He netted their second of three goals in a victory over [[Norway national football team|Norway]] on 1 September which confirmed qualification.<ref>{{cite news|title=The strange case of Emmanuel Olisadebe|url=http://www.wsc.co.uk/wsc-daily/1016-July-2011/7396-the-strange-case-of-emmanuel-olisadebe|access-date=27 May 2015|work=[[When Saturday Comes]]|date=13 July 2011|archive-date=27 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527193307/http://www.wsc.co.uk/wsc-daily/1016-July-2011/7396-the-strange-case-of-emmanuel-olisadebe|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Olisadebe scored Poland's first goal of their [[2002 FIFA World Cup]] campaign in a 3–1 victory against the [[USMNT|United States]] in [[Daejeon]] in the last group match.<ref>{{cite news|title=American dream lives on|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/worldcup2002/hi/matches_wallchart/poland_v_usa/default.stm|access-date=27 May 2015|work=BBC Sport|date=14 June 2002}}</ref> However, Poland did not progress to the second round and Olisadebe would not score again for Poland.  Jerzy Engel, the national coach who brought Olisadebe into the fold, resigned following Poland’s exit from the World Cup, and barring a handful of sporadic appearances that resignation ended Olisadebe’s association with the national team as well.

==Personal life==
Olisadebe supported the "Let’s Kick Racism out of the Stadiums" campaign, organised by the Polish [["Never Again" Association|Never Again Association.]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=AGAINST RACISM IN THE STADIUMS|url=https://www.nigdywiecej.org/en/projects/against-racism-in-the-stadiums/150-articles-from-2002/2152-against-racism-in-the-stadiums|access-date=21 June 2021|website="NEVER AGAIN" ASSOCIATION|language=en-gb}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=10 June 2012|title=Portrait de footballeur polonais : Olisadebe, un précurseur venu d'Afrique|language=fr|work=Le Monde.fr|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/euro2012/article/2012/06/10/portrait-de-footballeur-polonais-olisadebe-un-precurseur-venu-d-afrique_5982233_1616919.html|access-date=21 June 2021}}</ref> He married a Polish woman, Beata Smolińska, in 2001 and they remained married until 2017; they parted on friendly terms.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sport.onet.pl/ofsajd/emmanuel-olisadebe-kiedys-byl-gwiazda-reprezentacji-polski-teraz-sluch-o-nim-zaginal/sldby5y#slajd-6|title=Emmanuel Olisadebe - kiedyś był gwiazdą reprezentacji Polski, teraz słuch o nim zaginął|date=9 April 2020|website=sport.onet.pl|publisher=[[Onet.pl]]|access-date=12 September 2021}}</ref> Olisadebe retired from football in 2012 and eventually moved back to Nigeria. Although he admits to sometimes missing Poland, he prefers life in his original homeland of Nigeria, where he now profits from housing construction.<ref>{{cite interview|last=Olisadebe|first=Emmanuel|interviewer=Piotr Koźmiński|work=WP Sportowe Fakty|title=Drugie życie Emmanuela Olisadebe. Żyje z mieszkań, nigdzie mu się nie spieszy. "Nie jestem zbyt ambitny"|date=4 November 2020|publisher=[[Wirtualna Polska]]|url=https://sportowefakty.wp.pl/pilka-nozna/907882/drugie-zycie-emmanuela-olisadebe-zyje-z-mieszkan-nigdzie-mu-sie-nie-spieszy-nie-|access-date=12 September 2021}}</ref>

==Career statistics==
===Club===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition<ref name="national-football-teams.com"/>
|-
!rowspan="2"|Club
!rowspan="2"|Season
!colspan="3"|League
!colspan="2"|National cup{{efn|Includes [[Nigerian FA Cup]], [[Greek Football Cup|Greek Cup]], [[FA Cup]], [[Cypriot Cup]], [[Chinese FA Cup]]}}
!colspan="2"|League cup{{efn|Includes [[Greek League Cup|League Cup]], [[Football League Cup]]}}
!colspan="2"|Continental
!colspan="2"|Total
|-
!Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[Jasper United]]
|1996
|[[Nigeria Professional Football League|Nigeria Professional League]]
|12||17||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||12||17
|-
|1997
|Nigeria Professional League
|8||3||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||8||3
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!40!!20!!colspan="2"|–!!colspan="2"|–!!colspan="2"|–!!40!!|20
|-
|rowspan="5"|[[Polonia Warsaw]]
|[[1997–98 Ekstraklasa|1997–98]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Sezon 1997/98|url=http://www.90minut.pl/wystepy.php?id=1518&id_sezon=51|work=90minut.pl/|access-date=16 December 2013}}</ref>
|[[Ekstraklasa]]
|13||1||2||0||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||15||1
|-
|[[1998–99 Ekstraklasa|1998–99]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Sezon 1998/99|url=http://www.90minut.pl/wystepy.php?id=1518&id_sezon=53|work=90minut.pl/|access-date=16 December 2013}}</ref>
|Ekstraklasa
|16||4||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||3||1||19||5
|-
|[[1999–2000 Ekstraklasa|1999–2000]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Sezon 1999/00|url=http://www.90minut.pl/wystepy.php?id=1518&id_sezon=55|work=90minut.pl/|access-date=16 December 2013}}</ref>
|Ekstraklasa
|24||12||4||1||4||1||6||2||38||16
|-
|[[2000–01 Ekstraklasa|2000–01]]<ref>{{cite web|title=2000/01|url=http://www.90minut.pl/wystepy.php?id=1518&id_sezon=57|work=90minut.pl/|access-date=16 December 2013}}</ref>
|Ekstraklasa
|13||3||1||2||2||1||6||3||22||9
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!66!!20!!7!!3!!6!!2!!15!!6!!94!!31
|-
|rowspan="7"|[[Panathinaikos F.C.|Panathinaikos]]
|[[2000–01 Alpha Ethniki|2000–01]]
|[[Alpha Ethniki]]
|8||4||1
|0||colspan="2"|–||2||0||11||4
|-
|[[2001–02 Alpha Ethniki|2001–02]]
|Alpha Ethniki
|19||9||5||1||colspan="2"|–||10||2||34||12
|-
|[[2002–03 Alpha Ethniki|2002–03]]
|Alpha Ethniki
|19||8||2||1||colspan="2"|–||9||4||30||13
|-
|[[2003–04 Alpha Ethniki|2003–04]]
|Alpha Ethniki
|9||3||2||1||colspan="2"|–||2||0||13||4
|-
|[[2004–05 Alpha Ethniki|2004–05]]
|Alpha Ethniki
|13||0||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||3||1||16||1
|-
|[[2005–06 Alpha Ethniki|2005–06]]
|Alpha Ethniki
|6||0||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||2||2||8||2
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!74!!24!!10!!3!!0!!0!!28!!9!!112!!36
|-
|[[Portsmouth FC|Portsmouth]]
|[[2005–06 Portsmouth F.C. season|2005–06]]
|[[Premier League]]
|2||0||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||2||0
|-
|[[Skoda Xanthi]]
|[[2006–07 Super League Greece|2006–07]]
|[[Super League Greece]]
|5||0||3
|0||colspan="2"|–||1||0||9||0
|-
|[[APOP Kinyras Peyias]]
|[[2007–08 Cypriot First Division|2007–08]]
|[[Cypriot First Division]]
|17||6||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||17||6
|-
|rowspan="4"|[[Henan Construction]]
|[[2008 Chinese Super League|2008]]
|[[Chinese Super League]]
|26||12||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||26|||12
|-
|2009
|Chinese Super League
|18||10||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||18|||10
|-
|2010
|Chinese Super League
|19||2||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||19|||2
|-
!colspan="2"|Total
!63!!24!!colspan="2"|–!!colspan="2"|–!!colspan="2"|–!!63!!24
|-
|[[Veria F.C.|Veria]]
|2011–12
|[[Football League (Greece)]]
|9||1||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||colspan="2"|–||9||1
|-
!colspan="3"|Career total
!276!!95!!7!!3!!6!!2!!45!!13!!344!!116
|}

{{notelist}}

===International===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Appearances and goals by national team and year<ref name=eufoot/>
|-
!National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|rowspan="5"|[[Poland national football team|Poland]]
|2000||5||3
|-
|2001||8||7
|-
|2002||8||1
|-
|2003||3||0
|-
|2004||1||0
|-
!colspan="2"|Total!!25!!11
|}

:''Scores and results list Poland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Olisadebe goal.''

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ List of international goals scored by Emmanuel Olisadebe<ref name=eufoot>{{cite web|title=United States 1-3 Poland|url=http://eu-football.info/_player.php?id=15551|publisher=European Football|access-date=27 May 2015}}</ref>
|-
!scope="col"|No.
!scope="col"|Date
!scope="col"|Venue
!scope="col"|Opponent
!scope="col"|Score
!scope="col"|Result
!scope="col"|Competition
|-
|style="text-align:center"|1||16 August 2000|| [[Stadionul Cotroceni]], [[Bucharest]], Romania || {{fb|ROU}} ||style="text-align:center"|1–1||style="text-align:center"|1–1||[[Exhibition game|Friendly]]
|-
|style="text-align:center"|2||rowspan="2"|2 September 2000||rowspan="2"|[[Olimpiyskyi National Sports Complex|Olympic Stadium]], [[Kyiv]], Ukraine|| rowspan="2"|{{fb|UKR}}||style="text-align:center"|1–0||rowspan="2" style="text-align:center"|3–1||rowspan="2"|[[2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)|2002 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
|-
|style="text-align:center"|3||style="text-align:center"|2–1
|-
|style="text-align:center"|4||28 February 2001||[[Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium]], [[Larnaka]], Cyprus||{{fb|SUI}}||style="text-align:center"|1–0 ||style="text-align:center"|4–0||Friendly
|-
|style="text-align:center"|5||rowspan="2"|24 March 2001||rowspan="2"|[[Ullevaal Stadion]], [[Oslo]], Norway||rowspan="2"|{{fb|NOR}}||style="text-align:center"|1–0||rowspan="2" style="text-align:center"|3–2|| rowspan="2" | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
|-
|style="text-align:center"|6||style="text-align:center"|2–0
|-
|style="text-align:center"|7||28 March 2001||[[Stadion Wojska Polskiego]], [[Warsaw]], Poland||{{fb|ARM}}||style="text-align:center"|2–0||style="text-align:center"|4–0
|2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
|-
|style="text-align:center"|8||2 June 2001||[[Millennium Stadium]], [[Cardiff]], Wales||{{fb|WAL}}||style="text-align:center"|1–1||style="text-align:center"|2–1
|2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
|-
|style="text-align:center"|9||1 September 2001||[[Stadion Śląski]], [[Chorzów]], Poland||{{fb|NOR}}||style="text-align:center"|2–0||style="text-align:center"|3–0
|2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
|-
|style="text-align:center"|10||6 October 2001||[[Stadion Śląski]], Chorzów, Poland||{{fb|UKR}}||style="text-align:center"|1–0||style="text-align:center"|1–1
|2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
|-
|style="text-align:center"|11||14 June 2002||[[Daejeon World Cup Stadium]], [[Daejeon]], South Korea||{{fb|USA}}||style="text-align:center"|1–0||style="text-align:center"|3–1||[[2002 FIFA World Cup]]
|}

==Honours==
;Polonia Warsaw
*[[Ekstraklasa]]: [[1999–2000 Ekstraklasa|1999–2000]]
*[[Polish Super Cup]]: 2000
*[[Polish League Cup (1999–2002)|Polish League Cup]]: 1999–2000

;Panathinaikos
*[[Superleague Greece]]: [[2003–04 Alpha Ethniki|2003–04]]
*[[Greek Football Cup|Greek Cup]]: [[2003–04 Greek Cup|2003–04]]
'''Individual'''
*[[Piłka Nożna magazine plebiscite|Polish Footballer of the Year]]: 2001
*Fourth-best Polish sportsman of the Year: 2002
*Nominated for the [[FIFA World Player of the Year]]: [[2002 FIFA World Player of the Year|2002]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/worldcup2002/hi/team_pages/poland/squad/newsid_1897000/1897358.stm Player profile for the 2002 World Cup] at BBC Sport
* {{90minut|1518}}
* {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307002847/http://sodasoccer.com/search/player/4C7357CB1C50B04A.html |date=dmy |title=Player profile at Sodasoccer.com (Chinese) }}
* [http://csldata.sports.sohu.com/player.php?regnum=MP2012 Player stats] at Sohu.com (Chinese)

{{Poland Squad 2002 World Cup}}
{{Polish Footballer of the Year}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olisadebe, Emmanuel}}
[[Category:1978 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:2002 FIFA World Cup players]]
[[Category:Polish men's footballers]]
[[Category:Poland men's international footballers]]
[[Category:Nigerian men's footballers]]
[[Category:Footballers from Warri]]
[[Category:Naturalized citizens of Poland]]
[[Category:Naturalised association football players]]
[[Category:Nigerian emigrants to Poland]]
[[Category:Men's association football forwards]]
[[Category:Jasper United F.C. players]]
[[Category:Polonia Warsaw players]]
[[Category:Panathinaikos F.C. players]]
[[Category:Portsmouth F.C. players]]
[[Category:Xanthi F.C. players]]
[[Category:APOP Kinyras FC players]]
[[Category:Henan F.C. players]]
[[Category:Vyzas F.C. players]]
[[Category:Veria F.C. players]]
[[Category:Ekstraklasa players]]
[[Category:Super League Greece players]]
[[Category:Premier League players]]
[[Category:Cypriot First Division players]]
[[Category:Chinese Super League players]]
[[Category:Football League (Greece) players]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Greece]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in England]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in China]]
[[Category:Polish expatriate men's footballers]]
[[Category:Polish expatriate sportspeople in Greece]]
[[Category:Polish expatriate sportspeople in England]]
[[Category:Polish expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus]]
[[Category:Polish expatriate sportspeople in China]]
[[Category:Nigerian expatriate men's footballers]]
[[Category:Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Greece]]
[[Category:Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in England]]
[[Category:Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus]]
[[Category:Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in China]]