Seyi Olofinjana
![]() Olofinjana training with Cardiff City in 2011 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Oluwaseyi George Olofinjana[1] | ||
Date of birth | [2] | 30 June 1980||
Place of birth | Lagos, Nigeria | ||
Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1998–1999 | Crown | ||
1999–2003 | Kwara United | ||
2003–2004 | Brann | 34 | (11) |
2004–2008 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 135 | (16) |
2008–2009 | Stoke City | 18 | (2) |
2009–2013 | Hull City | 34 | (1) |
2010–2011 | → Cardiff City (loan) | 39 | (6) |
2013 | → Sheffield Wednesday (loan) | 6 | (0) |
2013 | Sheffield Wednesday | 7 | (0) |
2014 | Start | 7 | (0) |
Total | 280 | (36) | |
International career | |||
2000–2011 | Nigeria | 48 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Seyi George Olofinjana (born 30 June 1980) is a Nigerian former footballer who played as a midfielder.
Olofinjana began his career with local sides Crown and Kwara United before moving to Europe with Norwegian side SK Brann. After two seasons at Brann he moved to English club Wolverhampton Wanderers. He became a regular at Molineux making 213 appearances for the club over four seasons before joining Premier League club Stoke City in August 2008 for a fee of £3 million. He played only the 2008–09 season with the team before joining another top flight side, Hull City, again for a fee of £3 million.
Career
[edit]Early career
[edit]Born in Lagos,[1] he has a degree in Chemical Engineering.[3]
He made his debut for the Nigeria national team in June 2000, in a 3–2 win over Malawi.[4]
He moved from Nigeria to play club football in Norway for Brann.[4]
Wolverhampton Wanderers
[edit]In July 2004 he moved to England to sign for Wolverhampton Wanderers for a fee of £1.7 million.[5] After having become a regular player for the club, his second season was curtailed by a back injury that also forced him to miss the 2006 African Cup of Nations.[4] In the 2006–07 season, however, finishing as the club's top league goalscorer as they made the play-offs under Mick McCarthy. He netted Wolves' opening goal of the following campaign in a 2–1 defeat to Watford, but could not repeat his goalscoring level of the previous season, scoring only twice more. He missed part of the season as he competed in the 2008 African Cup of Nations where Nigeria lost in the quarter-finals.[4]
Stoke City
[edit]In June 2008, following Wolves' failure to win promotion, Olofinjana signed for newly promoted Premier League club Stoke City on a four-year deal for £3 million.[6] He scored his first goal for the club in a home game against Everton in September 2008. After making 21 appearances during the season, Stoke accepted a £2.5 million bid in the close season from French side AS Monaco. Negotiations broke down with Monaco, allowing Hull City to sign Olofinjana for £3 million.[7]
Hull City
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a0/Seyi_Olofinjana_1.png/150px-Seyi_Olofinjana_1.png)
Olofinjana joined the Tigers with the club competing in the top division of English football for the only their second-ever season. He scored his first goal for Hull City in a 2–1 win against his former club, Stoke City in November 2009.[8] However, the team was relegated back to the Championship at the end of the campaign. The midfielder was one of a number of departures during the close season as he agreed a season-long loan at fellow Championship team Cardiff City.[9]
At the Welsh club, Olofinjana was reunited with Dave Jones, who had originally brought him into English football when manager of Wolves. The midfielder featured regularly as the team reached the promotion play-offs but lost to Reading. After a total of 42 senior appearances for Cardiff, including their two games in the play-offs,[10] it was announced that he would return to Hull following the loan spell.[11]
Back at Hull, a lengthy knee injury meant that Olofinjana made only five appearances during the 2011–12 season.[12] Although he featured more regularly for the club during the following campaign, he was unable to retain a regular place in their team and was instead loaned out to Sheffield Wednesday in March 2013 until the season's conclusion.[13]
At the conclusion of the 2012–13 season Olofinjana's contract with Hull City expired, leaving him a free agent.[14] He left having made 40 appearances during a four-season stay.[15]
Sheffield Wednesday
[edit]Following his release from Hull, Olofinjana joined Sheffield Wednesday on 26 October 2013 and played in a 1–1 draw against Barnsley.[16][17]
After making four appearances, Olofinjana had his loan spell with Sheffield Wednesday extended for another month.[18] Olofinjana made seven appearances and made his last appearance for the club as an unused substitute on 26 December 2013, in a match against Blackburn Rovers. On the same day, Olofinjana apparently left the club upon the expiry of his contract.[19]
Start
[edit]After spending eight months without a club, Olofinjana joined Start in Tippeligaen until the season, where he will be reunited with Mons Ivar Mjelde, who he knew during his time at Brann.[20][21]
After retirement
[edit]In August 2015 Olofinjana started working at Wolverhampton Wanderers's Academy.[22] In February 2019, he was the Loans Pathway Manager at the club.[23]
In April 2021, Olofinjana left Wolves for Swiss side Grasshopper Club Zürich, becoming their new sporting director.[24] He resigned and left on 20 June 2022.[25]
Career statistics
[edit]Club
[edit]Source:[15]
Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
SK Brann | 2003[26] | Tippeligaen | 25 | 9 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 9 | ||
2004[26] | Tippeligaen | 9 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 2 | |||
Total | 34 | 11 | 4 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 38 | 11 | |||
Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2004–05[27] | Championship | 42 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 46 | 5 | |
2005–06[28] | Championship | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | ||
2006–07[29] | Championship | 44 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2[a] | 1 | 50 | 10 | |
2007–08[30] | Championship | 36 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 37 | 3 | ||
Total | 135 | 16 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 147 | 18 | ||
Stoke City | 2008–09[31] | Premier League | 18 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 21 | 2 | |
Hull City | 2009–10[32] | Premier League | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 19 | 1 | |
2010–11[33] | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
2011–12[34] | Championship | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | ||
2012–13[35] | Championship | 12 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 16 | 0 | ||
Total | 34 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 1 | ||
Cardiff City (loan) | 2010–11[33] | Championship | 39 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 42 | 6 |
Sheffield Wednesday (loan) | 2012–13[35] | Championship | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | |
Sheffield Wednesday | 2013–14[36] | Championship | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | |
Total | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | ||
Start | 2014[37] | Tippeligaen | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 0 | ||
Career total | 280 | 36 | 17 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 307 | 38 |
- ^ a b Appearances in Championship play-offs
International
[edit]Source:[38]
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Nigeria | 2002 | 2 | 0 |
2003 | 4 | 0 | |
2004 | 12 | 0 | |
2005 | 5 | 0 | |
2006 | 2 | 0 | |
2007 | 7 | 0 | |
2008 | 7 | 0 | |
2009 | 8 | 0 | |
2010 | 1 | 0 | |
Total | 48 | 0 |
Honors
[edit]Nigeria
- Africa Cup of Nations third place:2010[39]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2010). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2010–11. Mainstream Publishing. p. 319. ISBN 978-1-84596-601-0.
- ^ "Seyi Olofinjana". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
- ^ James Gheerbant (5 July 2014). "Premier League: What happens to footballers after being rejected". BBC. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ^ a b c d "Profiles". Hull City A.F.C. Archived from the original on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
- ^ "Seyi Olofinjana: Hull City FC". Sporting Heroes Collection Ltd. Retrieved 31 March 2012. [dead link]
- ^ "Stoke sign midfielder Olofinjana". BBC Sport. 26 July 2008. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
- ^ "Stoke's Olofinjana set for Monaco". BBC Sport. 27 July 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
- ^ Ornstein, David (8 November 2009). "Hull 2–1 Stoke". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
- ^ "Cardiff City sign Hull's Seyi Olofinjana on loan". BBC Sport. 10 August 2010. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
- ^ "20. Seyi Olofinjana". Soccerbase. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
- ^ "Confirmation: 2011 Retained List". Cardiff City F.C. 11 September 2013. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
- ^ "Seyi Olofinjana comes in from the cold". Hull Daily Mail. 20 December 2011. Archived from the original on 2 March 2012.
- ^ "Seyi Olofinjana: Sheffield Wednesday sign Hull midfielder". BBC Sport. 27 March 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
- ^ "Hull release Olofinjana". Supersport.com. 17 May 2013.
- ^ a b "Seyi Olofinjana". Soccerbase. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
- ^ "Olofinjana signs". Sheffield Wednesday F.C. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Barnsley 1-1 Sheffield Wednesday". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
- ^ "Olofinjana extends". Sheffield Wednesday F.C. 28 November 2013. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Matchday Live". Sheffield Wednesday F.C. 26 December 2013. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Start-forsterkning klar" (in Norwegian). IK Start. 8 August 2014. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
- ^ "Tidligere Premier League-spiller klar for Start" (in Norwegian). Dag Bladet. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
- ^ "Wolves blog: Return of the pack". Express and Star. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
- ^ "Seyi Olofinjana". Wolves. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
- ^ "Wolves loan manager Seyi Olofinjana to join Grasshoppers". The Athletic. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
- ^ "GC ANNOUNCES CHANGES TO ITS MANAGEMENT". Grasshopper Club Zürich. 20 June 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
- ^ a b "Seyi George Olofinjana" (in Norwegian). SK Brann. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
- ^ "Games played by Seyi Olofinjana in 2004/2005". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
- ^ "Games played by Seyi Olofinjana in 2005/2006". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
- ^ "Games played by Seyi Olofinjana in 2006/2007". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
- ^ "Games played by Seyi Olofinjana in 2007/2008". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
- ^ "Games played by Seyi Olofinjana in 2008/2009". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
- ^ "Games played by Seyi Olofinjana in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
- ^ a b "Games played by Seyi Olofinjana in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
- ^ "Games played by Seyi Olofinjana in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
- ^ a b "Games played by Seyi Olofinjana in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
- ^ "Games played by Seyi Olofinjana in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
- ^ "Games played by Seyi Olofinjana in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
- ^ Seyi Olofinjana at National-Football-Teams.com
- ^ "African Nations Cup 2010 - Final Tournament Details".
External links
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Seyi Olofinjana at Soccerbase
- Seyi Olofinjana at National-Football-Teams.com
- 1980 births
- Living people
- Footballers from Lagos
- Nigerian men's footballers
- Nigeria men's international footballers
- Nigerian expatriate men's footballers
- Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Norway
- Expatriate men's footballers in Norway
- Expatriate men's footballers in England
- Men's association football midfielders
- Kwara United F.C. players
- SK Brann players
- Yoruba sportspeople
- Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players
- Stoke City F.C. players
- Hull City A.F.C. players
- Cardiff City F.C. players
- Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players
- Premier League players
- English Football League players
- Eliteserien players
- 2004 African Cup of Nations players
- 2008 Africa Cup of Nations players
- 2010 Africa Cup of Nations players
- Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in England
- Ladoke Akintola University of Technology alumni