| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kalu Uche | ||
| Date of birth | (1982-11-15)15 November 1982 (age 43) | ||
| Place of birth | Aba, Abia, Nigeria | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1998 | Enyimba International | ||
| 1999–2000 | Iwuanyanwu Nationale | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2000–2001 | Espanyol B | 2 | (0) |
| 2001–2005 | Wisła Kraków | 54 | (11) |
| 2004–2005 | →Bordeaux (loan) | 24 | (1) |
| 2005–2011 | Almería | 172 | (39) |
| 2011–2012 | Neuchâtel Xamax | 14 | (6) |
| 2012 | Espanyol | 15 | (5) |
| 2012–2013 | Kasımpaşa | 34 | (19) |
| 2013–2014 | El Jaish | 8 | (4) |
| 2014–2015 | Al-Rayyan | 16 | (17) |
| 2015 | Levante | 16 | (5) |
| 2015 | Pune City | 11 | (4) |
| 2016–2017 | Almería | 28 | (5) |
| 2017–2018 | Delhi Dynamos | 15 | (13) |
| 2018–2019 | ATK | 11 | (1) |
| 2021–2022 | Águilas | 31 | (4) |
| Total | 451 | (134) | |
| International career | |||
| 2003–2012 | Nigeria | 37 | (6) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Kalu Uche (born 15 November 1982) is a Nigerian former professionalfootballer who played as aforward.
He spent most of his career in Spain, mainly withAlmería, with which he amassedLa Liga totals of 117 matches and 27 goals (212 appearances and 45 goals all competitions comprised). He also competed professionally in Poland, France, Switzerland, Turkey, Qatar and India.
ANigeria international in the 2000s, Uche represented his country at the2010 World Cup and the2010 Africa Cup of Nations.
Born inAba, Abia, Uche's career began in Nigeria with Osusu pillars F.C, Aba, and laterEnyimba International F.C. andIwuanyanwu Nationale. In the2000–01 season he joinedRCD Espanyol B in Spain, failing to receive anyfirst-team opportunities and competing with the reserves in thethird division.
In 2001, Uche transferred toWisła Kraków, playing there until 2005 – winning theEkstraklasa three times andPolish Cup twice – except for the2004–05 campaign when he representedBordeaux on loan.[1]
In mid-2003, Uche was in talks to join Dutch sideAjax Amsterdam, but the deal fell through as Wisła were unwilling to sell the player at that time. Uche subsequently went on a strike and requested for his contract to be terminated unilaterally, resulting in a six-month ban by the club. FIFA rejected Uche's appeal in December 2003, and he returned to training with Wisła shortly after.[2]
For the2005–06 season, Uche moved toUD Almería, and was instrumental in helping theAndalusia club to its first everLa Liga promotion inhis second year, scoring eight league goals (with three in the last five matches). He made his debut in the competition on 26 August 2007,coming from the bench in a 3–0 away win againstDeportivo de La Coruña.[3]
On 11 January 2009, profiting from the absence of first-choiceÁlvaro Negredo, Uche netted both goals in a 2–2 draw at Espanyol.[4] On 5 December, he scored his team's second goal atReal Madrid for the 2–1, but the hosts eventually rallied back to 4–2.[5]
In the following summer, Negredo was sold toSevilla FC – via Real Madrid – and Uche became Almería's most important attacking reference.[6] He finished the2009–10 season with a career-best in Spain nine goals,[7] including a brace on 4 May 2010 againstVillarreal CF in a 4–2 home win, which all but certified permanence in the top level for another year.[8]
Uche was only available to managerJuan Manuel Lillo one month into2010–11, due to fitness problems.[9] In the second match upon his return, on 26 September 2010, he scored twice in a 2–0 victory at Deportivo for Almería's first win of the campaign,[10] going on to net seven in 32 games as the club was finally relegated after a four-year stay.
On 4 August 2011, Uche joinedSwiss Super League sideNeuchâtel Xamax on a two-year deal.[11] He left the followingtransfer window, however, and returned to Espanyol, immerse in a deep injury crisis to its attacking line, signing until June 2013.[12]
Uche opened his scoring account for his new club on 25 February 2012 in a 1–2 home loss againstLevante UD.[13] On 11 March, he put three pastRayo Vallecano in another home fixture (5–1).[14]
On 20 July 2012, Uche moved to Turkish clubKasımpaşa SK, signing a three-year contract. On 1 October of the following year he switched teams and countries again, penning a deal withEl Jaish SC in Qatar.[15]
Uche signed an 18-month contract withLevante UD on 29 January 2015, after a short stint atAl Rayyan SC.[16] On 7 January 2016, he returned to Almería, after spending six months atFC Pune City.[17] He began his third spell at the former club in February 2017, joining until 30 June as afree agent.[18]
Uche made his debut forNigeria on 21 June 2003, in anAfrican Nations Cup qualifier againstAngola, scoring in the process.[19] He represented the nation at the2010 Africa Cup of Nations, going scoreless for the eventual third-placed team.
After a solid club season, Uche was picked forthat year'sFIFA World Cup in South Africa. On 17 June, againstGreece, he opened the score from afree kick, but the Super Eagles soon were reduced to ten men and lost 1–2.[20] In the third and last game he also scored the opener, eventually earning Nigeria's only point in the competition in a 2–2 draw withSouth Korea.[21]
| Goal # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 21 June 2003 | Samuel Ogbemudia,Benin City, Nigeria |  Angola | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2004 African Cup of Nations qualification |
| 2. | 27 May 2008 | UPC-Arena,Graz,Austria |  Austria | 1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 3. | 17 June 2010 | Free State,Bloemfontein,South Africa |  Greece | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2010 FIFA World Cup |
| 4. | 22 June 2010 | Moses Mabhida,Durban, South Africa |  South Korea | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2010 FIFA World Cup |
| 5. | 15 November 2011 | Ahmadu Bello,Kaduna, Nigeria |  Zambia | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 6. | 12 April 2012 | Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum,Dubai,United Arab Emirates |  Egypt | 1–2 | 2–3 | Friendly |
Uche's younger brother,Ikechukwu Uche, was also a footballer. Also a forward, he too spent most of his senior career in Spain (they are not related to two other players,Uche Okechukwu andIkechukwu Kalu). He is married to Stephanie Oforka, former MBGN Universe, they have two children.[27][28]
Wisła Kraków[2]
Nigeria
Nigeria squads | |||||||
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