.jpg) Okotie withAustria in 2015 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rubin Rafael Okotie[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1987-06-06)6 June 1987 (age 38) | ||
| Place of birth | Karachi, Pakistan | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1994–1998 | SC Wiener Viktoria | ||
| 1998–2001 | Rapid Vienna | ||
| 2001–2005 | Frank-Stronach-Fußballakademie | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2005–2007 | Austria Vienna II | 55 | (19) |
| 2007–2010 | Austria Vienna | 57 | (21) |
| 2010–2012 | 1. FC Nürnberg | 4 | (0) |
| 2010–2012 | 1. FC Nürnberg II | 7 | (1) |
| 2011–2012 | →Sint-Truiden (loan) | 9 | (1) |
| 2012–2013 | Sturm Graz | 43 | (11) |
| 2013–2014 | Austria Vienna | 13 | (1) |
| 2014 | →SønderjyskE (loan) | 15 | (11) |
| 2014–2016 | 1860 Munich | 57 | (21) |
| 2016–2017 | Beijing Enterprises Group | 24 | (3) |
| 2018–2019 | K Beerschot VA | 11 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2005–2006 | Austria U19 | 13 | (1) |
| 2006–2007 | Austria U20 | 9 | (2) |
| 2007–2008 | Austria U21 | 7 | (2) |
| 2008–2016 | Austria[3] | 18 | (2) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 21:50, 10 September 2019 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 15 November 2014 | |||
Rubin Rafael Okotie (German pronunciation:[ˈruːbɪnʔoˈkoːti̯ə]; born 6 June 1987) is an Austrian former professionalfootballer who played as aforward.
Having moved to Austria at the age of six, Okotie began his playing career withAustria Vienna. He made his professional debut in 2007 and went on to make over 50 appearances for the club before joining German side1. FC Nürnberg. Okotie spent a season at Nürnberg, and another season on loan with Belgian sideSint-Truiden before returning to Austria to sign forSturm Graz. A season-and-a-half later he returned to Austria Vienna where following which he had a loan stint withSønderjyskE in Denmark. In 2014 he signed for1860 Munich where he scored 21 goals in 57 appearances before joiningBeijing Enterprises Group, where he spent a full season. In 2018, he joined his final club, Belgian outfitK Beerschot VA, before hanging up his boots.
Okotie also represented theAustria national team at senior level and was part of Austria's squad at the2016 UEFA European Championship.
Okotie was born in the Pakistani city ofKarachi to an Austrian mother and Nigerian father. Soon after his birth, his family moved toBarcelona in Spain before immigrating toVienna when he was four-years old.[4] Okotie joined his first football club two years later before signing for theRapid Vienna academy at the age of ten. Three years later, he left to join club rivalsAustria Vienna, where he later made his professional debut.[1]
Okotie quickly progressed through the Frank-Stronach-Fußballakademie atAustria Vienna and was playing in thesecond division with the reserve side at the age of seventeen.[1] In 2007, he made his professional debut for the club againstSV Ried before scoring his first goal the following year in a 3–1 win overFC Red Bull Salzburg.[1] At the end of his debut campaign with the club he was recognized with theAustrian Bundesliga's Young Star of the Season award.
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The following season he scored the opening goal in the2008–09 Austrian Cup final to helpDie Veilchen to a 3–1 victory overTrenkwalder Admira, and thereby claim the title. During the2009–10 Austrian Football Bundesliga season, he suffered a serious knee injury which ruled him out for seven months, and limited him to just seven appearances for the season.[1] During his time on the sidelines, Okotie was approached by1. FC Nürnberg who assisted him in locating a doctor to help him in the recovery process and at the end of the season he signed for the German club, departing Austria with a return of 21 goals in 57 league appearances.[1]
On 30 May 2010, Okotie signed a three-year contract with1. FC Nürnberg, who had secured promotion to theBundesliga through the previous season's play-offs.[1] He struggled at the club, however, due in part to injury and illness, and managed to feature in just four appearances during his debut season.[5] He spent the following season onloan in Belgium withSint-Truiden, where he scored once in ten appearances, before leaving to joinSturm Graz.[6]
Okotie failed to feature for Nürnberg again following the expiration of his loan with Sint-Truiden and in January 2012 returned to Austria to joinSturm Graz, initially on a season-long loan.[7] He scored two goals in thirteen appearances on loan before signing for the club permanently on afree transfer at the end of the season.[8] He scored 12 goals across all competitions during the following season's campaign before leaving the club to rejoin Austria Vienna.[9]
Okotie returned to Austria Vienna ahead of the2013–14 campaign but scored only once in thirteen appearances during the course of the season. Following discord with club managerNenad Bjelica he left to join Danish sideSønderjyskE on loan.[10] He made 15 appearances during his spell in Denmark and scored eleven goals.[2]
After a loan spell with SønderjyskE expired, Okotie joined2. Bundesliga side1860 Munich on 2 July 2014 on a two-year contract.[11] He spent two seasons with in Munich during which time he scored 25 goals in 64 appearances and proved to be a crucial player in the club's relegation survival in 2015.[12]
In July 2016, Okotie joinedChina League One teamBeijing Enterprises Group on a two-and-a-half-year deal.[13] He scored three goals in 24 appearances over the next year-and-a-half before mutually terminating his contract with the club in February 2018.[14]
As a result of his multinational background, and prior to making his senior debut forAustria, Okotie was eligible to represent three countries at national level, namelyAustria,Nigeria andPakistan. Okotie identifies himself primarily as Austrian, however, stating in an interview withFIFA's website that "I live there, it's where I have my friends, and I think of myself as Austrian" .[1]
Okotie represented Austria at various youth levels and featured for the nation at the2006 European championships in Poland and the2007 World Cup in Canada, where Austria reached the semi-finals.[1][15] His senior debut followed in 2008 when he selected bymanagerKarel Bruckner for a match againstTurkey.[1] He was, however, left out of Austria's squad for the2008 UEFA European Football Championship later that year.[1] Austria failed to qualify for the2010 FIFA World Cup andUEFA Euro 2012 tournaments but topped theirqualifying group forUEFA Euro 2016. Okotie scored twice during qualifying, againstMontenegro andRussia, and was later chosen for the tournament squad.[16][17][18]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Austria Vienna | 2007–08 | Austrian Bundesliga | 19 | 3 | — | — | — | 19 | 3 | |||
| 2008–09 | 34 | 14 | — | 5 | 1 | — | 39 | 15 | ||||
| 2009–10 | 4 | 4 | — | 3 | 1 | — | 7 | 5 | ||||
| Total | 57 | 21 | — | 8 | 2 | — | 63 | 23 | ||||
| 1. FC Nürnberg | 2010–11 | Bundesliga | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | |||||
| Sint-Truidense (loan) | 2011–12 | Belgian Pro League | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 1 | ||
| Sturm Graz | 2011–12 | Austrian Bundesliga | 13 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 14 | 2 | |||
| 2012–13 | 30 | 9 | 3 | 3 | — | — | 33 | 12 | ||||
| Total | 43 | 11 | 4 | 3 | — | 47 | 14 | |||||
| Austria Wien | 2013–14 | Austrian Bundesliga | 13 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 20 | 1 | ||
| SønderjyskE (loan) | 2013–14 | Danish Superliga | 15 | 11 | — | — | — | 15 | 11 | |||
| 1860 Munich | 2014–15 | 2. Bundesliga | 25 | 13 | 2 | 3 | — | 2 | 0 | 29 | 16 | |
| 2015–16 | 30 | 8 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 33 | 9 | ||||
| Total | 55 | 21 | 5 | 4 | — | 2 | 0 | 62 | 25 | |||
| Beijing Enterprises Group | 2016 | China League One | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 1 | ||
| 2017 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 24 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 24 | 3 | |||||
| Career total | 218 | 68 | 12 | 7 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 246 | 77 | ||
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 October 2014 | Ernst-Happel-Stadion,Vienna, Austria |  Montenegro | 1–0 | 1–0 | UEFA Euro 2016 qualification |
| 2 | 15 November 2014 | Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria |  Russia | 1–0 | 1–0 | UEFA Euro 2016 qualification |
Austria Vienna
Austria U20
Austria U19
Individual
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