 Okaka atSpezia in 2012 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Stefano Chuka Okaka[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1989-08-09)9 August 1989 (age 36) | ||
| Place of birth | Castiglione del Lago, Italy | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Ravenna | ||
| Number | 7 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Castiglionese | |||
| Sanfatucchio | |||
| 2001 | Centro Italia Parma | ||
| 2002–2004 | Cittadella | ||
| 2004–2005 | Roma | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2005–2012 | Roma | 34 | (2) |
| 2007–2008 | →Modena (loan) | 33 | (7) |
| 2009–2010 | →Brescia (loan) | 17 | (2) |
| 2010 | →Fulham (loan) | 11 | (2) |
| 2011 | →Bari (loan) | 10 | (2) |
| 2012 | →Parma (loan) | 14 | (3) |
| 2012–2014 | Parma | 2 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | →Spezia (loan) | 38 | (7) |
| 2014–2015 | Sampdoria | 36 | (8) |
| 2015–2016 | Anderlecht | 37 | (15) |
| 2016–2019 | Watford | 36 | (5) |
| 2019 | →Udinese (loan) | 16 | (6) |
| 2019–2021 | Udinese | 57 | (12) |
| 2021–2023 | İstanbul Başakşehir | 52 | (13) |
| 2025– | Ravenna | 4 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2007–2008 | Italy U19 | 3 | (0) |
| 2008 | Italy U20[2] | 2 | (2) |
| 2009–2010 | Italy U21 | 7 | (2) |
| 2014–2020 | Italy | 5 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 22 October 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 22:02, 15 November 2020 (UTC) | |||
Stefano Chuka Okaka (Italian pronunciation:[ˈsteːfanooˈkaːka]; born 9 August 1989) is an Italian formerfootballer who plays as aforward forSerie C Group B clubRavenna.
He began his career atRoma, debuting shortly after his 16th birthday and being loaned to several other teams for the duration of his contract. He totalled over 125Serie A games for that club,Bari,Parma,Sampdoria andUdinese. Abroad, he played 47Premier League matches forFulham andWatford, and had a season in Belgium withAnderlecht.
Born inCastiglione del Lago,Umbria, Italy toNigerian parents who later obtained Italian citizenship, Okaka joined theRoma youth system in 2004. He was part of the team that won theU-20 national title in 2005 and scored goals against Juventus in the semi-final and Atalanta in the final.
On 29 September 2005, at the age of 16 years, 51 days he made his debut with the first team in theUEFA Cup, playing againstAris. He thus became the youngest footballer to debut in an international competition for an Italian team.[3] Okaka scored his first goal for Roma in aCoppa Italia match againstNapoli on 8 December, with a powerful run from midfield and a precise shot to the left of the goalkeeper, making him the youngest goalscorer in the competition at the age of 16 years, 121 days.[4] He made hisSerie A debut with the club later that month, on 18 December, at the age of 16 years and 125 days, in a 1–1 away draw againstSampdoria.[4][5][6]
Okaka scored his firstSerie A goal on 17 September 2006, concluding a 3–1 win overSiena, just 38 days after his 17th birthday, after coming on as a substitute forFrancesco Totti. He made his debut in theUEFA Champions League ten days later, in a 2–1 away loss toValencia, aged 17 years, 49 days.[4]
Okaka was subsequently loaned toSerie B sideModena for the2007–08 season in order to gain some first team experience. He scored seven times in 33 appearances.[7] After returning to Roma, he signed a new contract which lasted until 30 June 2012. As a part of it, he earned a gross annual salary of €600,000 in the first two seasons, which then increased to €700,000 and €900,000.[8] He also spent a six-month loan period atBrescia in Serie B from January to June 2009, where he scored two goals in 16 appearances.[9]
On 6 August 2009, substitute Okaka scored his first goal with Roma in a continental competition, the final goal in a 7–1 win away toGent in the second leg of the2009–10 UEFA Europa League third qualifying round (10–2 aggregate).[10] He scored again in the Europa League in Roma's 2–0 win overCSKA Sofia and in Roma's 2–1 win over Fulham. His last goal with Roma was an 88th-minute winner against Siena.
On 1 February 2010, he joined Fulham on loan until the end of the season. He made his debut in the 1–0 win overPortsmouth on 3 February, and scored his first goal for the club eleven days later in a 5th roundFA Cup tie at home toNotts County.[11] He scored his first league goal for the club againstWigan Athletic on 4 April, in a 2–1 win atCraven Cottage.[12] He was cup-tied for Fulham's run to the2010 UEFA Europa League Final.[13]
In January 2011 Okaka moved toBari on loan. There, he scored his first goal againstLecce for 1–0 win. In this game he andKamil Glik marking their debuts for Bari. He scored one further goal for Bari that season. Okaka sustained an injury in round 30 and missed the rest of the season.
In August 2011, Okaka was attacked by Roma fans after a training session for allegedly not wishing to sign autographs.[14]
After failing to make a single appearance for Roma in the first half of the season, on 22 January 2012, Okaka joinedParma on loan until the end of the season.[15] He scored his first goal on 7 March, the opener in a 2–2 against Fiorentina.
Okaka signed a permanent deal with Parma on 20 August 2012. The following day he was loaned to the newly promotedSerie B clubSpezia where he made 38 appearances, scoring seven goals and assisting six more. After his loan spell, he returned to Parma for the 2013–14 season, making only two Serie A matches as a substitute.[16]
On 31 January 2014, Okaka was transferred to the fellow Serie A outfitSampdoria on a permanent deal, withNicola Pozzi moving the opposite direction.[17] He made a good start to his Sampdoria career, scoring five times in 13 appearances in the 2013–14 season.
He scored his first goal of the2014–15 season on 14 September 2014, a solo effort, in the 2–0 victory againstTorino on 14 September 2014.[18] On 10 June 2015, the owner and president of Sampdoria Massimo Ferrero told the Italian media that Okaka would be leaving the club.[19]
On 28 July 2015, Okaka joined Belgian sideAnderlecht from Sampdoria for a reported fee of €3 million.[20]
On 29 August 2016, Okaka joinedWatford from Anderlecht on a five-year contract.[21]He scored his first two goals on 10 December, againstEverton in a 3–2 win.[22] In his second season, after the departure of compatriot managerWalter Mazzarri, he was more used as a substitute; his one-goal came on opening day, opening a 3–3 draw withLiverpool atVicarage Road.[23]
On 8 January 2019, Okaka was loaned toUdinese for the rest of the Serie A season, having played just 47 minutes for Watford all season across three substitute appearances. Both clubs were owned byGiampaolo Pozzo.[24] He scored six goals in 16 games as theBianconeri avoided relegation, including braces in consecutive wins overFrosinone andSPAL in May.[25][26]
Okaka's move to Udinese was made permanent on 2 September 2019, on a three-year contract.[27]
After gaining Italian citizenship in 2007, Okaka was selected for theItalian Under-19 side. He made his debut for the Italy U-20 team in 2008, scoring two goals.[2] On 17 November 2009, he made his debut with theItaly U-21 squad in a match againstLuxembourg.
In April 2014, Okaka revealed he was in talks with theNigeria Football Federation about the possibility of him switching allegiance to his parents' country and play with theNigeria national football team already at the2014 FIFA World Cup.[28]
However, Okaka was included in the Italy squad for their friendly againstAlbania on 18 November 2014 by managerAntonio Conte. He made his debut as a substitute, replacingSebastian Giovinco in the second half, and scored the only goal of the match in the victory at Sampdoria's home ground, theStadio Luigi Ferraris.[29]
Okaka's twin sister,Stefania Okaka, is also a professional sportsperson.[30] A volleyball player, she plays forBéziers Volley of theFrench first division[31] and theItaly national team.
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Roma | 2005–06 | Serie A | 8 | 0 | 6 | 1 | — | 3[c] | 0 | — | 17 | 1 | ||
| 2006–07 | Serie A | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 3[d] | 0 | — | 11 | 1 | |||
| 2008–09 | Serie A | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1[d] | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 12 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | Serie A | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 6[f] | 3 | — | 14 | 4 | |||
| 2010–11 | Serie A | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1[e] | 0 | 5 | 0 | |||
| 2011–12 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[f] | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Total | 34 | 2 | 10 | 1 | — | 15 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 61 | 6 | |||
| Modena (loan) | 2007–08 | Serie B | 33 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 34 | 7 | |||
| Brescia (loan) | 2008–09 | Serie B | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2[g] | 0 | 18 | 2 | ||
| Fulham (loan) | 2009–10 | Premier League | 11 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 13 | 3 | |
| Bari (loan) | 2010–11 | Serie A | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 10 | 2 | |||
| Parma | 2011–12 | Serie A | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 14 | 3 | |||
| 2012–13 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2013–14 | Serie A | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 16 | 3 | |||||
| Spezia (loan) | 2012–13 | Serie B | 38 | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 38 | 7 | |||
| Sampdoria | 2013–14 | Serie A | 13 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 13 | 5 | |||
| 2014–15 | Serie A | 32 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 34 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 45 | 9 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 47 | 9 | |||||
| Anderlecht | 2015–16 | Belgian Pro League | 37 | 15 | 2 | 0 | — | 10[f] | 2 | — | 49 | 17 | ||
| Watford | 2016–17 | Premier League | 19 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 4 | ||
| 2017–18 | Premier League | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 1 | |||
| 2018–19 | Premier League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| Total | 36 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 39 | 5 | ||||
| Udinese (loan) | 2018–19 | Serie A | 16 | 6 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 16 | 6 | |||
| Udinese | 2019–20 | Serie A | 33 | 8 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 33 | 8 | |||
| 2020–21 | Serie A | 22 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 23 | 4 | ||||
| 2021–22 | Serie A | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 73 | 18 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 75 | 18 | |||||
| İstanbul Başakşehir | 2021–22 | Süper Lig | 31 | 12 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 32 | 12 | |||
| 2022–23 | Süper Lig | 21 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | 14[h] | 6 | — | 37 | 8 | |||
| Total | 52 | 13 | 3 | 1 | — | 14 | 6 | — | 69 | 20 | ||||
| Career total | 401 | 85 | 21 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 467 | 99 | ||
| Italy | ||
| Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 1 | 1 |
| 2015 | 2 | 0 |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 5 | 1 |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 18 November 2014 | Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa, Italy |  Albania | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
