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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Efetobore Eric Ambrose Emuobo[1] | |||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1988-10-18)18 October 1988 (age 36) | |||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Kaduna, Nigeria | |||||||||||||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | |||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Defender | |||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||
Current team | Workington | |||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||
| 2002–2006 | Kaduna United | |||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||
| 2006–2010 | Kaduna United | 89 | (7) | |||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | →Bayelsa United (loan) | 24 | (4) | |||||||||||
| 2010–2012 | Ashdod | 67 | (3) | |||||||||||
| 2012–2017 | Celtic | 113 | (5) | |||||||||||
| 2017 | →Hibernian (loan) | 10 | (1) | |||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | Hibernian | 59 | (2) | |||||||||||
| 2019 | Derby County | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2020–2021 | Livingston | 25 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | St Johnstone | 7 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2022 | →Dunfermline Athletic (loan) | 12 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | Greenock Morton | 11 | (1) | |||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | Queen of the South | 26 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2024 | Bury | 7 | (1) | |||||||||||
| 2024– | Workington | 25 | (1) | |||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||
| 2007 | Nigeria U20 | 4 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2008 | Nigeria U23 | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2008–2016 | Nigeria | 51 | (4) | |||||||||||
Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11:30, 27 August 2024 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10:16, 13 June 2016 (UTC) | ||||||||||||||
Efetobore Eric Ambrose EmuoboMON (born 18 October 1988) is a Nigerian professionalfootballer who plays as adefender forNorthern Premier League Premier Division clubWorkington. Ambrose has previously played forKaduna United,Bayelsa United, Israeli clubAshdod, Scottish clubsCeltic,Hibernian,Livingston,St Johnstone andDunfermline Athletic,Greenock Morton and English clubDerby County.
Ambrose has also played for theNigeria national football team, and he has represented Nigeria at theFIFA Under-20 World Cup, theSummer Olympics, theAfrica Cup of Nations, and theFIFA World Cup.
Ambrose started his professional career atKaduna United in 2006 and two years later, he was loaned toBayelsa United for the 2008–09 season but remained withKaduna United after helping them win promotion.[2]
Ambrose joinedIsraeli Premier League clubFC Ashdod in June 2010 and left in 2012.[3]
Ambrose joinedScottish Premier League clubCeltic on the summer 2012 transfer deadline day, signing a three-year contract.[4] After joining the club, Ambrose praised his new teammates at Celtic for helping him settle down in Glasgow quickly.[5] Ambrose also revealed he studied British football in order to join Celtic by watching bothScottish Premier League andEnglish Premier League games on TV upon hearing about Celtic's interest in him.[6]
Ambrose made his debut on 22 September 2012 as a substitute for Celtic captainScott Brown againstDundee in the Scottish Premier League, a 2–0 victory.[7][8] He made his full début againstRaith Rovers in theScottish League Cup, in a 4–1 victory. He scored his first goal for Celtic in a 5–0 win overSt Mirren on 20 October 2012, celebrating the goal with a quadruple somersault.[9] Ambrose went on to make hisChampions League debut for Celtic, where he played 90 minutes in a 3–2 win overSpartak Moscow.[10] On 4 November 2012, Ambrose headed in an own goal, in a 2–2 draw againstDundee United. After the match, Ambrose said he let himself down and felt that he could have cleared the ball away.[11] On 7 November 2012, ahead of aChampions League game againstBarcelona, Ambrose made a vow to give his best ever performance for the club.[12] After a stunning performance by the Celtic players, they won 2–1 and Ambrose said that winning against Barcelona was the 'perfect way to celebrate Celtic's 125th anniversary.[13]
At the end of theChampions League group stage campaign, Celtic qualified for the knock-out stages and faced the Italian sideJuventus. In the first leg, Ambrose was named in the squad ahead of the match, only 3 days afterNigeria had won theAfrica Cup of Nations, Ambrose had played the full 90 minutes in the final.[14] However, Ambrose made several mistakes during the match, allowingAlessandro Matri (first goal) andMirko Vučinić (third goal) to score with ease. He also missed the club's best chance to score late in the game.[15] His performance was criticized by teammateKris Commons.[15] Though criticized, Ambrose was defended byKelvin Wilson, who believed that Ambrose would bounce back from his disappointing performance.[16] Ambrose made amends in the next league game when he scored Celtic's opener in a 6–2 win overDundee United. Ambrose's (along with Commons) performance was praised byNeil Lennon.[17] Three days later, he scored again, in a 1–1 draw againstSt Johnstone. Ahead of the second leg against Juventus, Ambrose said that Commons' criticism inspired him to become a better player.[18] After the match, which Juventus won 2–0 and progressed to the quarter finals,Neil Lennon stated that Ambrose was late for training and missed the team bus from the hotel and was left to catch up by taxi.[19] Lennon also stated that Ambrose needed to "sort himself out."[20]
Ambrose came under strong criticism from fans and pundits alike for frequent poor performances and errors which led to opposition goals.[21][22] On 31 August 2016, after becoming frozen out of the first-team at Celtic under new managerBrendan Rodgers, Celtic accepted a bid of £300,000 for Ambrose fromStandard Liège, but the deal fell through after he opted to stay at Celtic Park.[23] In February 2017, Ambrose's proposed loan move toBlackburn Rovers fell through, after the club was unable to obtain a work permit.[24]
On 28 February 2017, Ambrose joinedHibernian on loan for the rest of the season.[25] Ambrose scored his first goal for Hibs on 25 March, the opening goal of a 2–1 win in theScottish Championship againstFalkirk.[26] He won the Scottish Championshipplayer of the month award for March 2017.[27]
After his contract with Celtic expired at the end of the season, Ambrose signed a two-year contract with Hibernian.[28] Ambrose exercised a clause in his contract and left Hibernian in January 2019, despite the club offering him a new deal.[29]
In February 2019, Ambrose went on trial withEFL Championship clubDerby County.[30] Later that month he signed a short-term contract with the club.[31]
He was released by Derby County at the end of the 2018–19 season.[32]
After several months without a club, Ambrose signed forLivingston in February 2020.[33]
In May 2021, Ambrose was one of a few players who were released byLivingston at the end of the2020–21 season.[34]
In September 2021, Ambrose signed withScottish Premiership sideSt Johnstone.[35]
On 4 February 2022, Ambrose joinedScottish Championship sideDunfermline Athletic on loan until the end of the 2021–22 season.[36]
Ambrose signed forGreenock Morton on 26 October 2022 in a deal until the end of the season.[37] Ambrose would make his debut against Inverness Caledonian Thistle, notably being named man of the match after Morton's subsequent 4–0 victory.[38] Ambrose also scored his first and only goal for Morton in a 2–1 home victory against Partick Thistle.[39]
Ambrose made a total of 14 appearances for Morton in all competitions, before it was announced that he would be leaving the club upon the expiration of his contract.
On 25 July 2023, Ambrose signed forQueen of the South until 31 December 2023.[40]
On 8 June 2024, Ambrose joinedNorth West Counties Football League Premier Division sideBury.[41]
On 23 August 2024, Bury announced that Ambrose would be departing the club after theirFA Vase fixture the following day. Having continued to live in Scotland, the commute to Bury no longer proved to be a viable option for Ambrose and his family.[42]
On 26 August 2024, Ambrose joinedNorthern Premier League Premier Division clubWorkington.[43]
Ambrose was a member of theNigeria national under-20 football team at2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada.[44][45] He later representedNigeria U-23 and played two games at the2008 Summer Olympics.[46]
He was called up to Nigeria's 23-man squad for the2013 Africa Cup of Nations.[47] In the Africa Cup of Nations, Ambrose played five out of six games for Nigeria, playing in the right-back position, including thefinal which he started. After the tournament, Ambrose was named in the2013 African Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament.[48] Ambrose says winning the Africa Cup of Nations was his biggest achievement and one of the greatest moments of his life.[49]
He was selected for Nigeria's squad at the2013 FIFA Confederations Cup[50] and the2014 FIFA World Cup. Ambrose has not been selected since 2016, due to him losing his place atCeltic. He played regularly forHibernian during the 2017–18 season, but was not recalled for the2018 FIFA World Cup squad.[51] This decision was criticized by former Nigeria managerSamson Siasia, who felt that Ambrose's experience would have been useful.[51]
Ambrose often played as a defensive midfielder for theNigeria national football team and can also play as a centre back or right back, doing so in theIsraeli Premier League at FC Ashdod.[52] A ball playing centre-half, Efe is known for his composure in possession.[53] He normally performs a somersault after scoring a goal.[9][26][54]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Ashdod | 2010–11 | Israeli Premier League | 31 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 39 | 1 | |
| 2011–12 | Israeli Premier League | 35 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | — | 40 | 4 | ||
| 2012–13 | Israeli Premier League | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| Total | 67 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 2 | — | 83 | 5 | |||
| Celtic | 2012–13 | Scottish Premier League | 27 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7[a] | 0 | 41 | 3 |
| 2013–14 | Scottish Premiership | 38 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10[a] | 1 | 51 | 3 | |
| 2014–15 | Scottish Premiership | 27 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 11[b] | 0 | 43 | 0 | |
| 2015–16 | Scottish Premiership | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6[c] | 0 | 31 | 0 | |
| 2016–17 | Scottish Premiership | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[d] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 113 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 36 | 1 | 168 | 6 | ||
| Hibernian (loan) | 2016–17 | Scottish Championship | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 |
| Hibernian | 2017–18 | Scottish Premiership | 38 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | — | 45 | 3 | |
| 2018–19 | Scottish Premiership | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6[e] | 2 | 29 | 2 | |
| Total | 59 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 74 | 5 | ||
| Derby County | 2018–19 | Championship | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| Livingston | 2019–20 | Scottish Premiership | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |
| 2020–21 | Scottish Premiership | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 28 | 0 | ||
| Total | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 31 | 0 | |||
| St Johnstone | 2021–22 | Scottish Premiership | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Career total | 274 | 11 | 25 | 0 | 27 | 3 | 42 | 3 | 368 | 17 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | 2008 | 1 | 0 |
| 2009 | — | ||
| 2010 | — | ||
| 2011 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 17 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 13 | 1 | |
| 2015 | 3 | 2 | |
| 2016 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 51 | 4 | |
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 13 October 2012 | U.J. Esuene Stadium,Calabar,Nigeria |  Liberia | 1–0 | 6–1 | 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 2. | 6 September 2014 | U.J. Esuene Stadium, Calabar, Nigeria |  Congo | 1–0 | 2–3 | 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 3. | 11 October 2015 | Edmond Machtens Stadium,Brussels,Belgium |  Cameroon | 1–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 4. | 17 November 2015 | Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium,Port Harcourt, Nigeria |  Swaziland | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Bayelsa
Kaduna United
Celtic
Hibernian
Nigeria
Individual
Orders
Member of theOrder of the Niger[62]
Nigeria squads | |||||||||||||||||||
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