.jpg) Okolie withChurchill Brothers in 2011 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Odafa Onyeka Okolie | ||
| Date of birth | (1985-06-06)6 June 1985 (age 40) | ||
| Place of birth | Nigeria | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2002–2003 | Peerless | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2003–2004 | Mohammedan | ? | (1) |
| 2004–2005 | Muktijoddha | 28 | (34) |
| 2005–2011 | Churchill Brothers | 116 | (117) |
| 2011–2014 | Mohun Bagan | 60 | (51) |
| 2014–2016 | Churchill Brothers | 0 | (0) |
| 2014–2016 | →Sporting Goa (loan) | 23 | (14) |
| 2017 | Southern Samity | 9 | (9) |
| 2018 | Gokulam Kerala | 3 | (0) |
| Total | 239 | (226) | |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Odafa Onyeka OkolieListenⓘ]}€ (born 6 June 1985) is a Nigerian former professionalfootballer who spent most of his career in India.[1][2] He last played forGokulam Kerala in theI-League.[3] He was once the highest paid footballer in I-league history, earning approximately ₹16 million per year in 2011 while playing forMohun Bagan.[4] Odafa is second in the list of all-time leading goalscorer in the I-League andNational Football League history with179 goals,[5] and has been the top goal scorer on three consecutive seasons.[6]
He also holds the record for scoring the most hat-tricks in I-League and National Football League combined, with14 hat-tricks across all seasons, including13 of those in the I-League.[7][8]
Okolie started his career in 2002 as adefender withKolkata based clubsPeerless SC andMohammedan.[9]
After a lackluster start to his career which saw him play for Indian club Mohammedan,[10] and Bangladeshi clubMuktijoddha SKC where he scored 34 goals from 28 appearances. In 2005, Okolie went back to India and signed forChurchill Brothers as astriker. He debuted for the club in 2005–06National Football League Second Division and scored 4 goals, which helped the club getting promoted to theNational Football League.2006–07 National Football League was break out season for him, as he scored 18 goals and became the top scorer of the league. Okolie was the top scorer in newly formedI-League in two consecutive seasons and won the league in2008–09. He scored record 113 top division league goals for the club.[11]
On 1 June 2011, he signed a then record one-year deal withMohun Bagan for approximately $600,000.[4] On 23 October 2011, Odafa scored a hat-trick in his debut for Bagan in a 3–1 victory overPailan Arrows.[12]
On 13 May 2014, Okolie re-joined Churchill Brothers, but later in March 2015, he joinedSporting Goa on a loan deal after Churchill brothers were excluded from the I-League. He helped the club narrowly avoid relegation and was subsequently retained for another season.[13]
In March 2017, Okolie JoinedI-League 2nd Division clubSouthern Samity. He scored 9 goals in the2016–17 I-League 2nd Division and became the top scorer.
In January 2018, Okolie joinedI-League clubGokulam Kerala.[14]
| Club | Season | League | Federation Cup | Durand Cup | AFC | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Mohammedan | 2003–04[10] | NFL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | |||
| Churchill Brothers | 2005–06[16] | NFL 2 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 4 | ||
| 2006–07 | NFL | 18 | 18 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | 21 | 21 | ||
| 2007–08 | I-League | 16 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 11 | — | 21 | 34 | ||
| 2008–09 | I-League | 22 | 26 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | 25 | 33 | ||
| 2009–10 | I-League | 24 | 22 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5[a] | 3 | 34 | 31 | |
| 2010–11 | I-League | 26 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 26 | 25 | ||
| Total | 116 | 117 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 17 | 5 | 3 | 164 | 148 | ||
| Mohun Bagan | ||||||||||||
| 2011–12 | I-League | 26 | 26 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 29 | 27 | ||
| 2012–13 | I-League | 22 | 19 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | 26 | 23 | ||
| 2013–14 | I-League | 12 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 12 | 26 | ||
| Total | 60 | 51 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | 67 | 56 | |||
| Sporting Goa (loan) | 2014–15 | I-League | 11 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 11 | 8 | |
| 2015–16 | I-League | 12 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 12 | 6 | ||
| Total | 23 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 23 | 14 | |||
| Southern Samity | 2016–17 | I-League 2 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 9 | 9 | |
| Gokulam Kerala | 2017–18 | I-League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |
| Career total | 211 | 192 | 19 | 16 | 7 | 17 | 5 | 3 | 242 | 227 | ||
Churchill Brothers
Muktijoddha SKC
Individual