 Utaka withOB in 2011 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Peter Maduabuchi Utaka | ||
| Date of birth | (1984-02-12)12 February 1984 (age 41) | ||
| Place of birth | Enugu, Nigeria | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Ventforet Kofu | ||
| Number | 99 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1997 | UNTH Nigeria[citation needed] | ||
| 1999–2000 | Dinamo Zagreb | ||
| 2000–2004 | UNTH Nigeria[citation needed] | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2003–2004 | Maasmechelen | 35 | (17) |
| 2004–2007 | Westerlo | 73 | (12) |
| 2007–2008 | Royal Antwerp | 46 | (26) |
| 2008–2012 | OB | 108 | (52) |
| 2012–2013 | Dalian Aerbin | 43 | (27) |
| 2013–2014 | Beijing Guoan | 25 | (8) |
| 2014 | →Shanghai Shenxin (loan) | 12 | (2) |
| 2015–2016 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 28 | (9) |
| 2016 | →Sanfrecce Hiroshima (loan) | 33 | (19) |
| 2017 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 0 | (0) |
| 2017 | →FC Tokyo (loan) | 25 | (8) |
| 2018 | Vejle Boldklub | 6 | (0) |
| 2018 | Tokushima Vortis | 18 | (6) |
| 2019 | Ventforet Kofu | 41 | (21) |
| 2020–2022 | Kyoto Sanga | 109 | (52) |
| 2023– | Ventforet Kofu | 51 | (16) |
| International career | |||
| 2010–2011 | Nigeria | 8 | (3) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13 December 2023, 4:20 (UTC) | |||
Peter Maduabuchi Utaka (born 12 February 1984) is a Nigerian professionalfootballer who plays as aforward forVentforet Kofu. He is the younger brother of fellow professional footballerJohn Utaka.[2]
Born inEnugu, Nigeria, Utaka moved to Croatia as a 16-year-old to play in Dinamo Zagreb after trying his luck at Ismaily where his older brother John was a cult figure. In 2003, he moved to Belgium fromDinamo and signed forK. Patro Eisden Maasmechelen of the 2nd division.[3]KVC Westerlo moved to sign him the following season, and in his first season in the top flight and the transfer was worth €250,000.[3]
Utaka joinedRoyal Antwerp FC in January 2007 where he became a first team regular, and he helped Antwerp qualify for the playoffs, finishing second. He also emerged top scorer with 22 goals and capped hs glorious season, winning the Best Striker's Award.[citation needed] He also put more gloss on his breath-taking performance that season, claiming the Most Valuable Player's award over eight times, making him one of the most feared strikers in Belgium. On 30 August 2008, it was announced that Utaka would join Danish clubOB.[4] for an undisclosed fee.
Utaka joined Danish sideOB in 2008. In his first season, he finished joint fourth place on the scorers list, while he led all scorers in his second season. In the2009–10 Danish Superliga he finished with 18 goals in 33 matches,[5] the first time in five years an OB player was top scorer in the league (last wasSteffen Højer in2004-05 with 20 goals).
Utaka stayed in OB for three and a half season winning three silver medals in his first three seasons in theDanish Superliga. He also represented the club in bothUEFA Europa League andthe 2011–12 Champions League qualifying phase scoring a total of nine goals in 22 European matches for the club.[citation needed]
In January 2012, Utaka moved toChinese Super League clubDalian Aerbin. He scored 20 goals in 28 games in his first season. He also scored 11 consecutive fixtures to establish a new C-league record.[6]
He transferred toBeijing Guoan on 9 July 2013 in a €2 million transfer which made him the most expensive international signing in the history of the club.[7] He scored 15 goals in 36 appearances in all competitions for the club, before he was loaned toShanghai Shenxin during summer transfers in 2014, managing to score only four times in thirteen appearances in all competition for the Shanghai outfit.[citation needed]
In January 2015, Utaka transferred toJ1 League-clubShimizu S-Pulse.[8] The club faced a difficult season that year as they were battling relegation. At the end of the season, Utaka scored nine goals in 29 appearances, and the club ended up being seventeenth-placed, thus relegated into theJ2 League.
The next year he was loaned to J1 League defending championsSanfrecce Hiroshima.[9] He scored his first goal for the club in theJapanese Super Cup final, in a 3–1 win againstGamba Osaka. Utaka bagged his first goal in the J1 League on 12 March, scoring a 67th-minute penalty againstShonan Bellmare in a 2–2 draw at home. He scored his next in a 5–1 away win againstOmiya Ardija, scoring the opening in the 22nd minute.[citation needed]
After being bought bySanfrecce Hiroshima, he was immediately loaned toFC Tokyo in March 2017.[10] He scored four goals in his first three matches for theJ1 League-club even though he started all of the matches on the bench. He represented the club 33 times and scored ten goals before he returned to Sanfrecce Hiroshima and his contract expired.[citation needed]
In February 2018,free agent Utaka trialled with Danish sideVejle Boldklub in Turkey, where the club was on a training camp.[11] Utaka's agent Lucas Chang Jin was co-owner of Vejle Boldklub who at that time was topping the league table in theDanish second tier. On 14 February 2018, the club announced that Utaka had signed a contract with Vejle until the summer of 2018.[12]
On 2018,Tokushima Vortis signed Peter Utaka mid-season.[13]
Utaka signed to J2 clubVentforet Kofu ahead of the 2019 season.[14]
On 23 December 2019, Utaka officially transferred toKyoto Sanga FC ahead of the 2020 season.[15] He helped the team to win promotion for the J1 League after the club's 12-year absence from it. He left the club after three years at Kyoto, playing his last match coming as a substitute on the 2022 J1/J2 promotion/relegation match, in which Kyoto eventually drew withRoasso Kumamoto, guaranteeing Kyoto the permanence on the J1.
On 30 December 2022, Utaka was announced byVentforet Kofu as a new signing for the 2023 season, in his second stint with theYamanashi-based club, returning to them after four seasons.[16]
On 21 September 2009, national coachShaibu Amodu selected Utaka for theNigeria national team. Utaka made his debut for Nigeria months later in a 5–2 home win overCongo DR on 3 March 2010, despite only getting his call up late after the NFF called his mother looking for him.[17][18] He scored the first goal and assisted on the second.[19] He scored twice in aAfrica Cup of Nations qualification match againstEthiopia. His first goal of the match was the fastest goal in the qualifications for the season, scoring a goal after just 29 seconds into the match.
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Maasmechelen | 2003–04 | CPL | 32 | 16 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 32 | 16 | |||
| 2004–05 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 1 | |||||
| Westerlo | 2004–05 | BPL | 24 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 25 | 4 | |||
| 2005–06 | 30 | 5 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 30 | 5 | |||||
| 2006–07 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 19 | 3 | |||||
| Total | 73 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 74 | 12 | ||
| Antwerp | 2006–07 | CPL | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 12 | 4 | |||
| 2007–08 | 34 | 22 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 34 | 22 | |||||
| Odense BK | 2008–09 | Danish Superliga | 27 | 12 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 27 | 12 | |||
| 2009–10 | 33 | 18 | 3 | 4 | — | 3[c] | 2 | — | 39 | 24 | ||||
| 2010–11 | 32 | 14 | 1 | 0 | — | 10[c] | 6 | — | 43 | 20 | ||||
| 2011–12 | 16 | 8 | 0 | 0 | — | 9[d] | 1 | — | 25 | 9 | ||||
| Total | 108 | 52 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 134 | 65 | ||
| Dalian Aerbin | 2012 | CSL | 28 | 20 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 29 | 20 | |||
| 2013 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 15 | 7 | |||||
| Total | 43 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 27 | ||
| Beijing Guoan | 2013 | CSL | 12 | 7 | 3 | 4 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 15 | 11 | ||
| 2014 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 7[e] | 3 | — | 20 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 25 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 15 | ||
| Shanghai Shenxin (loan) | 2014 | CSL | 12 | 2 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | 13 | 4 | |||
| Shimizu S-Pulse | 2015 | J1 League | 28 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 9 | ||
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 2016 | 33 | 19 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2[e] | 0 | 1[f] | 1 | 39 | 21 | |
| FC Tokyo (loan) | 2017 | 25 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | — | — | 33 | 10 | |||
| Vejle BK | 2017–18 | Danish 1st Division | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||
| Tokushima Vortis | 2018 | J2 League | 18 | 6 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 18 | 6 | |||
| Ventforet Kofu | 2019 | 40 | 20 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1[g] | 1 | 41 | 21 | |||
| Kyoto Sanga | 2020 | 40 | 22 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 40 | 22 | |||
| 2021 | 40 | 21 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 40 | 21 | |||||
| 2022 | J1 League | 29 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 1[h] | 0 | 33 | 9 | ||
| Total | 109 | 52 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 113 | 52 | ||
| Ventforet Kofu | 2023 | J2 League | 40 | 12 | 3 | 0 | — | 6[e] | 3 | 1[f] | 1 | 50 | 16 | |
| 2024 | 34 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 38 | 11 | ||||
| Total | 74 | 20 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 88 | 27 | ||
| Career total | 797 | 317 | 33 | 20 | 15 | 2 | 37 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 886 | 357 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | 2010 | 1 | 1 |
| 2011 | 7 | 2 | |
| Total | 8 | 3 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 March 2010 | Moshood Abiola National Stadium,Abuja, Nigeria |  DR Congo | 1-0 | 5-2 | Friendly | [22] |
| 2 | 27 March 2011 | Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, Nigeria |  Ethiopia | 1-0 | 4-0 | 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification | [23] |
| 3 | 2-0 |
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Individual
