Emmanuel Ekpo
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Emmanuel Ekpo | ||
| Date of birth | 20 December 1987 | ||
| Place of birth | Ekori, Nigeria | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder, winger | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2005–2006 | Calabar Rovers | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2006–2007 | Akwa United | ||
| 2007–2008 | Enyimba International | ||
| 2008–2011 | Columbus Crew | 108 | (5) |
| 2012–2014 | Molde | 40 | (0) |
| 2014 | Haugesund | 1 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | Eastern Suburbs AFC | 4 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2008 | Nigeria Olympic | 6 | (0) |
| 2011 | Nigeria | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Emmanuel Ekpo (born 20 December 1987) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a attacking midfielder and winger.
Career
[edit]Professional
[edit]Ekpo spent his early years in the youth system of Calabar Rovers, before going on to play professionally for Akwa United and Enyimba in the Nigerian Premier League.
Ekpo signed a contract with Columbus Crew on 15 April 2008,[1] and scored an impressive first goal for the Crew on 28 June 2008, in a game against Colorado Rapids.[2] He went on to be an invaluable part of the Crew team which won the 2008 MLS Cup, the 2008 MLS Supporters Shield, and the 2009 Supporters shield repeat, featuring in over 80 games in all competitions in his first three seasons with the club.
In December 2011 Ekpo became a free agent when he did not re-sign with the Crew.[3] In February 2012 he signed with Molde of Norway, managed by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, on a three-year contract through 2014.[4]
After two and a half seasons with Molde, Ekpo moved to Haugesund in July 2014,[5] leaving Haugesund after the 2014 season when his contract expired.[6]
In October 2016, Ekpo joined Eastern Suburbs AFC in New Zealand.[7][8]
International
[edit]Ekpo participated in African Games qualifying in 2007, took part in CAF Olympic qualifying in 2008, and won a silver medal for participating in the Nigerian national team's games during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. He was a second-half substitute in all six of Nigeria's games.
On 6 September 2011, Ekpo received his first cap with the senior team. He played 20 minutes in a 3–1 loss to Argentina in a friendly.
Career statistics
[edit]Club
[edit]- As of match played 13 November 2016[9]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Columbus Crew | 2008 | Major League Soccer | 20 | 2 | - | - | 20 | 2 | ||||
| 2009 | 30 | 2 | 6 | 0 | - | 36 | 2 | |||||
| 2010 | 26 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 1 | - | 35 | 1 | |||
| 2011 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | 34 | 1 | |||
| Total | 108 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 1 | - | - | 125 | 6 | ||
| Molde | 2012 | Tippeligaen | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | 16 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 25 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | - | 33 | 1 | |||
| 2014 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 4 | 0 | |||
| Total | 40 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 0 | - | - | 53 | 1 | ||
| Haugesund | 2014 | Tippeligaen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 3 | 10 | |
| Eastern Suburbs | 2016–17 | New Zealand Football Championship | 4 | 0 | – | – | – | 4 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 153 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 22 | 1 | - | - | 185 | 7 | ||
Honors
[edit]- Columbus Crew
- Major League Soccer MLS Cup: 2008
- Major League Soccer Supporter's Shield: 2008, 2009
- Molde
References
[edit]- ^ "Ekpo deal done (Covering the Crew)". Archived from the original on 23 June 2008. Retrieved 16 April 2008.
- ^ "Major League Soccer: News: Article". Archived from the original on 3 July 2008. Retrieved 30 June 2008.
- ^ "Mendoza heads the list of roster casualties in Columbus". MLS. 29 November 2011. Archived from the original on 27 August 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
- ^ http://www.moldefk.no/index.php?page_id=22292 [dead link]
- ^ "Molde slipper midtbanespiller til konkurrent". aftenposten.no (in Norwegian). aftenposten. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
- ^ "Sema og Anyora bort" [Sema and Anyora leaves]. TV Haugaland. Archived from the original on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
- ^ "Olympic silver medalist relishes recent Eastern Suburbs signing". Fairfax New Zealand Limited. 22 November 2016. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
- ^ "Emmanuel Ekpo". facebook.com. Eastern Suburbs Facebook. 12 October 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
- ^ "E.Ekpo". Soccerway. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
External links
[edit]- Emmanuel Ekpo at Major League Soccer
- Emmanuel Ekpo at Soccerway
- 1987 births
- Living people
- Nigerian men's footballers
- Nigerian expatriate men's footballers
- Columbus Crew players
- Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics
- Akwa United F.C. players
- Olympic footballers for Nigeria
- Calabar Rovers F.C. players
- Olympic silver medalists for Nigeria
- Enyimba F.C. players
- Olympic medalists in football
- Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States
- Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in the United States
- Major League Soccer players
- Molde FK players
- FK Haugesund players
- Eliteserien players
- Eastern Suburbs AFC players
- New Zealand National League players
- Expatriate men's footballers in Norway
- Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Norway
- Expatriate men's association footballers in New Zealand
- Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in New Zealand
- Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics
- Men's association football midfielders
- 21st-century Nigerian sportsmen