The footballer, who will be discussed in this article, played in Russia for only two years, but was remembered as one of the best strikers in the history of our championship. Emenike Emmanuel scored 21 goals in 42 matches for the Moscow Spartak, which is pretty good by the standards of the Russian Premier League.
A powerful, assertive striker from Nigeria fell in love with red and white fans for at least his first goal for Spartak in the Moscow derby against CSKA, when Emenike scored five minutes after being replaced. How did this football player end up in Russia and where is he now?
First steps in football
Emmanuel Chignen Emenike was born on May 10, 1987 in the Nigerian city of Otuocha. In his first club, Delta Force, the footballer was not paid salaries, and he went on training on foot — an hour and a half way there and back.
Emenike began to receive his first money in South Africa in the Black Aces team, which at that time played in the second strongest division of South Africa. Emenike signed a contract with the new club in January 2008, and scored the first goal already in his debut match against Dynamo in February. Emenike's salary in Black Aces was 350 euros.
In May of that year, the Nigerian footballer moved to Cape Town, where over the next season he made 14 goals and got the opportunity to show himself in Europe.
Relocation to Turkey
Emenike’s path in Europe began with the First League of Turkey (the second strongest division). In 2009, the football player leases "Karabukspor". The lease turns out to be very successful for the Turkish club: Emenike scored 16 goals in 28 meetings over the season, which helped “Karabukspor” to break into the Super League. The Turkish club signed on to become the best legionnaire of the league forward on an ongoing basis.
The 2010/11 season was even more successful for Emenike, because now Emmanuel scored goals in the strongest division of Turkey. Last year he did not beat the 16-goal bar, scoring 14, but this time he took part in fewer matches - in twenty-three.
In May 2011, a Nigerian striker won a lawsuit against a local newspaper. The Haber Turk newspaper published material stating that the Nigerian striker was hiding his age, and in fact he is seven years older. In the same year, the striker received his first call to the first national team of Nigeria. At the moment, the player has 37 matches and 9 goals for the national team.
At the end of the 2010/11 season, Emmanuel moved to Fenerbahçe, one of the leading clubs in Turkey that became the champion that year.
Turkish Super League scandal and arrest of Emenike
Emenike's debut for Fenerbahçe took place only two years later. The fact is that soon after the Nigerian signed a contract with the new club, there was information according to which the “yellow canaries” could be deprived of the championship and sent to the First League for participating in contractual matches. Emenike Emmanuel decided not to wait for the outcome of the proceedings and hastened to declare his intention to leave the club. He wanted to leave, however, not so much a club as a country, because in Turkey he was threatened with a prison term. The Nigerian fell under suspicion because in the championship match between his former club and Fenerbahce Emenike, being completely healthy, did not enter the field, although he was the top scorer of his team. The footballer even spent four days in prison. According to the results of the investigation, the Nigerian attacker was formally charged, but Emenike had already moved to Russia in Moscow “Spartak” by that time.
"Spartak Moscow)
At Spartak, Emanuel has been followed for a long time, and the club’s management worked quickly, ahead of Kazan's Rubin and Madrid Atletico in the fight for the player. In August 2011, three months after moving to Fenerbahçe, the Nigerian striker signed a contract with Spartak. The deal amounted to about nine million euros.
Emenike scored his first goal for the red and white in the Moscow derby against CSKA. At 70 minutes, five minutes after being replaced, the score in the match was equalized precisely by Emenike Emmanuel. “Spartak” played in that meeting tied - 2: 2. Emenike spent 2011 at a high level, scoring 8 goals in 11 meetings.
Emenike did not achieve team achievements in Spartak, but he repeated the record of Nikita Simonyan: the Nigerian striker managed to score five goals to Lokomotiv in two matches of the same season. And in the first round of the 2012/13 season, Emenike scored one of the fastest goals in the history of the Russian championship, hitting the goal of Alania already in the tenth second.
Not without scandals associated with Emenike. On May 6, 2012, a Nigerian striker scored a Zenit ball and celebrated a goal by hitting his right forearm with his left hand, for which he unexpectedly got a red card. “I just wanted to copy the gesture of Samuel Eto'o, expressing gratitude to the ancestors,” - explained Emenike Emmanuel how he celebrated the goal scored. The footballer eventually missed the next match, although the Ethics Committee did not find anything offensive in the actions of the Nigerian.
Career after Spartak
In August 2013, Emenike reappeared at Fenerbahçe. According to the player, he always dreamed of playing for Fenerbahce and was very excited about the transition. This time there were no excesses, and the striker finally made his debut for the Istanbul team.
After returning, Emmanuel spent two years at Fenerbahçe, during which he managed to play 55 matches and score 16 goals. Then, in the summer of 2015, he was leased to a club from the Al-Ain UAE.
For a year and a half in the Emirates, the striker shot 7 goals in 11 meetings, followed by a new lease. The footballer went back to Europe. Emenike now plays on loan at West Ham English. As of March 2016, the Hammers are fighting for a place in the four, giving them the right to enter the Champions League, and the Nigerian striker is gradually getting used to the new championship.