Julius Aghahowa (born 12 February 1982) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a striker.

Aghahowa played in Ukraine, England, and Turkey during his career. Known for his pace and acrobatic goal celebrations, he performed six consecutive backflips after scoring a goal against Sweden at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Early career Born in Benin City, Aghahowa began his career with the Police Machines, a local police team, and went on to Bendel Insurance. He signed for Danish lower division team Herning Fremad before the 1999 African Youth Championship, but performed so well there that he wanted to play for a bigger club. He ended up with the Tunisian champions, Espérance, when he procured a contract with the Tunisians which predated the Herning Fremad contract.Lars Bøgeskov, "Jyder snydt for supertalent", Politiken, 27 August 1999.

Shakhtar Donetsk In the middle of the 2000–01 season, Aghahowa transferred to Shakhtar Donetsk, who soon won the Ukrainian league championship. Aghahowa won the game for Shakhtar in the 2006 Ukrainian Championship against Dynamo Kyiv, heading the winner in extra-time, and was named man of the match. His performance in the final has been widely seen as the "saving grace" of his career at Shakhtar, with his future at the club looking bleak earlier in the season. After playing over six years for Shakhtar Donetsk, Aghahowa left for Wigan Athletic.

Wigan Athletic His work permit was passed and on 30 January 2007, he signed for Wigan Athletic for an undisclosed fee, playing his first Premiership match for them against Portsmouth on 3 February. Aghahowa did not score for Wigan in one and a half years and on 20 June 2008, he signed for Kayserispor.

Return to Shakhtar Donetsk On 4 July 2009, Shakhtar Donetsk signed Aghahowa on a free transfer after he was released by Kayserispor. He had already played for Shakhtar from 2000 to 2007Julius Aghahowa came back to Shakhtar and declared a great desire to play for his old club. However, he could not find himself as a regular starter and was loaned out to Sevastopol at the beginning of the 2010–11 season. He was released at the end of the 2011–12 season, announcing his retirement from the game in April 2013.

International career Although he played for the U-20 team at the FIFA World Youth Championship in 1999, Aghahowa had never played for the Senior side prior and was a surprise inclusion for the 2000 African Nations Cup co-hosted by Ghana and Nigeria. He had a fairytale introduction to International Football scoring on his debut barely 35 minutes upon coming on as a substitute for a misfiring Benedict Akwuegbu and producing the now iconic backflip goal celebration for the first time. Aghahowa played 32 matches and scored 14 goals for the Nigeria national team, including their only goal at the 2002 World Cup against Sweden. He became Nigeria's top goalscorer at the 2002 African Nations Cup. He also played at the 2000 Summer Olympics.

Career statistics Club

+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsShakhtar Donetsk2000–01Vyshcha Liha8721–00–1082001–0217721–62–25102002–0310141–31–1732003–0417662–42–27102004–0515853–135–33162005–0613021–50–2012006–079310–7010183Total89322290038101015051–Wigan Athletic2006–07Premier League600000––602007–081400000––140Total20000000000200–Kayserispor2008–09Süper Lig29640––10346Shakhtar Donetsk2009–10Ukrainian Premier League9130–50101812010–111000–0000102011–120000–000000Total10130005010191–Sevastopol (loan)2010–11Ukrainian Premier League10100–––101Career total158402990043103023359–

International + Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsNigeria2000432001522002127200300200451200521200630200710Total3214

+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsNigeria Olympic200041Total41

Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Aghahowa goal. + List of international goals scored by Julius AghahowaNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1National Stadium, Lagos, Nigeria2–02–02000 African Cup of Nations2National Stadium, Lagos, Nigeria 1–12–12000 African Cup of Nations32–14Al-Merrikh Stadium, Omdurman, Sudan3–04–02002 FIFA World Cup qualification5St Mary's Stadium, Southampton, England2–22–2Friendly6Stade du 26 Mars, Bamako, Mali1–01–02002 African Cup of Nations7Stade Baréma Bocoum, Mopti, Mali1–01–02002 African Cup of Nations 8Stade Amary Daou, Ségou, Mali1–11–22002 African Cup of Nations9Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen, Scotland1–12–1Friendly102–111Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Republic of Ireland1–02–1Friendly12Kobe Wing Stadium, Kobe, Japan 1–01–22002 FIFA World Cup13National Sports Stadium, Harare, Zimbabwe 1–03–02006 FIFA World Cup qualification14Liberation Stadium, Port Harcourt, Nigeria1–02–02006 FIFA World Cup qualification

Scores and results list Nigeria Olympic's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Aghahowa goal. + List of international goals scored by Julius AghahowaNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, Australia2–03–22000 Summer Olympics

Honours Espérance Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1: 2000

Shakhtar Donetsk Ukrainian Premier League: 2002, 2005, 2006, 2010 Ukrainian Cup: 2002, 2004

References

External links

Nigerian Players Time for Aghahowa to stop blowing hot and cold