Daniel Amokachi

Daniel Amokachi

Personal information
Full name	Daniel Ray Owefin Amokachi
Date of birth	(1972-12-30) 30 December 1972
Place of birth	Kaduna, Nigeria
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1989–1990	Ranchers Bees	55	(20)
1990–1994	Club Brugge	81	(35)
1994–1996	Everton	43	(10)
1996–1999	Beşiktaş	77	(19)
1999–2002	Colorado Rapids	89	(27)
2002–2005	Nasarawa United	143	(41)
Total		345	(152)
International career
1990–1999	Nigeria	44	(13)
Managerial career
2006	Nasarawa United
2007	Nigeria (Assistant coach)
2008	Enyimba
2008–2014	Nigeria (Assistant coach)
2014–2015	Nigeria (interim)
2015	Ifeanyi Ubah
2016–2017	JS Hercules
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Daniel Amokachi (born 30 December 1972) is a former Nigerian football player. He has played for Nigeria national team. With his speed, technique and physical strength, he is known as the Black Bull and the Black Train. Amokachi's playing style has shed light on Turkish football history. [citation needed] The attitude of the black player was reflected in the following years as a result of Amokachi's effective and positive game in Turkey. The ball he took at his feet would also raise the stands and instill fear in the opposing fans. The Black Bull and Black Train epithets he received actually brought his playing style to the fore. As soon as he got the ball at his feet, his opponents would pass one by one, and if he found the right position, he would go to the bottom of the goal. Amokachi, who also stood out with his assists, would give stylish and creative goal passes to his teammates. While dribbling the ball regularly in the game, he would wear down the defensive line by himself by making uncomfortable runs to the defense. He was a skilful dribbler. He is widely regarded as one of best Nigerian players.

Club career

Amokachi started his professional football career in 1989 with Nigeria's Ranchers Bees. In his first season, he won the West African Club Championship. Here, he attracted attention when he was discovered by Nigerian national team coach Clemens Westerhof and called up to the national team, and in 1990 he transferred to Belgium's Club Brugge. Amokachi, who found a place in the squad of the Belgian champion team, wore the jersey of this team for 4 years. In his first season, he usually played in Club Brugge's youth academy and had the chance to play in only 3 matches in the league. In the cup, he played in 5 matches and scored 1 goal. His goal against SK Beveren in the first leg of the quarter-finals was both the first goal of his Brugge career and the game-winning goal. That season, they won Beker van België. In the 1991-92 season, he got more chances with the arrival of Hugo Broos as coach. He became the team's second top scorer with 12 goals in 26 matches, and won the league championship in Belgium for the first time in his career. They were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the cup. Amokachi was his team's top scorer in the cup with 2 goals in 3 matches. This season, he played in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and made his European debut. Brugge managed to reach the semi-finals of this cup, while Amokachi scored 2 goals in 6 matches. After this successful season, Amokachi won the Belgian Black Boot award, which was given for the first time with this performance. With this award, he was registered as the best African footballer playing in Belgium. He played in the UEFA Champions League in the 1992–93 season, helping the team reach the group level. Amokachi, who did not play in the qualifiers, scored against CSKA Moscow in their first group game to win the game 1-0. This goal was the first goal of the Champions League. Amokachi played in all other group matches. Club Brugge was eliminated from the tournament as the third in the group. Although they were the second top scorer of the team in the league, they could not achieve success in the domestic league and cup. Amokachi was the top scorer for his team with 14 goals in his last season. They missed out on the championship by two points. They lost 2-0 to Anderlecht in the cup final, where they lost the championship. Nevertheless, Amokachi received the Belgian Black Boot award for the second time in 1994 for his in-season performance. Amokachi, who came third in the African Footballer of the Year awards with his World Cup performance in the summer of 1994, transferred to the English team Everton FC. Everton had made many transfers to put an end to their bad situation for a while, and Amokachi was one of them. They were 15th in the league and did not fall out of the league. Everton made the real surprise by winning the FA Cup. Amokachi also scored two goals in the semi-finals as they beat Jurgen Klinsmann's Tottenham Hotspur 4-1. In the final, Amokachi came on for Anders Limpar for the last 21 minutes. Everton beat last year's cup winner Manchester United 1-0, breaking the situation of not winning a trophy for 8 years. In 1995, they entered with the FC Charity Shield trophy. Although Amokachi was in the top 15, he did not get a chance to play. "My childhood dream was to play for Beşiktaş. That's why I chose Beşiktaş. I was a fan of Daniel Amokachi. I can't forget the shorts he wore, which reached below his knee. He was not someone who played in the same position as me, but he was the symbol of Beşiktaş at that time." Gökhan İnler. In 1996, Amokachi transferred to Beşiktaş. He started his Turkish career with Beşiktaş's 7-0 league win over Vanspor. Although he was not successful in the league and cup in his first season, he scored 7 goals in the league. They only won the Prime Minister's Cup in the season. Competing in the UEFA Cup, Beşiktaş had one of the longest European adventures in its history by playing 4 rounds of qualifiers. Amokachi also scored 2 goals. With his World Cup performance during the season, he once again ranked 3rd in the African Footballer of the Year list. Although they were disappointed in the league the next season, they won the Turkish Cup. Amokachi, who scored 2 goals until reaching the final, converted his own penalty as they beat Galatasaray on penalties in the final. Beşiktaş, who also faced Galatasaray in the President's Cup, beat their opponent 2-1 and won the cup, while Amokachi scored a goal. Due to the injury he suffered during the World Cup, he did not have much chance to play in the 1998-99 season. Despite this, he managed to score 4 goals in the league. He showed a good performance, especially in Beşiktaş's 3-2 win over Fenerbahçe, scoring 2 goals. Beşiktaş came second in the league in the season. Thus, Amokachi could not see the league trophy, which is the only trophy he could not win in Turkey. Amokachi scored 26 goals in a total of 114 official matches, 19 in 77 matches in the league, 3 goals in 17 matches each in the European Cups and the Turkish Cup, and 1 goal in 3 matches in the Presidential and Prime Minister Cups. His performance in Turkey was below expectations due to frequent injuries and late returns from his travels to Nigeria. Nevertheless, he became one of the unforgettable football players of Beşiktaş with his speed and technique. Although Amokachi occasionally participated in training between 1999 and 2000, he did not play in any matches due to surgeries and health problems. In June 2000, he tried out at Manchester City at the request of his Everton coach Joe Royle. He was not included in the squad due to a knee injury. Amokachi also signed with German side TSV 1860 München, but the contract was terminated shortly due to health problems. Amokachi was tried by many more clubs until 2005. These clubs were English teams Tranmere Rovers, Darlington FC, Scottish team St. Mirren FC, French team US Créteil-Lusitanos. In 2002, he was able to sign with the American team Colorado Rapids, but his contract was terminated before he could play. A few months later, he signed with the United Arab Emirates team Emirates Club. However, this contract was terminated shortly after. Amokachi, who received coaching training in the Netherlands for a while, returned to Nigeria in the 2005 season and transferred to the Nassarawa United team. Amokachi, who entered the game in the last 15 minutes of the first week of the league, made a comeback to the professional leagues after many years. After retiring from football, Amokachi wore the African Mix jersey in the 90 Minutes for Mandela match held for Nelson Mandela on July 18, 2007. On July 27, 2008, he took part in the World Mix against Nigeria at Jay-Jay Okocha's jubilee and scored a goal. On July 26, 2009, he wore the Nigeria jersey against the African team to celebrate the World Cup to be held in South Africa.

International career

Amokachi has been in the Nigerian national team squad 44 times, scoring a total of 13 goals in these matches. The first top-level tournament Amokachi participated in was the Africa Cup of Nations tournament in 1990. Amokachi, who wore the jersey of second-placed Nigeria, was only 17 years old. Despite this, he played in four of Nigeria's 5 matches in the tournament, 3 of which were in the starting 11. He came on as a substitute for Ayodele Ogunlana in the 69th minute in the final match. Nigeria lost 1-0 to Algeria to become African runners-up. Although he played in the tournament qualifiers in 1992 and scored 2 goals, he could not participate in the tournament due to the continuation of the season in Europe. He found himself in the roster of the next tournament held in 1994. He scored a goal on penalties in the semi-final match against Ivory Coast, which went to penalties. Nigeria won the tournament, thus Amokachi earned the first international success of his career. This tournament marked Amokachi's last Africa Cup of Nations adventure as Nigeria did not participate in the tournament in 1996 and 1998 due to political reasons. Amokachi, who played in the World Cup qualifiers and scored 2 goals, was included in the 1994 FIFA World Cup squad. Amokachi, 21, was one of the youngest names in the squad. Amokachi, who played for 90 minutes in the first group game against Bulgaria, scored the second goal of the 3-0 win. In the second match, he also played 90 minutes against Argentina with Diego Maradona. Amokachi, who scored the second goal in the 2-0 win in the last match, Greece, contributed greatly to his team's victory in the group. In the next round, Amokachi, who started the starting 11 against Italy, was injured in the 36th minute while leading 1-0 and was replaced by Mutiu Adepoju. Nigeria could not prevent Roberto Baggio's goal in the 88th minute and Baggio scored another goal in extra time to see Nigeria eliminated. Amokachi became one of the top two scorers for his team alongside Emmanuel Amunike with two goals in the tournament. In 1995, he was also part of the 1995 King Fahd Cup squad, which would later be renamed the FIFA Confederations Cup. Amokachi, who played for 90 minutes against Japan in their first group game, scored a goal. He also played 90 minutes against Argentina in the second match. Nigeria finished second in the group with goal difference. Amokachi scored the goal as Nigeria, who played Mexico in the third-place match, drew 1-1. Nigeria lost the match on penalties to finish 4th. A year later, Amokachi played for Nigeria, this time for the 1996 Summer Olympics. Teams consisting of football players under the age of 22 were given the right to add 3 free agents. Amokachi, 23, was also named in the squad alongside Uche Okechukwu and Emmanuel Amunike on the occasion. Amokachi, who played in all 6 matches, helped his team reach the final. In the final against Argentina, he scored the equalizer for Nigeria, who were defeated 2-1 in the 74th minute. With Amuneke's goal in the 90th minute, Nigeria won the match 3-2 and took the gold medal. Amokachi also found a place in the 1998 FIFA World Cup squad. He took the field in the starting 11 in the Bulgaria match, which was the second of the group matches. Amokachi, who assisted the goal, was replaced by Nwankwo Kanu in the 67th minute. He was injured while warming up before the third match, Paraguay, and closed the tournament. Although Nigeria qualified first in the group matches, they were eliminated by Denmark in the next round. Amokachi was called up to the 2000 Africa Cup of Nations squad but was later left out of the squad due to injury. Despite this, he was taken to the tournament with the team to boost morale. In 2001, he was called up to the squad for the World Cup qualifiers despite being without a club, but was soon removed from the squad when it was seen that his physical condition was not sufficient.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League
		Division	Apps	Goals
Club Brugge	1990–91	Belgian First Division	3	0
	1991–92		26	12
	1992–93		23	9
	1993–94		28	14
	1994–95		1	0
	Total		81	35
Everton	1994–95	Premier League	18	4
	1995–96		25	6
	Total		43	10
Beşiktaş	1996–97	First League	30	7
	1997–98		27	8
	1998–99		20	4
	Total		77	19
Career total			201	64

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Nigeria	1990	7	1
	1991	4	1
	1992	1	1
	1993	4	2
	1994	12	2
	1995	5	2
	1996	1	2
	1997	5	2
	1998	4	0
	1999	1	0
Total		44	13

Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Amokachi goal.

List of international goals scored by Daniel Amokachi

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	18 August 1990	Lagos, Nigeria	Togo		3–0	1992 African Cup of Nations qualification
2	27 April 1991	Lagos, Nigeria	Benin		3–0	1992 African Cup of Nations qualification
3	29 August 1992	Lagos, Nigeria	Uganda		2–0	1994 African Cup of Nations qualifier
4	13 July 1993	Lagos, Nigeria	Algeria		4–1	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
5	25 September 1993	Lagos, Nigeria	Ivory Coast		4–1	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
6	21 June 1994	Dallas, United States	Bulgaria		3–0	1994 FIFA World Cup
7	30 June 1994	Boston, United States	Greece		2–0	1994 FIFA World Cup
8	6 January 1995	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Japan		3–0	1995 Intercontinental Cup
9	13 January 1995	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Mexico		1–1	1995 Intercontinental Cup
10	9 November 1996	Lagos, Nigeria	Burkina Faso		2–0	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
11
12	5 April 1997	Lagos, Nigeria	Guinea		2–1	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
13

Honours

Everton

• FA Cup: 1994–95
• FA Charity Shield: 1995

Beşiktaş

• Turkish Cup: 1997–98
• Turkish Super Cup: 1998

Nigeria

• African Cup of Nations: 1994
• Olympic Games: Gold Medal 1996

Individual

• Beşiktaş's Super League 2000th goal.
• International Honorary Award of Sportsmen of Turkey: 2015
• African Footballer of the Year Third: 1994 (France Football), 1995, 1996
• UEFA Champions League First Goal: 1992
• Belgian Ebony Shoes Award: 1992,1994
• IFFHS 20th-century best player in Africa: 18th place
• West African Club Championship 'The best young footballer' award: 1989
• Pro League 'Most successful foreign player' award: 1992
• Beşiktaş J.K. Squads of Century (Bronze Team)