Nwankwo Kanu, OON (born 1 August 1976), or simply
Kanu,
is a Nigerian footballer who plays for Portsmouth. He was also a member
of the Nigerian national team for 16 years from 1994 until 2010. Kanu
is a member of the Igbo ethnic group;
[ his name, Nwankwo, means
Baby boy born on Nkwo market day in the Igbo language.
Kanu
has won a UEFA Champions League medal, a UEFA Cup medal, three FA
Cup Winners Medals and two African Player of the Year awards amongst
others. He is also one of few players to have won the Premier League, FA
Cup, Champions League, UEFA Cup and an Olympic Gold Medal He holds the
record for most substitute appearances in Premier League history,
appearing from the bench 118 times. He is also a UNICEF ambassador.
 | Born
in Owerri, Nigeria, Kanu began his career at Nigerian league club
Federation Works, before moving to Iwuanyanwu Nationale. After a notable
performance at the U-17 World Championships he was signed
by Dutch Eredivisie AFC Ajax in 1993 for €207,047. He made his Ajax
debut the following year and went on to score 25 goals in 54
appearances. Kanu also came on as a sub in Ajax's 1995 Champions
League final win over AC Milan. In 1996, Ajax sold Kanu to Serie
A side Internazionale for around $4.7 million that summer he captained
the Nigerian team that won gold at the Olympics, and scored two late
goals in the semi-finals against powerhouses Brazil to overturn a 2–3
scoreline into a 4–3 win in extra time. Kanu was also named African
Footballer of the Year for that year . However, soon after returning
from the Olympics, Kanu underwent a medical examination at Inter, which
revealed a serious heart defect; he underwent surgery in November 1996
to replace an aortic valve and did not return to his club until April
1997. In interviews, Kanu frequently cites his faith as a Christian, and
has often mentioned this trying time of his career as an occasion when
he prayed to God. Kanu's experience also led to his founding the Kanu
Heart Foundation, an organisation that helps predominantly young African
children who suffer heart defects. Kanu is known throughout Africa for
his philanthropic work. |
 |
Arsenal
In
February 1999, after just eleven games and one goal for Inter, Kanu was
signed by Arsenal for approximately £4.15 million. His debut for
Arsenal, against Sheffield United in the FA Cup, was a highly unusual
match. With the score 1–1 and ten minutes to go, the United
goalkeeper, Alan Kelly, kicked the ball out of touch so that treatment
could be given to an injured player. When the ball was thrown back into
play by Ray Parlour, although it was intended for Kelly, Kanu was
unaware of the circumstances. Thinking it to be an attacking move, he
chased the throw-in down the right wing unchallenged, and centred the
ball for Marc Overmars, who promptly scored to make the match 2–1.
Immediately after the match Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger offered to
right the error and replay the match; in the end, Arsenal won that match
2–1 as well. |
Despite the events
overshadowing his debut, Kanu's career was quickly revived at Arsenal.
He scored his first goal for the club in the next round of the cup
against Derby County, coming off the bench to net the only goal of the
game. He quickly became known for his goalscoring prowess from the
bench, scoring important goals against Sheffield Wednesday, Tottenham
Hotspur and Aston Villa as a substitute. He became very popular among
the fans for his two-fingered salute – something that he later explained
was based on the team's nickname, The Gunners – which started in 1999
against Middlesbrough.
Kanu was named African Footballer of the
Year for the second time in 1999, and in 1999–2000 he scored 17 times in
50 matches for the Gunners, including three goals in fifteen minutes
against Chelsea to turn a 2–0 deficit to a 3–2 victory. In August 2001,
Arsenal rejected a bid from Fulham of "around £7m" for Kanu.
[8] However,
Kanu's appearances for Arsenal gradually became less frequent,
particularly after the emergence of Thierry Henry as Arsenal's first
choice striker, when Kanu was mainly used as a substitute. Despite this,
Kanu won the Doublewith Arsenal in 2002, an FA Cup in 2003 (as an
unused sub) and the Premier League title in 2004. In all he played 197
games for Arsenal (nearly half of them as a substitute), scoring 44
goals. In the summer of 2004, after his contract with Arsenal ended, he
moved to West Bromwich Albion on a free transfer.
In 2008, Kanu was voted 13th in the "Gunners' Greatest 50 Players" poll
 |
West Bromwich Albion
West
Brom had just been promoted to the FA Premier League for the second
time in the space of two years. Kanu started as a regular for the club,
making his debut in a 1–1 draw away at Blackburn Rovers on 14 August
2004. He scored his first goal for Albion on 18 September 2004, an
88th-minute equalizer in a 1–1 home draw against Fulham. In a match
againstMiddlesbrough on 14 November 2004, Kanu was guilty of an
incredible miss in injury time, with Albion 2–1 down. Kanu had sent a
low cross over the bar from a yard away from the goal line.
Manager Bryan Robson was seen in TV footage mouthing the words "How the
fuck did he miss that?", and Kanu's howler was crowned 'Miss of the
Season' by many television stations in the end-of-season reviews.
Nevertheless, the 2004–05 season was ultimately a memorable one for West
Brom, as they became the first club to avoid relegation from the
Premier League after being bottom of the table at Christmas.
One
of the most memorable games of the 2005–06 season for Kanu came with the
visit of his former club Arsenal to The Hawthorns on 15 October
2005. Philippe Senderos put the visitors ahead in the 17th minute, but
Kanu equalised shortly before half time. West Brom went on to win the
match 2–1 with a spectacular strike from Darren Carter. It was their
first home win over Arsenal since 1973, and the first time that they had
come from behind to win a Premier League game But such highlights were
rare for Albion that season, and the club was relegated at the end of
2005–06. Kanu's contract had expired, and he chose not to renew it. In
his two years at The Hawthorns he made a total of 58 appearances – 16 of
them as a substitute – and scored nine goals.
In the summer of
2006, Kanu played as a guest for Arsenal in Dennis Bergkamp's
testimonial game, the first match to be played in Arsenal's new Emirates
Stadium. The game was tied 1–1 when Kanu scored the winning goal,
making him the third person to score in the stadium. At the end of the
match, Kanu joined the rest of the Arsenal side in hoisting the
retiredDutchman on their shoulders as fans gave him a standing ovation.
He remains a popular figure at Arsenal, being applauded when he appears
at the Emirates Stadium. |
 |
Portsmouth
Kanu
was a free agent following his departure from West Brom, and he signed
for Portsmouth on a one-year deal shortly before the start of
the 2006–07 season. Pompey had undergone a revival in the second half of
the previous campaign, following the return of Harry Redknapp as
manager, avoiding relegation by four points after being in serious
danger at the turn of the year. At the start of the 2006–07 season, they
were undefeated in their first five games, during which they did not
concede a single goal. Kanu made his debut for Portsmouth as a
substitute against Blackburn Rovers on 19 August 2006, the opening day
of the 2006–2007 Premier League season. He scored twice and missed a
penalty. Though Kanu led the top scorers chart early in the season, he
had a goal drought for the rest of the season, but still finished as the
top goalscorer for Portsmouth, with 12 goals.
In his second
season at Portsmouth, Kanu scored in both the FA Cup 1–0 semi-final win
against West Bromwich Albion and the 1–0 win in the final
against Cardiff City, earning him a third FA Cup winner's medal.
His
first goal of the 2008–09 season put Portsmouth 2–0 up in their
eventual 2–2 UEFA Cup draw with Italian club A.C. Milan. He later scored
the winning goal against Bolton Wanderers, which ensured Pompey's
mathematical safety. It was his only Premier League goal of 2008–2009.
He re-signed with Pompey in August 2010, with an eye on becoming a coach
when he retired. Kanu signed a three-year deal and kept the number 27
shirt,[ but was not a regular starter throughout the course of the season and only managed two goals.
In
2008 Kanu was linked with a move to Gold Coast and Sydney FC were
interested in signing him a few months ago before balking at the asking
price. |
International career
Kanu
was a member of the Nigerian national team from 1994 until 2010, making
his debut in friendly against Sweden. Earlier on at the start of his
career, Kanu was instrumental in Nigeria's overall success at the 1993
FIFA U-17 tournament in Japan and their subsequent 2–1 victory over
Ghana in the final. With five goals, he was second joint-scorer in the
tournament with Peter Anosike and Manuel Neira, behind compatriot and
Captain Wilson Oruma.
As well as winning the Olympics gold in the football event at 1996 Olympics,
[16] Kanu
participated in the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cups. On 24 June 2010,
Kanu ended his international career following Nigeria's exit from
the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Nigeria lost their group matches
against Argentina and Greece, before a 2–2 draw with South Korea ended
their stay in the tournament.
] He won 86
caps and scored 13 goals for his country and is the joint most capped
Nigerian player of all-time alongside Muda Lawal.
Personal life
His
younger brother is also professional footballer and his stepbrothers
are Anderson "Anders" Gabolalmo Kanu and Henry Isaac. He also has a
younger brother called Yaya
Career statistics
Honours
Club
Iwuanyanwu Nationale
§ Nigerian Premier League: 1992–93
Ajax
§ Eredivisie: 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96
§ UEFA Champions League: 1994–95
§ UEFA Super Cup: 1995
§ Intercontinental Cup: 1995
Internazionale
§ UEFA Cup: 1997–98
Arsenal
§ Premier League: 2001–02, 2003–04
§ FA Cup: 2001–02, 2002–03
§ FA Community Shield: 1999
Portsmouth
§ FA Cup: 2007–08
[edit]Country
Nigeria
§ FIFA U-17 World Cup: 1993
§ Olympic Gold Medal: 1996
[edit]Individual
§ African Footballer of the Year: 1996, 1999
§ BBC African Footballer of the Year: 1997, 1999