Nedum Onuoha

Manchester City

Having started at the Independent Schools Football Association, Onuoha progressed through the age groups in Manchester City's youth academy since joining in 1996 at age ten and played regularly for club's reserves in the 2003–04 season. He had his first involvement with the Manchester City first team in the 2004–05 pre-season, playing in a friendly against Bury. Onuoha made his first team debut against Arsenal in the League Cup on 27 October 2004, at the age of 17. He made his Premier League debut as a substitute on 1 November 2004 at home to Norwich City. Though Onuoha's natural position is centre-half, manager Kevin Keegan initially played him at right back with the intention of improving his passing ability. He then made his first Premier League start, playing the whole game, in a 3–1 win over Portsmouth on 20 November 2004. After the match, Manager Keegan praised his performance. After spending two months on the sidelines with a hamstring injury, which he sustained in mid–January, Onuoha made his first appearances in two months, starting the match and gave away a goal before being substituted, in a 2–1 loss against Tottenham Hotspur on 19 March 2005. Despite this, he was involved in the club's remaining matches, playing in the right–back position, and kept three clean sheets between 20 April 2005 and 30 April 2005. For his performance, Onuoha signed a three–year contract with the club. At the end of the 2004–05 season, making eighteen appearances…

Onuoha was eligible to play for England (having received British citizenship at seven years old) and Nigeria (the country in which he was born). He was invited by Nigeria manager Berti Vogts to represent Nigeria at the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations; however, Onuoha turned down the opportunity because his club, Manchester City, had recently had a change of manager and he did not want to lose his place in the team by being absent on international duty for a month. Onuoha stated in 2022 that he regretted this choice; he ended up never playing senior international football.

England youth team

Having previously played for England U20, Onuoha was then a regular in the England U-21 side, making his debut on 12 October 2005. He was part of the squad participating in the 2007 European Under 21s Championship in the Netherlands. Onuoha started the tournament well when he helped the side keep a clean sheet, in a 0–0 draw against Czech Republic U21. During the Championships, Onuoha was subjected to racist abuse from Serbian fans, but received praise for maintaining his conduct amid provocation. Following the match, he describe the racial abuse he received as "horrific". He was a regular at centre back, partnering Steven Taylor. During the semi-final against the Netherlands, he limped off with an injury and England were down to ten men as all three of the permitted substitutions had been made; they lost 13–12 on penalties. Three months later on 7 September 2007, Onuoha scored his…

Born in Warri, Delta State, Nigeria, Onuoha was brought up in Manchester, England. He went to Nelson Street Primary School Miles Platting before becoming a pupil at the Hulme Grammar School, Oldham, where he achieved eight grade 'A's' and two 'B's' at GCSE. He then completed his studies at Xaverian College Manchester where he achieved three 'A' grades at A-level in Maths, Business Studies and IT. Onuoha revealed "he had a strict Nigerian upbringing and that school came first and if he did not study properly and successfully, he was forbidden by his mother and father from playing football or athletics". An outstanding junior sprinter, aged 14 he finished in second place in the final of the 2001 English School's Athletics Association Junior 100 metres contest, clocking 11.09 seconds and beating former Great Britain sprinter Craig Pickering. However, Onuoha said about the record: "it was all just based on the fact I was doing summer training," He is also currently the co-national record holder for boys under 15 standing triple jump, in the Sports Hall events held annually throughout the UK. The record is held jointly with international long jumper Jonathan Moore. He is known to have supported Manchester City as a boy and he attended the Division Two play-off final against Gillingham at Wembley in 1999. Onuoha's mother, Dr Anthonia Onuoha, who was his agent, developed cancer and made national headlines in September 2011 when an email exchange led to the club's CEO Garry Cook…

England U21

UEFA European Under-21 Championship runner-up: 2009 Queens Park Rangers

Football League Championship play-offs: 2014