Patrick Owomoyela

Owomoyela began his career in lower league German football. In 2003, he made the step up to Arminia Bielefeld, then in the 2. Bundesliga. Great performances for Bielefeld in the 2004–05 season earned Owomoyela interest from German top clubs, and ahead of the 2005–06 season, he joined SV Werder Bremen. In his first season, Owomoyela was the undisputed starter at right back and helped Bremen reach second in the Bundesliga. With the arrival of Clemens Fritz the following season, however, he lost his starting position due to injuries and bad displays. Owomoyela was finally transferred to Borussia Dortmund at the beginning of the 2008–09 season, where he looked to reestablish himself in German top-flight football.

Owomoyela debuted for Jürgen Klinsmann's Germany national side in an Asian tour, playing 90 minutes in a 3–0 win over Japan, on 16 December 2004, in Yokohama. He later was selected in the Bundestrainer's team for the Confederations Cup in 2005, but was unused there and was finally overlooked for Germany's World Cup final squad. In total he collected eleven caps.

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International

In addition to his football skills, Owomoyela is also a basketball player, having played in the German regional league before switching to football full-time. He was born to a German mother and a Nigerian father. His name "Olukayode" stems from the Yoruba words "Olu", a diminutive form of "Oluwa" or Olorun meaning "God" and "Kayode" meaning "to bring joy", which translates to "God brings me joy and happiness". In the run-up to the 2006 World Cup, the National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) distributed leaflets showing a Germany jersey with the number 25, and the slogan "White - not just a jersey colour! For a real NATIONAL team!". Owomoyela and the German Football Association filed charges, interpreting the leaflet as directed to Owomoyela due to his squad number and the colour of his skin. In April 2009, NPD leader Udo Voigt and two others were convicted of incitement to racial hatred and defamation, and given suspended prison sentences. The convictions were overturned by the Berlin State Court in March 2011, judging that the number alone was not enough to link the leaflet to Owomoyela, and that "white" has other meanings including good moral character. In 2021, Owomoyela featured in Schwarze Adler, a documentary detailing the experiences of Black players in German professional football.