Shola Ameobi

Newcastle United

Early career

Ameobi signed a pre-contract with Newcastle on 1 July 1997. He progressed through the youth setup, making his debut in the reserves in 1998 on 11 October against Sunderland. He made his first team debut two years later, on 9 September 2000, in a home game against Chelsea. He went on to make 22 appearances for Newcastle that season, in lieu of the injured Alan Shearer and Carl Cort. The 2002–03 Champions League saw some of Ameobi's finest performances including an equalising goal against Barcelona in a 3–1 defeat at the Nou Camp as well as scoring two goals against Bayer Leverkusen in a 3–1 victory. His erratic form has earned him some criticism in the past, and although never having been claimed as a prolific goalscorer, many of his games were as a substitute. Due to injuries in the latter stages of the 2005–06 season, Ameobi gained a regular starting place, and scored six goals in Newcastle's last 12 Premier League games. In the 2006 UEFA Intertoto Cup, Ameobi scored twice in Newcastle's away tie at Lillestrøm SK (3–0), taking him to second place in the club's table of leading goalscorers in European competition with twelve goals, behind only Shearer.

Injury, loan, and transfer attempts

During the 2006–07 season, Ameobi needed a hip operation, a problem which had been plaguing him for two seasons. Newcastle's shortage of match-fit first team strikers during the previous season had forced him to postpone this…

Nigerian-born Ameobi had a three-year spell with England's under-21 team, netting seven goals between 2000 and 2003. Ameobi is the joint eighth highest goal scorer for the under-21s. In late 2009, Ameobi declared his interest in playing for Nigeria. On 14 January 2011, he was announced in the Nigerian national squad for the first time, for a friendly against Guatemala in the United States, in February. He withdrew from the replacement game against Sierra Leone after breaking his cheekbone in a Premier League match. On 1 November 2011, it was announced that FIFA had cleared Ameobi to play for Nigeria. In October 2012, Nigeria head coach Stephen Keshi expressed his interest in Ameobi joining the squad for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations. In November 2012, Ameobi received his second call-up for the Nigeria national team against Venezuela. He made his debut on 14 November, appearing as a substitute in the 60th minute for former Newcastle teammate Obafemi Martins. In stoppage time at the end of the game, Ameobi laid on a pass for Ogenyi Onazi to make the score 3–1 to Nigeria. He scored his first international goal for Nigeria on 10 September 2013, against Burkina Faso in a friendly in Kaduna, Nigeria. In November 2013, he scored his second goal against Italy, in a friendly at Craven Cottage. On 12 May 2014, he was named in Nigeria's 30-man provisional squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and later made the final 23-man squad. During the tournament, Ameobi made a total of two…

Born in Zaria, Nigeria to a family from Ijumu Local Government Area in modern-day Kogi State. Ameobi moved to Fenham, Newcastle upon Tyne, England when he was five. His initial promise was spotted whilst attending the Walker Central Boys Club, before he was invited to attend Newcastle United's Academy.

He is the older brother of fellow footballers Tomi and Sammy. His father, Dr John Ameobi, is a pastor in Newcastle Apostolic church, a Pentecostal church. All of the Ameobi boys were brought up in the church and have a strong faith. Ameobi is on the board of reference for CSW, an organisation working for religious freedom through advocacy and human rights.