Oguchi Onyewu

Club

International

Scores and results list United States' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Onyewu goal.

Onyewu was a mainstay on the United States national team for the 2006 and 2010 World Cup cycles. Early in his career, Onyewu represented the U.S. at various youth levels, including at the 2001 World Youth Championship. He made his first appearance for the senior national team on October 13, 2004, against Panama. Onyewu scored his first international goal in the 2005 Gold Cup, nodding home the extra time winner in the semifinal against Honduras, and was later named to the tournament Best XI. Oguchi played for the United States in the 2006 World Cup, and started in all three United States games. Just before halftime of the third and final group stage match against Ghana, Onyewu conceded a penalty from which Ghana scored, and the United States was eliminated by the 2–1 defeat. Onyewu was voted the 2006 U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year. He was the first defender to earn the award since Alexi Lalas in 1995. During the 2009 Confederations Cup, Onyewu was paired with Jay DeMerit due to the injury of his normal partner, Carlos Bocanegra, who was unable to play in the group stage. Onyewu played well against Egypt, helping lead the United States to a 3–0 win that earned them a berth in the semifinals. He also had a standout performance in the 2–0 semifinal victory over Spain. In a World Cup qualifier draw against Costa Rica on October 14, 2009, Onyewu suffered a patellar tendon rupture, forcing him to miss the rest of qualifying. During the 2010 World Cup, Onyewu started and played the…

College soccer and move to Europe

Onyewu grew up in the Washington, D.C. suburbs of Silver Spring and Olney, Maryland, where he attended St. Andrew Apostle School and Sherwood High School. Onyewu enrolled in the U.S. residency program in Bradenton, Florida, before returning to Sherwood to graduate. He then played two years of college soccer at Clemson University in South Carolina. He moved to Europe in 2002, signing with Metz of Ligue 2 in France. In 2003, he was loaned out to La Louvière in Belgium.

Standard Liège and Newcastle

Onyewu was loaned to Standard Liège in 2004. The move to Liège was made permanent for the 2004–05 season. After the season, he was named to the Belgian league's Best XI as well as Foreign Player of the Year for 2005. Having been the subject of many transfer rumors regarding clubs throughout Europe, Onyewu finally completed a loan deal with Newcastle United in January 2007, covering the remainder of the 2006–07 season. He made his debut for Newcastle against Fulham on February 3, and his home debut a week later, alongside Titus Bramble, in a 2–1 victory over Liverpool. The two formed an ill-fated partnership, making a number of costly mistakes which was ultimately to cost Onyewu his place. Following the arrival of new manager Sam Allardyce, Onyewu fell out of favor, and Newcastle decided not to make the loan deal permanent. Onyewu returned to Standard, and his play continued to improve. He made his 100th Belgian First Division…

Onyewu's parents moved to the United States from Nigeria to study in Washington, D.C. They are ethnic Igbo people of Nigeria. Onyewu has two brothers, Uche and Nonye, and two sisters, Chi-Chi and Ogechi. He also holds Belgian citizenship. He speaks English, French, Italian, and Portuguese. Onyewu is a practicing Catholic. At 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) and 210 lb (95 kg), Onyewu is the second-tallest outfield player in United States national team history (after Omar Gonzalez). He is the first Vice President of Sport in the US. Onyewu is a Global Ambassador for Grassroot Soccer, an adolescent health organization that leverages the power of soccer to equip young people with the life-saving information, services, and mentorship they need to live healthier lives. Onyewu is also a lecturer at the HELEGS Executive Program in Law, Economics and Geopolitics of Professional Sports, where he shares his knowledge of the North American sports model.

Business interests

In early 2017, Onyewu co-opened a sports performance facility in Richmond, Virginia.