NAIJA STARS OF THE
NAIJA STARS OF THE GERMAN BUNDESLIGA Obafemi Akinwunmi Martins DOB: 28 October 1984 POB: Lagos, Nigeria Height: 1.70 m Position: Forward MARTINS MARTINS 16 COMPLETE FOOTBALL | December Profile bafemi Akinwunmi Martins had Omade a name for himself, having won titles in Italy and England, before making a surprise move to Germany on 29 July 2009 when Newcastle accepted a £9 million bid from Bundesliga champions VfL Wolfsburg with the player signing a fouryear contract. For his debut, Martins came on as a second-half substitute against 1. FC Köln at the Rhein Energie Stadion, with his team deadlocked at 1–1. He helped in the buildup to the second goal and capped off his first appearance in the Bundesliga with a well-taken goal after dribbling past two P r At the unveiling esented b y Celebrating a goal with teammate, Dzeko ...what a miss onrushing defenders and then coolly finishing from six yards out, slotting the ball past the goalkeeper to the far post. There was no better way to announce himself than this and the young Nigerian went on to give Wolves fans a lot of happy moments in the club’s colours. Martins’ stay at the Volkswagen Arena was however shortlived, lasting only until the end of the season even though he’d signed a four year deal, as he moved to Rubin Kazan in the Russian Premier League to continue his career. Martins won two AFCON bronze medals with Nigeria and score 18 goals in 41 On duty for Wolfsburg against Nigeria’s Dickson Etuhu of Fulham games for the Super Eagles. He currently plies his trade in the Chinese Super League with Shanghai Shenhua. BUNDESLIGA TEAM 2009–2010 VfL Wolfsburg 16 (6) OTHER CLUBS: 1999–2000 Ebedei 2000–2001 Reggiana 2 (0) 2001–2006 Inter Milan 88 (28) 2006–2009 Newcastle Utd 88 (28) 2010–2012 Rubin Kazan 20 (3) 2011 Birmingham City 4 (0) 2012–2013 Levante 21 (7) 2013–2015 Seattle Sounders FC 72 (40) 2016– Shanghai Shenhua 26 (9) COMPLETE FOOTBALL | December 17
