Stephen Makinwa - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Stephen Ayodele Makinwa (born 26 July 1983 in Lagos

Lagos

Lagos is a port and the most populous conurbation in Nigeria. With a population of 7,937,932, it is currently the third most populous city in Africa after Cairo and Kinshasa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest growing city in Africa...

, Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

) is a Nigeria

Nigeria

n football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

striker

Striker

Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...

, who is currently playing for Lazio

S.S. Lazio

Società Sportiva Lazio, commonly referred to as Lazio, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. The team, founded in 1900, play in the Serie A and have spent most of their history in the top tier of Italian football...

. Makinwa also plays for the Nigerian national team

Nigeria national football team

The Nigeria national football team, nicknamed the Super Eagles or Green Eagles, is the national team of Nigeria and is controlled by the Nigeria Football Federation . The team has ranked as high as 5th in the FIFA World Rankings, in April 1994...

. His name, Ayodele, means "Joy has come home".

Early career

Discovered in 2000 by Reggiana

A.C. Reggiana 1919

Associazione Calcio Reggiana 1919 is an Italian association football club, based in Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1919 as A.C. Reggiana and refounded in July 2005 as Reggio Emilia F.C., but it was renamed A.C. Reggiana 1919 soon after the start of the 2005–06 season. The...

while playing for Nigerian local side FC Ebedei alongside his childhood friend and teammate Obafemi Martins

Obafemi Martins

Obafemi Akinwunmi Martins is a Nigerian footballer who plays as a striker for Rubin Kazan and the Nigeria national team. He is known for his speed on the ball....

, Makinwa started his Italian football experience moving on loan to Serie D

Serie D

Serie D is the top level of the Italian non-professional football association called Lega Nazionale Dilettanti. The association represents over a million football players and thousands of football teams across Italy. Serie D ranks just below Lega Pro Seconda Divisione , and is thus considered the...

team Conegliano.

In 2001 he moved to Serie B

Serie B

Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...

team Como

Como Calcio 1907

Calcio Como S.r.l. are an Italian football club, based in Como. The club was founded in 1907. The team's color is blue.Como have last been in Serie A in 2002–03; this was followed by three consecutive relegations that brought the team down in Serie C2 at the end of the season 2004–05 after having...

squad, as Como bought 50% of the rights to the player, however, Makinwa did not play any games for the team.

In 2002 he was back to Reggiana, in Serie C1

Serie C1

Lega Pro Prima Divisione is the name of the third highest football league in Italy. It consists of 36 teams, divided geographically into two divisions of 18 teams each. Until 2008 it was known as Serie C1....

, but the following season he was again in Como, but now as a regular.

Genoa and loans

Como bought the remainder of the 50% ownership rights from Reggiana in June and sold him to Genoa

Genoa C.F.C.

Genoa Cricket and Football Club, commonly referred to simply as Genoa , is a professional Italian football club based in the city of Genoa, Liguria...

in August 2003. In the first half of the season, he was remained on loan at Como. In January 2004 Makinwa was loaned to Modena

Modena F.C.

Modena Football Club is an Italian football club based in Modena, Emilia-Romagna. The club was formed in 1912 and currently plays in Italian Serie B, after being relegated from a two year period in Serie A in the year 2004. The team's previous stay in Italy's top division ended in 1964. The team...

and made his debut in Serie A, In 2004–05 season, he returned to Genoa, scored 6 goals in first half of the Serie B season. That season, Genoa also owned effective strikers Diego Milito

Diego Milito

Diego Alberto Milito is an Argentine footballer who plays as a striker for the Italian Serie A team Internazionale. He also plays for the Argentine national team. A prolific and consistent center-forward, Milito has statistically averaged just over a goal every two appearances, over the course of...

and Roberto Stellone

Roberto Stellone

Roberto Stellone is an Italian footballer who plays for Serie B team Frosinone as a forward. Stellone has played over 100 games in both Serie A and Serie B level.Stellone is known for his ability in the air.-Early career:...

Atalanta & Palermo

In January 2005 sold to Atalanta

Atalanta B.C.

Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio, commonly known as just Atalanta, Atalanta Bergamo or the abbreviation Atalanta BC, is an Italian football club based in Bergamo, Lombardy.They are nicknamed the Nerazzurri and the orobici...

in joint-ownership bid, but Atalanta relegated in June 2005, in although the club decided to buy the remain rights on 27 June.

In July 2005, Makinwa joined Palermo

U.S. Città di Palermo

Unione Sportiva Città di Palermo is an Italian football club from Palermo, Sicily which currently plays in Serie A, the top level of Italian football. Formed in 1900 as Anglo Panormitan Athletic and Football Club, the club had various names before assuming its final form in 1987 and is currently...

in a reported €7.5M. Makinwa only remained at Palermo for a season, however he showed enough promise to suggest that he could develop into a quality Serie A

Serie A

Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...

player, scoring 5 goals in 23 league matches as Palermo qualified for Europe.

Lazio

He then went to S.S. Lazio

S.S. Lazio

in summer 2006, on a co-ownership deal for €3.3million, being reunited with Delio Rossi

Delio Rossi

Delio Rossi is an Italian association football manager, currently managing Fiorentina.-Playing career:Rossi's playing career was not a bright one, as he reached his personal top from 1981 to 1983, playing Serie B with U.S. Foggia, where he spent most of his footballing time...

, his former coach at Atalanta. In June 2007, he was fully contracted by Lazio, following a blind auction between the biancocelesti and Palermo, for another €3.3million. He also signed a new 5-year contract.

In 2007–08

Serie A 2007-08

The 2007-08 Serie A football season was the seventy-sixth since its establishment, and started on August 26, 2007 and ended on May 18, 2008. Internazionale successfully defended the championship on the final day of the season, finishing first with 85 points, three ahead of Roma.-Plusvalenze...

, Makinwa got his first experience of the UEFA Champions League

UEFA Champions League

The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

, failing to score as Lazio crashed out in the group stages. Following six months of unconvincing performances, Lazio sent him on loan to relegation battlers Reggina

Reggina Calcio

Reggina Calcio are an Italian association football club, the main club of the city of Reggio Calabria. Founded in 1914, they currently play in the Italian Serie B, and play their home matches at the 27,763 seater Stadio Oreste Granillo...

, but he still did not find the net, ending the season without a goal to his name.

He began the 2008–09

Serie A 2008-09

The 2008–09 Serie A was the seventy-seventh season since its establishment. It began on 30 August 2008 and ended on 31 May 2009, with the announcement of the list of fixtures made on 25 July 2008...

season as a fringe player at Lazio; making just four substitute appearances.

On 22 January 2009, it was announced that Makinwa had signed for Chievo

A.C. ChievoVerona

Associazione Calcio Chievo Verona is a professional Italian football club named after and based in Chievo, a suburb of 2,800 inhabitants in Verona, Veneto, and owned by Paluani, a cake company and the inspiration for their original name, Paluani Chievo...

until the end of the 2008–09

Serie A 2008-09

season, for €250K. The deal was a loan, with an option of making the move permanent, although Chievo decided not to sign the Nigerian and he returned to Lazio for the 2009–10

AE Larisa

On 15 July 2010 he joined Larissa on loan from Lazio

S.S. Lazio

until the end of the season.

International career

Makinwa plays for the Nigerian national team

Nigeria national football team

, having won 14 caps since making his debut in 2004.

Makinwa played for Nigeria in the 2006 African Cup of Nations

2006 African Cup of Nations

-Group B:---------------------Group C:---------------------Group D:---------------------Knockout stage:-Quarter-finals:-------------Semi-finals:-----Third-place play-off:-Final:-Scorers:...

when they finished third. Two years on, he played in the side which again failed to win, losing at the 2008 African Cup of Nations

2008 African Cup of Nations

The 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the MTN Africa Cup of Nations due to the competition's sponsorship by MTN, was the 26th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial football tournament for nations affiliated to the Confederation of African Football . The tournament was staged at...

to Ghana

Ghana national football team

The Ghana national football team, popularly known as the Black Stars, is the national association football team of Ghana and is controlled by the Ghana Football Association...

.

Both Makinwa and his national team mate Obafemi Martins

Obafemi Martins

Obafemi Akinwunmi Martins is a Nigerian footballer who plays as a striker for Rubin Kazan and the Nigeria national team. He is known for his speed on the ball....

, are known for celebrating goals by making several consecutive somersaults.

Club statistics

|-
|2000/01||Conegliano||||8||2
|-
|2001/02||Como||Serie B

Serie B

||0||0
|-
|2002/03||Reggiana||Serie C1||28||6
|-
|2003/04||Como||Serie B

Serie B

||21||6
|-
|2003/04||Modena||Serie A

Serie A

||16||1
|-
|2004/05||Genoa||Serie B

Serie B

||18||6
|-
|2004/05||Atalanta||Serie A

Serie A

||17||6
|-
|2005/06||Città di Palermo||Serie A

Serie A

||23||5
|-
|2006/07||rowspan="2"|Lazio||rowspan="2"|Serie A

Serie A

||25||3
|-
|2007/08||14||0
|-
|2007/08||Reggina

Reggina Calcio

||Serie A

Serie A

||9||0
|-
|2008/09||Lazio||Serie A

Serie A

||4||0
|-
|2008/09||ChievoVerona||Serie A

Serie A

||9||1
|-
|2009/10||Lazio||Serie A

Serie A

||2||0

|-
|2010/11||Larissa||Super League

Super League Greece

The Superleague Greece is the highest professional football league in Greece. It was formed on July 16, 2006 and replaced Alpha Ethniki at the top of the Greek football league system. The league consists of 16 teams and runs from August to May, with teams playing 30 games each...

||10||1
194||35
10||1
204||36
|}

National team statistics

|-
|2004||1||1
|-
|2005||4||0
|-
|2006||3||0
|-
|2007||5||0
|-
|2008||3||0
|-
!Total||16||1
|}

External links

nigerianplayers.com
http://www.tuttocalciatori.net/Makinwa_Stephen_Ayodele
http://www.worldfootball.net/spieler_profil/ayodele-makinwa/

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