Stephen Makinwa

Stephen Makinwa

Personal information
Full name	Stephen Ayodele Makinwa
Date of birth	(1983-07-26) 26 July 1983
Place of birth	Lagos, Nigeria
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Striker
Youth career
	Ebedei
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2000–2001	Reggiana	0	(0)
2000–2001	→ Conegliano (loan)	8	(2)
2001–2002	Como	0	(0)
2002–2003	Reggiana	29	(6)
2003–2005	Genoa	18	(6)
2003–2004	→ Como (loan)	21	(6)
2004	→ Modena (loan)	17	(1)
2005	Atalanta	17	(6)
2005–2006	Palermo	23	(5)
2006–2012	Lazio	45	(3)
2008	→ Reggina (loan)	9	(0)
2009	→ Chievo (loan)	9	(1)
2010–2011	→ Larissa (loan)	10	(1)
2012–2013	Carrarese	13	(6)
2013–2014	Beijing Baxy	11	(4)
2014	Gorica	5	(1)
National team‡
2004–2008	Nigeria	18	(2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 31 August 2014. ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 12 July 2013

Stephen Ayodele Makinwa (born 26 July 1983 in Lagos, Nigeria) is a retired Nigerian footballer who played as a Striker . Makinwa also played for the Nigerian national team. His name, Ayodele, means "Joy has come home".^[1]

Career

Early career

Discovered in 2000 by Reggiana while playing for Nigerian local side Ebedei alongside his childhood friend and teammate Obafemi Martins, Makinwa started his Italian football experience moving on loan to Serie D team Conegliano.

In 2001 he moved to Serie B team Como 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, 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 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 and made his debut in Serie A,^[2] 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 and Roberto Stellone.

Atalanta & Palermo

In January 2005 sold to Atalanta 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 in a reported €7.5M.^[3] Makinwa only remained at Palermo for a season, however he showed enough promise to suggest that he could develop into a quality Serie A player, scoring 5 goals in 23 league matches as Palermo qualified for Europe and 3 goals in the Uefa cup.

Lazio

He then went to S.S. Lazio in summer 2006, on a co-ownership deal for €3.3million, being reunited with Delio Rossi, 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, Makinwa got his first experience of the UEFA Champions League, 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,^[4] but he still did not find the net, ending the season without a goal to his name.

He began the 2008–09 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 until the end of the 2008–09 season,^[5] 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 until the end of the season. ^[6]

Beijing Baxy

Following the end of his contract with Lazio, Makinwa joined China League One side Beijing Baxy until the end of the 2014 season scoring 4 goals in his first 9 games. ^[7]

Gorica

In July 2014 he was signed by Slovenian side ND Gorica.^[8]

International career

Makinwa plays for the Nigerian national team, having won 14 caps since making his debut in 2004.

Makinwa played for Nigeria in the 2006 African Cup of Nations 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 to Ghana.

Both Makinwa and his national team mate Obafemi Martins, are known for celebrating goals by making several consecutive somersaults.

Club statistics

^[9]

References

External links

• nigerianplayers.com
• Stephen Makinwa – FIFA competition record
• Stephen Makinwa at National-Football-Teams.com
• http://www.tuttocalciatori.net/Makinwa_Stephen_Ayodele
• http://www.worldfootball.net/spieler_profil/ayodele-makinwa/

Nigeria Squads
Nigeria squad – 2006 Africa Cup of Nations Third Place 1 Enyeama 2 Yobo 3 Taiwo 4 Kanu 5 Odiah 6 Enakarhire 7 Utaka 8 Mikel 9 Martins 10 Okocha 11 Lawal 12 Ejide 13 Yussuf 14 Obinna 15 Obiefule 16 Oruma 17 Aghahowa 18 Obodo 19 Makinwa 20 Odemwingie 21 Nwaneri 22 Kaita 23 Aiyenugba Coach: Eguavoen Nigeria squad – 2008 Africa Cup of Nations 1 Enyeama 2 Yobo 3 Taiwo 4 Kanu 5 Nwaneri 6 Shittu 7 Utaka 8 Yakubu 9 Martins 10 Mikel 11 Odemwingie 12 Ejide 13 Afolabi 14 Olofinjana 15 Uche 16 Etuhu 17 Makinwa 18 Obinna 19 Emeghara 20 Okonkwo 21 Eromoigbe 22 Apam 23 Aiyenugba Coach: Vogts