James Obiora is a Nigerian central striker who at one time, in his youth, was considered one of the most talented and promising players in the world. His dribbling was unforgettable, he avoided two or three upscale opponents without any problems. But unfortunately, his star was never destined to ascend. The reason for this was numerous injuries, as well as such a terrible thing as laziness, which did not allow the player to reveal. James Obiora could become a world star, but in the end he remained mediocrity, which in his youth promised a stellar career.
Performances in Nigeria
James Obiora was born on August 24, 1978 in Nigeria. His first professional club was Kavara, with whom he signed a contract in the summer of 1994 at the age of 15. Even then, many could see that the little guy has incredible talent. In the winter of the following year, Obiora began his ascent, moving to the more famous Nigerian club Enimba, where he did not stay too long - after six months clubs from Europe became interested in him, and in the summer the 16-year-old striker became part of the Belgian Anderlecht. James Obiora was supposed to grow into a real football genius, but this was not destined to happen.
Performances for Anderlecht
What was striker James Obiora? The football player from him was very technical, he had a great ball, had a great shot, but all this was not revealed in Europe. In “Anderlecht” for the three years of the contract, he played only thirty matches, in which he scored only six goals. As a result, the contract with him was not renewed, and at the age of 19, James moved to Switzerland, where the local club Grasshoppers signed a contract with him.
New challenge
But in Switzerland, the career of a football player went downhill. Yes, at only 19 years old Obiora already began to receive injuries and did not show the due desire to work on himself after recovery. As a result, during his three years at Grasshoppers, he played in only 14 matches and did not score any goals at all. This is terrifying statistics for the central striker, and the Swiss club did not want to renew the contract with him. Fortunately, the 22-year-old footballer was still not interesting to the very last club - Moscow Lokomotiv.
First successes
James Obiora, whose photos a couple of years ago were in all magazines and promised the world a new star, moved to Lokomotiv as an average player, but that was how he was able to gain a little trust in himself. In the Russian club, the striker spent two and a half seasons, playing 62 matches and scoring 20 goals, which was extremely impressive compared to his previous results, but not good enough for Lokomotiv.
Rent
In 2003, a 24-year-old footballer was sent on loan to the Spanish Cadiz, where he played 17 matches and scored two goals. The rent seemed to work, and Obiora took up the mind, but not for long. And before the fans blinked, in winter 2005 Obiora went on loan again, but this time to the French Niort, where he played 12 matches, scoring twice as much as in Cadiz, but still not like that too much. It became completely clear that Obiora missed his last chance - Lokomotiv refused to renew his contract, and James, in the status of a free agent, transferred to the Austrian GAK.
Final decline
That's how James Obior missed his talent. The career of a football player went downhill, and he was no longer in demand by the leading clubs in Europe, as this could have happened if not for his natural laziness, as well as his tendency to injuries.
The 26-year-old player began his appearances for “Huck” not in the best way and as a result he played in only five matches, without goals. The contract with him was terminated, but then the same “Niort” arrived, who decided to give the Nigerian a second chance. Alas, Obiora even played quite often - 16 matches in a year, but he was able to hit the opponent’s goal only twice. A year later, he went to his home, to the Kaduna club, for which he also spent just a season — he played in 23 matches and scored one goal.
In 2008, the 29-year-old football player made his last attempt - he signed a contract with the French club Toulon, but again failed, having lost only 11 games due to injury and scoring two goals in them. The thirty-year-old player made a rather difficult decision for himself - he decided to end his football career here and now, without trying to take root anywhere else.
And so the journey ended once upon a time with one of the most talented young soccer players in the world, and as a result a useless striker, unable to score enough goals to stay in any club for longer than a year.
Team appearances
At the time of Obiora’s rise, when he played at Lokomotiv, the Nigeria national football team coach noticed a young football player who seemed to be starting to gain ground. Obiore was given carte blanche - he received a direct ticket to the 2002 World Cup. In the group, the Nigerians lost their first two matches, after which in the third match, in which nothing was decided for them, Obiora got a chance and went on the field to play against the English. The match ended in a goalless draw, and James could not score at the World Cup. He also held two friendly games for the national team, in one of which he scored one goal, but on this his practice with the Nigerian national team was over.