Kanu Nwankwo ( Success Story)

Nwankwo Kanu, a professional footballer, was born on August 1, 1976 in Owerri. His younger brother, Christopher Kanu, is also a professional footballer. He is known as “Papilo”, “The King” and “Long Lad” in the football world and is the captain of the Nigeria national football team. Nwankwo Kanu contributed to the Nigeria U-17 team’s 2-1 win over Ghana at the finals of the 1993 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) U-17 tournament in Japan. He has been in the national team since 1994 and played his first international match against Sweden. Nwankwo Kanu captained the team at 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, playing a vital role in helping the national team win the gold in the football event and was a part of the national squad in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups. Nwankwo Kanu was a part of the team that finished as runners-up at the 2000 African Cup of Nations and second runners-up at the African of Nations in 2002, 2004 and 2006. As of 2008, he has featured in 72 international matches and has scored 13 goals. Nwankwo Kanu started his club career by joining Fed Works in 1991 after which he moved to Iwuanyanwu Nationale in 1992 and contributed to the club’s victory at the 1992-93 Nigerian Premier League. He was signed by AFC Ajax in 1993 and made his debut for the club in 1994. He helped the club win the Eredivisie for three consecutive seasons, 1993-94, 1994-95 and 1995-96 and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League during the 1994-95 season. Nwankwo Kanu played in the final match against AC Milan at the 1995 Champions League and went on to make 54 appearances for the club, scoring 25 times. Nwankwo Kanu transferred to Internazionale Milano in 1996, and the same year he was named The African Footballer of the Year. He was also a part of the team that won the UEFA Cup during the 1997-98 season. In February 1999, Nwankwo Kanu was signed by Arsenal and made his debut for Arsenal against Sheffield United at the Football Association (FA) Cup. At the end of the year he was named as The African Footballer of the Year for the second time. He contributed to the club’s victory twice at the English Premier League (2001-02 and 2003-04), twice at the FA Cup (2001-02 and 2002-03) and once at the 2004 FA Community. In his five -year tenure with Arsenal, he made 119 appearances and has 30 goals to his credit. Nwankwo Kanu moved to West Bromwich Albion in the summer of 2004 and started as a regular on August 14, 2004 in a 1-1 draw against Blackburn Rovers. His first Albion goal came on September 18, 2004 in a 1-1 draw against Fulham following which, he played a memorable game against Arsenal at the Hawthorns on October 15, 2005. In the summer of 2006, Nwankwo Kanu played as a guest for Arsenal in Dennis Bergkamp's testimonial game, the first match to be played in Arsenal's new Emirates Stadium. After playing 53 matches for West Brom, he joined Portsmouth in 2006 and on August 19, 2006, he made his Portsmouth debut in a match against Blackburn Rovers. In his third match for the club, Nwankwo Kanu scored all the four goals in a 4-0 win against Middlesbrough and went on to become the top goal scorer of Portsmouth that season, scoring 12 goals. In his second season at Portsmouth, Nwankwo Kanu netted the winning goal at FA Cup 1-0 semi-final match against West Bromwich Albion and at the 1-0 win in the final against Cardiff City, and went on to win the Man of The Match award and a third FA Cup winner's medal. Owing to his prolific scoring, Nwankwo Kanu joined the exclusive list of players, who scored at both the old and new Wembley stadiums. As of 2008, Nwankwo Kanu is the only Premiership player to have won the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, Premiership, FA Cup and an Olympic Gold Medal. Be Inspired.