Uche Kalu

Uche Kalu (born 16 May 1986)[1] is a Nigerian football player who plays for Altyn Asyr FK in the Turkmenistan Higher League[2].

Not to be confused with Kalu Uche.
Uche Kalu
Personal information
Full name Uche Kalu
Date of birth (1986-05-16) 16 May 1986
Place of birth Aba, Nigeria
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Altyn Asyr
Youth career
Bussdor United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2007 Bussdor United 10 (7)
2007–2013 Enyimba 9 (4)
2012–2013 → Çaykur Rizespor (loan) 12 (9)
2013–2014 Çaykur Rizespor 8 (0)
2014 → Adanaspor (loan) 14 (2)
2015–2016 Tobol 22 (5)
2016 Adanaspor 14 (5)
2016–2017 Gaziantep BB 28 (6)
2018 Adanaspor 11 (3)
2018–2019 Al-Markhiya
2019– Altyn Asyr
National team
2012 Nigeria 7 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:13, 24 December 2019 (UTC)

He is not related to former Enyimba teammate Henry Uche nor fellow Nigeria international and India-based midfielder Kalu Uche.

Career

In 2007, he was named as "Most Valuable Player" in the Nigerian Premier League after joining Enyimba from second-level team Bussdor United F.C.[3] He however struggled with injuries the next few years. After a failed transfer attempt to Botola team Wydad Casablanca in February 2012,[4] he rejoined Enyimba.

He moved to Turkish second-tier team Çaykur Rizespor in August 2012, and had a goal and assist in his debut.[5]

In January 2014, Uche Kalu joined Adanaspor on a loan deal.[6]

In January 2015, Kalu went on trial with Kazakhstan Premier League side FC Tobol,[7] signing a year-long contract with the club on 6 February 2015.[8]

Kalu returned to Adanaspor in January 2016, signing a 1.5-year contract.

On 24 April 2016 Adanaspor guaranteed to play in the first tier of Turish football after 12 years. Kalu Uche played a very pig part in this success story.[9]

In August 2019, Niger Uche Kalu and Kenya Peter Opiyo signed a contract with FC Altyn Asyr from Turkmenistan[10]. This is the first foreign footballer in the history of the club and the first legionnaire in the 2019 Ýokary Liga season.

International career

He was a member of the Nigeria B team that won the 2010 WAFU Nations Cup. His regained form saw him called up by Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi in 2012. He made his senior debut in the Eagles' 0-0 tie against Angola in January 2012. He scored his first goal in a friendly later that year against Egypt.

References
  1. Enyimba team page
  2. "Altyn Asyr FK - Team Info". GSA. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  3. "SPECIAL REPORT – LIST OF SCORERS IN THE NIGERIA FOOTBALL LEAGUE 2009-2010 (PART ONE)". westafricanfootball.com. 17 October 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  4. "Striker Uche Kalu rejoins Enyimba after failed Wydad transfer - Goal.com". goal.com. 18 February 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  5. Kalu dazzles on Turkish debut
  6. "Error - /article.xhtml: value of context variable is not an instance of the component bound to the context variable: news. If you are using hot deploy, you may have attempted to hot deploy a session or application-scoped component definition while using an old instance in the session". nigeriafootball.com. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  7. "Уче Калу прибыл в расположение Тобола". sports.kz/ (in Russian). sports.kz/. 29 January 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  8. "Нигерийский кочевник". fc-tobol.kz/ (in Russian). FC Tobol. 6 February 2015. Archived from the original on 6 February 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  9. "Adanaspor Uche Kalu'yu 1.5 yıllığına renklerine bağladı". www.adanaspor.com.tr/ (in Turkish). Adanaspor. 7 January 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
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