Date of birth | 12 February 1982 |
Place of birth | Benin City |
Nationality | Nigerian |
Weight | 72 kg |
Height | 1.82 m |
Position | Forward |
His early club football was spent with his local team Bendel Insurance.
He made his name at the African and the World Youth Championships in 1999 after which he was snapped up to play in Tunisia for Esperance in the close season of 1999, where they reached the African Champions League Final.
He moved to Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk for a £6 million fee in 2000.
This young striker made his name in the 2000 African Nations' Cup finals, netting on his debut against Morocco and then two late goals in the quarter final against Senegal to help the Super Eagle to victory.
He was only a substitute in the final, when Nigeria lost out to Cameroon on penalties, but went on to play in all four games in the Sydney Olympics, scoring in the 3-2 win over Australia.
He is a talented forward who tends to play on the left hand side of the attack.
Julius opened the scoring in Nigeria's 2-1 World Cup Group F defeat by Sweden - quickly followed by his trademark seven somersault celebration.
Team | Joined | Left | Loan / Trialist |
---|---|---|---|
Esperance Sportive de Tunis | 01 Jul 1999 | 01 Jan 2001 | |
Shakhtar Donetsk | 01 Jan 2001 | 30 Jan 2007 | |
Wigan Athletic | 30 Jan 2007 | 30 Jun 2008 | |
Kayserispor | 01 Jul 2008 | 01 Jul 2009 | |
Shakhtar Donetsk | 01 Jul 2009 |
Season | Team | Competition | Apps | Subs | Goals | Y | R |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2001-02 | Shakhtar Donetsk | UEFA Champions League | 4 | 2 |
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2001-02 | Shakhtar Donetsk | UEFA Cup | 2 | ||||
2004-05 | Shakhtar Donetsk | UEFA Champions League | 2 | ||||
2006-07 | Wigan Athletic | Premier League | 3 | 3 |
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2007-08 | Wigan Athletic | FA Cup | 2 |
1
|
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2007-08 | Wigan Athletic | League Cup | 1 |
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2007-08 | Wigan Athletic | Premier League | 2 | 12 |
2
|
||
2009-10 | Shakhtar Donetsk | UEFA Super Cup | 1 |
Please note: Career stats are based on performances in the Premier and Football Leagues and (in most cases all) internationals.
Date | Match | Result | Competition | Round | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
03 Feb 2007 | Wigan Athletic v Portsmouth | W | 1-0 | Premier League | |
11 Feb 2007 | Arsenal v Wigan Athletic | L | 2-1 | Premier League | |
03 Mar 2007 | Manchester City v Wigan Athletic | W | 0-1 | Premier League | |
21 Apr 2007 | Liverpool v Wigan Athletic | L | 2-0 | Premier League | |
28 Apr 2007 | Wigan Athletic v West Ham United | L | 0-3 | Premier League | |
05 May 2007 | Wigan Athletic v Middlesbrough | L | 0-1 | Premier League | |
15 Aug 2007 | Wigan Athletic v Middlesbrough | W | 1-0 | Premier League | |
18 Aug 2007 | Wigan Athletic v Sunderland | W | 3-0 | Premier League | |
25 Aug 2007 | West Ham United v Wigan Athletic | D | 1-1 | Premier League | |
28 Aug 2007 | Wigan Athletic v Hull City | L | 0-1 | League Cup | 2nd round |
15 Sep 2007 | Wigan Athletic v Fulham | D | 1-1 | Premier League | |
22 Sep 2007 | Reading v Wigan Athletic | L | 2-1 | Premier League | |
29 Sep 2007 | Wigan Athletic v Liverpool | L | 0-1 | Premier League | |
20 Oct 2007 | Wigan Athletic v Portsmouth | L | 0-2 | Premier League | |
27 Oct 2007 | Birmingham City v Wigan Athletic | L | 3-2 | Premier League | |
15 Dec 2007 | Wigan Athletic v Blackburn Rovers | W | 5-3 | Premier League | |
22 Dec 2007 | Fulham v Wigan Athletic | D | 1-1 | Premier League | |
26 Dec 2007 | Wigan Athletic v Newcastle United | W | 1-0 | Premier League | |
29 Dec 2007 | Wigan Athletic v Aston Villa | L | 1-2 | Premier League | |
05 Jan 2008 | Sunderland v Wigan Athletic | W | 0-3 | FA Cup | 3rd round |
20 Jan 2008 | Wigan Athletic v Everton | L | 1-2 | Premier League | |
26 Jan 2008 | Wigan Athletic v Chelsea | L | 1-2 | FA Cup | 4th round |
29 Mar 2008 | Portsmouth v Wigan Athletic | L | 2-0 | Premier League |
Please note: Match history is complete for the Premier and Football Leagues and (in most cases all) internationals.
Season | Team | Competition | Apps | Subs | Goals | Y | R |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1998-99 | Nigeria | Olympics | 2 | ||||
1998-99 | Nigeria | World Youth Cup | 3 | 1 |
1 |
2
|
|
1999-00 | Nigeria | Africa Cup of Nations | 4 |
3 |
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1999-00 | Nigeria | Olympics | 1 | 2 |
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2000-01 | Nigeria | FIFA World Cup | 1 | 1 |
1
|
||
2000-01 | Nigeria | Olympics | 4 | 1 |
2
|
||
2001-02 | Nigeria | Africa Cup of Nations | 5 | 3 |
1
|
1
|
|
2001-02 | Nigeria | FIFA World Cup | 4 | 2 |
1
|
||
2001-02 | Nigeria | International Friendly | 3 | 3 |
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2002-03 | Nigeria | Africa Cup of Nations | 1 | ||||
2003-04 | Nigeria | Africa Cup of Nations | 3 |
1
|
|||
2004-05 | Nigeria | FIFA World Cup | 2 | 1 |
2 |
1
|
|
2005-06 | Nigeria | Africa Cup of Nations | 2 | 1 |
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2005-06 | Nigeria | FIFA World Cup | 1 |
||||
2006-07 | Nigeria | International Friendly | 1 |
Please note: Career stats are based on performances in the Premier and Football Leagues and (in most cases all) internationals.
Date | Match | Result | Competition | Round | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
03 Apr 1999 | Nigeria v Costa Rica | D | 1-1 | World Youth Cup | Finals Group A |
07 Apr 1999 | Nigeria v Germany | W | 2-0 | World Youth Cup | Finals Group A |
10 Apr 1999 | Nigeria v Paraguay | L | 1-2 | World Youth Cup | Finals Group A |
18 Apr 1999 | Mali v Nigeria | L | 3-1 | World Youth Cup | Quarter-final |
13 Jun 1999 | Nigeria v Namibia | W | 4-0 | Olympics | Africa 1st round |
20 Jun 1999 | Namibia v Nigeria | L | 3-2 | Olympics | Africa 1st round |
03 Feb 2000 | Nigeria v Morocco | W | 2-0 | Africa Cup of Nations | Group D |
07 Feb 2000 | Nigeria v Senegal | W | 2-1 | Africa Cup of Nations | Quarter-final |
10 Feb 2000 | Nigeria v South Africa | W | 2-0 | Africa Cup of Nations | Semi-final |
13 Feb 2000 | Nigeria v Cameroon | L | 2-2 (3-4) | Africa Cup of Nations | Final |
19 Feb 2000 | Uganda v Nigeria | W | 2-3 | Olympics | Africa group A |
13 Sep 2000 | Nigeria v Honduras | D | 3-3 | Olympics | Finals Group A |
16 Sep 2000 | Australia v Nigeria | W | 2-3 | Olympics | Finals Group A |
19 Sep 2000 | Italy v Nigeria | D | 1-1 | Olympics | Finals Group A |
23 Sep 2000 | Chile v Nigeria | L | 4-1 | Olympics | Quarter-final |
10 Mar 2001 | Ghana v Nigeria | D | 0-0 | FIFA World Cup | Africa group B |
21 Apr 2001 | Sierra Leone v Nigeria | L | 1-0 | FIFA World Cup | Africa group B |
01 Jul 2001 | Sudan v Nigeria | W | 0-4 | FIFA World Cup | Africa group B |
12 Jan 2002 | Ivory Coast v Nigeria | D | 1-1 | International Friendly | |
21 Jan 2002 | Algeria v Nigeria | W | 0-1 | Africa Cup of Nations | Finals Group A |
24 Jan 2002 | Mali v Nigeria | D | 0-0 | Africa Cup of Nations | Finals Group A |
28 Jan 2002 | Liberia v Nigeria | W | 0-1 | Africa Cup of Nations | Finals Group A |
03 Feb 2002 | Nigeria v Ghana | W | 1-0 | Africa Cup of Nations | Finals quarter-final |
07 Feb 2002 | Nigeria v Senegal | L | 1-2 | Africa Cup of Nations | Finals semi-final |
17 Apr 2002 | Scotland v Nigeria | W | 1-2 | International Friendly | |
16 May 2002 | Republic of Ireland v Nigeria | W | 1-2 | International Friendly | |
02 Jun 2002 | Argentina v Nigeria | L | 1-0 | FIFA World Cup | Finals group F |
07 Jun 2002 | Sweden v Nigeria | L | 2-1 | FIFA World Cup | Finals group F |
12 Jun 2002 | Nigeria v England | D | 0-0 | FIFA World Cup | Finals group F |
08 Sep 2002 | Angola v Nigeria | D | 0-0 | Africa Cup of Nations | Group 1 |
27 Jan 2004 | Nigeria v Morocco | L | 0-1 | Africa Cup of Nations | Finals Group D |
31 Jan 2004 | Nigeria v South Africa | W | 4-0 | Africa Cup of Nations | Finals Group D |
04 Feb 2004 | Benin v Nigeria | W | 1-2 | Africa Cup of Nations | Finals Group D |
03 Jul 2004 | Nigeria v Algeria | W | 1-0 | FIFA World Cup | Africa group 4 |
05 Sep 2004 | Zimbabwe v Nigeria | W | 0-3 | FIFA World Cup | Africa group 4 |
26 Mar 2005 | Nigeria v Gabon | W | 2-0 | FIFA World Cup | Africa group 4 |
07 Oct 2005 | Nigeria v Zimbabwe | W | 5-1 | FIFA World Cup | Africa group 4 |
23 Jan 2006 | Nigeria v Ghana | W | 1-0 | Africa Cup of Nations | Group D |
27 Jan 2006 | Nigeria v Zimbabwe | W | 2-0 | Africa Cup of Nations | Group D |
07 Feb 2006 | Nigeria v Ivory Coast | L | 0-1 | Africa Cup of Nations | Semi-final |
06 Feb 2007 | Ghana v Nigeria | L | 4-1 | International Friendly |
Please note: Match history is complete for the Premier and Football Leagues and (in most cases all) internationals.