Julius Aghahowa

Date of birth12 February 1982
Place of birthBenin City
NationalityNigerian
Weight72 kg
Height1.82 m
PositionForward

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.

Club history

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

Club stats

Season Team Competition Apps Subs Goals Y R
2001-02 Shakhtar Donetsk UEFA Champions League 4
2
2001-02 Shakhtar Donetsk UEFA Cup 2
2004-05 Shakhtar Donetsk UEFA Champions League 2
2006-07 Wigan Athletic Premier League 3
3
2007-08 Wigan Athletic FA Cup
2
1
2007-08 Wigan Athletic League Cup
1
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.

Club matches

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.

International stats

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
1999-00 Nigeria Olympics 1
2
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
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
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.

International matches

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.