Nwankwo Kanu

Nwankwo Kanu

Personal information
Full name	Nwankwo Christian Kanu
Height	1.97 m (6 ft 5½ in)
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	Portsmouth
Number	27
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of September 27, 2006

Olympic medal record
Men’s Football
	Atlanta 1996	Team Competition

Nwankwo Kanu (born August 1, 1976 in Owerri, Nigeria), usually known simply as Kanu, is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for the Nigerian national team and for the English club Portsmouth. The generous giant is known for his height, which is 197 cm, and his silky ball skills which he often utilizes to break down defences. In 2004, Kanu married Amarachi. Kanu's wife is the Igbo people beauty pride from Arochukwu. They wedded in Kanu's homeplace, the heartland city of Owerri in what was the most celebrated event involving a football player that year.

His unique, unorthodox method of play (taking on defences alone with his vast talents and skills) is deemed to be too slow and time-wasting and at times can even be more frustrating than entertaining to those who watch him play, though when it works, it sometimes reaps results. He is the most highly-decorated African footballer in footballing history, with over 10 awards to boast of.

Nigeria, Ajax, and Inter

Kanu began his career, aged fifteen, at First Division club Federation Works before moving to Iwuanyanwu Nationale in 1992. After a notable performance at the U-17 World Championships he was signed by Ajax Amsterdam in 1993 for €207,047. He made his Ajax debut in 1994 and went on to play 54 times for the Dutch side, scoring 25 goals; Kanu came on as a sub in Ajax's 1995 Champions League final win over AC Milan. In 1996, Ajax sold him to Serie A side Internazionale for around $4.7 million; that summer he captained the Nigerian team that won gold at the Olympics, famously scoring two late goals in the semi-finals against powerhouses Brazil to overturn a 2-3 scoreline into a 4-3 win in extra time. Kanu was also named African Footballer of the Year for that year.

However, soon after returning from the Olympics, Kanu underwent a medical examination at Inter, which revealed a serious heart defect; he underwent surgery in November 1996 to replace an aortic valve and did not return to his club until April 1997. In interviews, Kanu frequently cites his faith as a Christian, and has often mentioned this trying time of his career as an occasion when he prayed to God. Kanu's experience also led to his founding the Kanu Heart Foundation, an organisation that helps predominantly young African children who suffer heart defects. Kanu is known throughout Africa for his philanthropic work.

Arsenal

In February 1999, after just twelve games and one goal for Inter, Kanu was signed by Arsenal for approximately £4.2 million. His debut for Arsenal, against Sheffield United in the FA Cup, was a highly unusual match. With the score 1-1 and ten minutes to go, the United goalkeeper kicked the ball out of touch so that treatment could be given to an injured player. When the ball was thrown back into play by Ray Parlour, although it was intended for the United 'keeper, Kanu was unaware of the circumstances. Thinking it to be an attacking move, he chased the throw-in down the right wing unchallenged, and centred the ball for Marc Overmars, who promptly scored to make the match 2-1. Immediately after the match Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger offered to right the error and replay the match; in the end, Arsenal won that match 2-1 as well.

Despite the events overshadowing his debut, Kanu's career was quickly revived at Arsenal, especially after the departure of Nicolas Anelka in the summer of 1999. This prompted a new chant amongst Arsenal supporters: "Chim chiminy, chim chiminy, chim-chim chiroo, who needs Anelka when we've got Kanu?" (to the tune of the Mary Poppins classic). Kanu became known for scoring extravagant goals – against Tottenham Hotspur, with his back to goal he lobbed the ball over Luke Young's head, before turning the young defender and scoring. Other memorable goals included a hat-trick against Chelsea, in which one of the goals was scored from the goal line, to win a derby match 3-2 after being 2-0 down. Following his amazing performance the headline pun after the game was "Kanu believe it". He also scored a spectacular backheel flick against Middlesbrough and an amazing goal against Deportivo La Coruna, where given a one-on-one with the La Coruna goalkeeper, Kanu ran in a straight line towards the goal, completely fooling him in the process. He was named African Footballer of the Year for the second time in 1999, and in 1999-00 he scored 17 times in 50 matches for the Gunners.

However, Kanu's appearances for Arsenal gradually became less frequent, particularly after the emergence of Thierry Henry as Arsenal's first choice striker, and he started to be mainly used as a substitute. Despite this, Kanu won the Double with Arsenal in 2002, an FA Cup in 2003 (as an unused sub) and the Premier League title in 2004. In all he played 197 games for Arsenal (nearly half of them as a substitute), scoring 44 goals. In the summer of 2004, after failing to get his contract with Arsenal extended, he moved to West Bromwich Albion on a free transfer.

West Bromwich Albion

West Brom had just been promoted to the Premiership for the second time in the space of two years, meaning that they had spent one season at that level, suffered relegation, and won promotion again at the first attempt. Kanu was just the quality of player that the club so clearly needed, and he became an instant hit with the fans. But under both managers that he played for at West Brom (Gary Megson and Bryan Robson) it seemed that the tactics were always designed to avoid defeat rather than to win games, and it is probably fair to say that Kanu's skills were not used to best effect.

Robson's first game in charge came in October 2004, and coincidentally West Brom's opponents were Middlesbrough, the club that he had previously managed for a number of years. Sadly for all involved (except those aligned with Middlesbrough F.C.) Kanu was guilty of an incredible miss in injury time, with Albion a goal down. Robson was seen on the touchline, in TV footage, mouthing the words "How did he miss that?", and Kanu's howler was crowned 'Miss of the Season' by many television stations in the end-of-season reviews.

The 2004-5 season was a memorable one for West Brom, in that they became the first club to avoid relegation from the Premiership after being bottom at Christmas. The fact that this had never been done before was one of the best-documented statistics in English football, and the achievement attracted a great deal of attention. Kanu was half way through his two-year contract, and hopes were high for the 2005-6 season; but Albion failed to build on what they had achieved, and they also failed to find a meaningful role for Kanu.

One of the highlights of the season, for West Brom and especially for Kanu, came with the visit of his former club Arsenal to The Hawthorns on 15 October 2005. Philippe Senderos put the visitors ahead in the 17th minute, but Kanu equalised shortly before half time. West Brom went on to win the match 2-1 (with a spectacular strike from Darren Carter). It was their first home win over Arsenal in 33 years, and the first time that they had come from behind to win a Premiership game.

But such highlights were rare for Albion that season, and the club was relegated again in 2006. Kanu's contract had expired, and it was no surprise when he chose not to renew. In his two years at The Hawthorns he made a total of 58 appearances - 16 of them as substitute - and scored nine goals.

In the summer of 2006, Kanu played for Arsenal F.C. in Dennis Bergkamp's testimonial game - the first match to be played in Arsenal's new Emirates Stadium. The game was tied 1-1 when Kanu scored what proved to be the game winning goal, which made him only the third person to score in the stadium. At the end of the match, Kanu joined the rest of the Arsenal F.C. side in hoisting the retired Dutchman on their shoulders as fans gave him a standing ovation. This would be Bergkamp's last game.

Portsmouth

Kanu was a free agent following his departure from West Brom, and he signed for Portsmouth F.C. shortly before the start of the 2006-7 season. Pompey had undergone a revival in the second half of the previous campaign, following the return of Harry Redknapp as manager, avoiding relegation by four points after being in serious danger at the turn of the year. They had invested heavily in players, and this paid off at the start of the 2006-07 season when they were undefeated in their first five games - a spell in which they never conceded a single goal.

Kanu made his debut for Portsmouth against Blackburn Rovers (coincidentally the same opponents as on his debut for West Brom two years earlier) on 19 August 2006, the opening day of the 2006-07 Premiership season. He scored twice, and could have had another when Andy Todd was controversially sent off in the dying seconds. The Nigerian took the penalty, but Brad Friedel denied him a debut hat-trick. Even on the follow-up, he missed from two yards.

The miss on the rebound didn't come as a surprise to fans of West Brom, but the fact that Kanu had scored two goals with his head most definitely did. In his two years at The Hawthorns the ball had never come anywhere near his head - or vice versa!

Kanu's impressive form in his first few games for Portsmouth has provided clear evidence that this is another of Harry Redknapp's bargain buys (albeit a free transfer). Even more remarkably, after 10 games he became the league's top scorer with 7 goals, 5 of them being headers.

Internationals

Kanu has been a member of the Nigerian national team since 1994, making his debut against Sweden in a friendly. He (as of September 2005) has over 40 caps and has scored more than 10 goals for his country. As well as playing in the Olympics, Kanu participated in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups. However, Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup as they crashed out to Angola, on head-to-head results after finishing level on points. Kanu played an influential part as a "supersub" in Nigeria's qualifying campaign, and turned several games around in an attempt to salvage a World Cup spot but despite Nigeria's 5-1 home win over Zimbabwe even as Kanu scored on a penalty and created another, Angola beat Rwanda 1-0 with just minutes to go to top Group 4.

External links

• Nwankwo Kanu at Soccerbase
• Kanu Heart Foundation, a charity founded by Kanu to help African children with heart problems.
• FootballDatabase provides Nwankwo Kanu's profile and stats
• Link to FIFA Article on Kanu