Emmanuel Amunike (born 25 December 1970) is a Nigerian professional football manager and former footballer who played as a winger.
Playing career
Amunike played for
Zamalek SC,
Sporting CP,
FC Barcelona, and Albacete.
He played 28 times for Nigeria, scoring 10 goals.
[ World Cup France 1998 – Nigeria; at Sports Illustrated] He was part of the team that participated at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States, scoring against Bulgaria and Italy;
[ Eagles grounded as Baggio wakes; FIFA.com][ The Super Eagle with broken wings; FIFA.com] also in that year, he helped the
Super Eagles win the 1994 African Cup of Nations in Tunisia, and was voted African Footballer of the Year.
Amunike played all of Nigeria's games at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, scoring the winning goal in the final as the national team won the gold medal.
Managerial career
After retiring at the end of 2004, Amunike moved to
Cantabria in 2006, where he lived with his Spanish wife, Fatima, and took coaching courses.
[ «Siempre supe que el fútbol era mi destino», elcorreo.com, 19 March 2006] At the same time, he was also coaching some youth teams at SD Reocín.
[ After a spell at Saudi club Al Hazm as an assistant coach, Amunike took charge of the local Nigerian club Julius Berger in August 2008.][ Nigeria’s Emmanuel Amuneke appointed Tanzania coach, guardian.ng, 6 August 2018]
On 23 December 2008, Amunike took on training duties for some teams in Nigeria, after completing two years of training courses in Europe.[ Amunike bags Berger job; All Africa, 23 December 2008][ Why I left Berger ; The Punch][ Ex-Barcelona winger Emmanuel Amunike to coach Nigeria's Ocean Boys; Goal.com, 3 November 2009] In November 2009, he took charge of Ocean Boys.[ Ex-Barcelona Winger Emmanuel Amuneke To Coach Nigeria's Ocean Boys, goal.com, 3 November 2009]
Amunike coached the Nigeria U17 national team to win the World Cup in 2015. On 6 August 2018, he was appointed as the coach of the Tanzania national team.
Amunike was appointed the manager of Egyptian Premier League club, Misr Lei Makkasa in February 2021.
He became assistant coach of the Nigeria national team in February 2022.
Personal life
Amunike's younger brothers, Kingsley Amuneke and Kevin Amunike, have also been footballers.
Career statistics
|
|
| 1994 African Cup of Nations qualification |
| 4–0 |
| 1994 African Cup of Nations |
| 2–1 |
| 1994 FIFA World Cup |
| 1–2 |
| 1995 Afro-Asian Cup of Nations |
| 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3–0 |
|
Honours
Player
Julius Berger
-
Nigerian Professional Football League: 1991
Zamalek
-
Egyptian Premier League: 1991–92, 1992–93
-
African Cup of Champions Clubs: 1993
-
CAF Super Cup: 1994
Sporting CP
-
Taça de Portugal: 1994–95
-
Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 1995
Barcelona
Nigeria
-
Africa Cup of Nations: 1994; runner-up: 2000
-
Olympic Games: 1996
Individual
-
African Footballer of the Year: 1994
-
BBC African Footballer of the Year: 1996
Manager
Nigeria U17
-
FIFA U-17 World Cup: 2015
External links
