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Victor Chinedu Anichebe (born 23 April 1988) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a forward.
In March 2009, Anichebe received an apology from Cheshire Police when he was confronted for looking in a jeweller's window in Knutsford and his friend Lee Peltier of Liverpool handcuffed. Anichebe was on crutches due to injury at the time, and believed that the police took action because the pair are black.
Anichebe scored his first two Premier League goals of the 2006–07 campaign in a 3–0 win against Newcastle United on 30 December 2006. His contract was extended by four years towards the end of the season as Everton qualified for the UEFA Cup. In the UEFA Cup, Anichebe scored four times, against Metalist Kharkiv, AEL, 1. FC Nürnberg and SK Brann of Norway after coming on as a late second-half substitute in many of the matches. At the end of the season, he was voted by Everton fans as their Young Player of the Season. Young Player of the Season Everton FC
On 22 February 2009, in a match against Newcastle United, a tackle from Kevin Nolan left Anichebe and unable to play for 11 months. Nolan, who received a straight Penalty card for the foul, later settled out of court when Anichebe sued for loss of earnings. He returned to first team action in January 2010 in a 2–0 victory over Sunderland. His first goal on rejoining the squad came two months later in a 2–2 draw with Birmingham City. In January 2011, he signed a new four-and-a-half-year contract with Everton, along with teammate Séamus Coleman.
Anichebe suffered a groin injury while on international duty in September and did not play for the rest of 2011. He made his return as a second-half substitute on 1 January 2012, against West Bromwich Albion and scored in the 87th minute to give Everton a 1–0 away win. He continued his comeback by coming off the bench to score the equaliser in a 1–1 with Aston Villa on 14 January. Anichebe continued his goalscoring form by scoring his third goal of the season as a substitute in a 1–1 with Wigan Athletic on 4 February. His appearance also meant he became Everton's most used substitute in the history of the club, breaking Duncan Ferguson's old record of 82.
In his first Premier League start of the 2012–13 season, Anichebe scored the opening goal in a 3–0 win over Swansea City with a left-footed effort from close in. He then missed a number of games due to an hamstring injury, but returned in December to score a header to level the match against West Ham United at 1–1. Everton went on to win 2–1. He provided two assists during the festive season before scoring the winner against Newcastle United on 2 January 2013.
In February, Anichebe scored his first goal in the FA Cup of his Everton career against Oldham Athletic in a match which ended 2–2. In the second half of the season, he was used as Everton's main striker due to his impressive displays and the drop in form of Nikica Jelavić. In late March, Anichebe said he wanted to finish the season with a goal tally in double figures, but he finished with 8 goals from 32 matches, still the most he has scored in a single season in his career.
On 18 May 2016, it was announced Anichebe and Stéphane Sessègnon would leave West Brom at the end of the 2015–16 season.
Anichebe was selected to represent Nigeria at the 2008 Summer Olympics. On 10 August 2008, he scored Nigeria's second goal in their match against Japan. Nigeria eventually reached the final, which they lost 1–0 to Argentina, with Anichebe receiving a silver medal.
Anichebe was not selected on the final 23-man roster for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa despite a good performance during a friendly against Saudi Arabia. He scored his first senior team goal in the March 2011 friendly against Kenya. Anichebe suffered a groin injury during a 2012 African Cup of Nations qualifying match against Madagascar in September 2011, with Nigeria head coach Samson Siasia blaming the poor pitch. The Super Eagles won the match 2–0 but would miss out on qualification for the tournament one month later, with the injured Anichebe unable to take part in the deciding group match against Guinea.
In October 2012, Anichebe announced he was focusing on his form for club side Everton, rather than on earning a return to the Nigerian team. He was subsequently omitted from the squad for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, a tournament which Nigeria won. In May 2013, Anichebe temporarily retired from international football to concentrate on his club career. However, he said he would return to international football in the future.
| + Appearances and goals by club, season and competition | |||
| Everton | 2005–06 | Premier League | 1 |
| 2006–07 | Premier League | 4 | |
| 2007–08 | Premier League | 5 | |
| 2008–09 | Premier League | 1 | |
| 2009–10 | Premier League | 1 | |
| 2010–11 | Premier League | 0 | |
| 2011–12 | Premier League | 6 | |
| 2012–13 | Premier League | 8 | |
| 2013–14 | Premier League | 0 | |
| West Bromwich Albion | 2013–14 | Premier League | 3 |
| 2014–15 | Premier League | 6 | |
| 2015–16 | Premier League | 0 | |
| Sunderland | 2016–17 | Premier League | 3 |
| Beijing Enterprises Group | 2017 | China League One | 2 |
| + Appearances and goals by national team and year | |
| Nigeria | 0 |
| 0 | |
| 1 | |
| + List of international goals scored by Victor Anichebe |
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