Name: Innocent Emeghara
Born: May 27, 1989 in Lagos, Nigeria
Position: Forward
Pro club: Siena
Emeghara has been in the news after taking Serie A by storm. The Nigerian-born, Swiss international joined Siena on loan in January from French side Lorient, and quickly made a name for himself by scoring in three of his first four matches in the Italian top-flight. In total, Emeghara has bagged seven goals in 11 league appearances for Siena, and is major reason why the bianconeri may just avoid being relegated. Siena sits two points above the drop zone with six games to play, but if not for Emeghara, it would have surely been marked for relegation by now.
He’s special because
Emeghara possesses a natural goal poacher’s instincts, and has a knack for being in the right position at the right time. He’s also a bit fearless, and isn’t shy about taking on defenders or shooting from distance to test goalkeepers.
Club career
A youth product of Swiss club FC Winterthur, Emeghara split the first few years of his pro career with Winterthur’s senior side and FC Zürich. Grasshoppers, Switzerland’s most successful club with 27 league titles, took notice and scooped him up. Emeghara scored 10 goals over two seasons, but after a successful campaign with Switzerland at the UEFA Under-21 European Championship in 2011, French club Lorient came calling and bought him from Grasshoppers. He fell out of favour with Lorient when he played for his country at the 2012 London Olympics against the French club’s wishes. When the transfer window opened up this past January, Lorient was eager to move him, and Emeghara actually turned down a big-money move to Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua, who was looking to replace Didier Dorgba. Instead, he went on loan to Siena, and the Tuscan outfit has been so impressed that they’re looking into signing him on a permanent basis.
International career
Although born in Nigeria, Emeghara moved to Switzerland as a teenager and became a naturalized Swiss citizen. He was a member of the talented Swiss side that lost to Spain in the finals of UEFA Under-21 European Championship in 2011, a team that included current Bayern Munich playmaker Xherdan Shaquiri. He has since graduated to the senior team, where he earned a handful of caps but yet to score for his adoptive country.
His most famous moment
Emeghara scored two goals through his first three games with Siena, but he shot to fame in Italy when he bagged a brace in his fourth appearance for the Tuscan club, a 3-0 home win over Lazio on Feb. 18.
Here’s an interesting fact
While his mother was pregnant with him, Emeghara’s father passed away from a mysterious illness.
He said it
“On the field, but especially in the penalty area, if you have speed and intelligence, it is hard for defenders to anticipate this, and in that way I am smart and fast like (Filippo) Inzaghi.”
What they’re saying about him
“He started helping us immediately after his arrival. I think that he has an important future ahead of him.” — Beppe Iachini, Siena manager.