Nwankwo Kanu, OON (born 1 August 1976), or simply Kanu, is a retired Nigerian footballer who played as a forward.
He was a member of and later captained the Nigerian
national team for 16 years from
1994 until 2010. Kanu born in Owerri, Nigeria, is a member of the Igbo
ethnic group.
Kanu has won a UEFA Champions League medal, a UEFA Cup medal, three FA Cup Winners Medals and two African Player of the Year awards amongst others. He is also one
of few players to have won the Premier
League, FA Cup, Champions League, UEFA Cup and an Olympic Gold Medal. He made the third-most substitute appearances in Premier League history,
appearing from the bench 118 times. He is also a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.
In 2016, Kanu became a Brand Ambassador
for online and retail bookmaker SportyBet.com.Kanu began his career at Nigerian league club Federation Works, before moving to ‘Iwuanyanwu Nationale’.
After a notable performance at the U-17
World Championships he was signed by Dutch Eredivisie AFC
Ajax in 1993 for €207,047. He made his Ajax debut the
following year and went on to score 25 goals in 54 appearances. In 1996, Ajax
sold Kanu to Serie A side Inter
Milan for around $4.7 million. That summer he captained the Nigerian team that won gold at the Olympics, and scored 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. Kanu's experience also led to his founding the ‘Kanu
Heart Foundation’, an organisation that helps predominantly young African
children who suffer heart defects and whose work was expanded to provide aid
for homeless children in 2008.
In February 1999, after just twelve games and one goal for
Inter, Kanu was signed by Arsenal for approximately £4.15 million. Kanu was
named African Footballer of the Year for the second time in 1999. In the 1999-2000
season he scored 17 times in 50 matches for the Gunners,
including a hat-trick in fifteen minutes against Chelsea to turn a 2–0 deficit
into a 3–2 victory.
In August 2001, Arsenal rejected a bid from Fulham of around £7m for Kanu. Kanu won the FA Cup in 2003 and the Premier
League title in 2004 with Arsenal. He played 197
games for Arsenal, scoring 44 goals. In the summer of 2004, after his contract
with Arsenal ended, he moved to West
Bromwich Albion on a free transfer.
In 2008, Kanu was
voted 13th in the "Gunners' Greatest 50 Players" poll. Along with
other famous players, such as Henry and Robert Pirès, Kanu is a member of
the "Invincibles", the Arsenal side that finished the 2003–04 season of the Barclays
Premier League undefeated.
He left Arsenal in 2004 and played for the West Bromwich Albion from 2004 to 2006 with tremendous and noticeable
achievement. He moved to Portsmouths between 2006 and 2012.
On 24 June 2010, Kanu ended his international career
following Nigeria's exit from the 2010 World Cup in South
Africa. He won 86 caps and scored 13 goals for his country and was the joint
most capped Nigerian player of all-time alongside Muda Lawal, until Joseph
Yobo surpassed both players in 2012, winning his 87th cap.
Kanu is a reputable, patriotic and achieved citizen who has represented Nigeria
in a good way home and away.