Obafemi Martins

Obafemi Akinwunmi Martins (born 28 October 1984) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a forward.

He is known for his speed on the ball.

After leaving Nigeria for Italy at age 16, he has since played for a number of top-division clubs around Europe.

After a three-month trial, Martins and fellow Ebedei teammate Stephen Makinwa signed youth contracts with the club in 2000.

His first season in Italy saw Martins break into the first team squad, and later in the year Serie A sides Perugia and Inter Milan made offers for the forward.

Martins was signed by Inter Milan in 2001 for a €750,000 transfer fee, and in his first season he scored 23 goals for the youth team, helping them to win the Campionato Nazionale Primavera in 2001–02 season.

He began his senior career in 2002 at Serie A club Inter Milan, before he moved to Premier League club Newcastle United in 2006, and then to Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg in 2009.

His form for the youth side led to his first-team league debut the following season, starting in a match against Parma on 22 December 2002 which was won by Inter 2–1.

Martins didn't become a regular member of the first team squad until the 2002–03 season.

During this season he was given his first UEFA Champions League appearance by manager Héctor Cúper, entering as a substitute against his future employers, Newcastle United, at St James' Park.

He scored his first Champions League goal in a match against Bayer 04 Leverkusen to secure Inter's place in the quarter-finals; footage of his celebratory somersaults were subsequently used by UEFA to advertise the following season's competition.

He scored again in the semi-final match against Inter's arch-rivals Milan, but couldn't prevent the club losing out on away goals to the competition's eventual winners.

In the championship, he scored once in four appearances.

His highest scoring league seasons so far have seen him score 11 goals in the 2004–05 Serie A, and 17 in both the 2006–07 Premier League and 2014 MLS.

By scoring in the 3–1 win at Anderlecht in the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League group stage, Martins become the first ever teenager to score in three consecutive Champions League seasons.

He was also protagonist in team's successful run in Coppa Italia, scoring six goals, including a hat-trick against Bologna, as the tournament ended in conquest.

Martins signed a long-term contract with Inter Milan in 2005 which ran until 2010 and was worth around €2.5 million annually.

In international football, Martins has been in the Nigerian squad for the Africa Cup of Nations in 2006, 2008 and 2010, and for the FIFA World Cup in 2010.

Martins joined the local football club F.C. Ebedei, having been scouted by manager Churchill Oliseh while playing on the streets of his hometown.

After a year with the club, Serie C side A.C. Reggiana made a move for the player.

Martins amassed 22 goals in 45 matches across all competitions, setting a new personal best; his good form for Inter earned him a spot in Nigeria's 2006 Africa Cup of Nations squad.

Although he had some success with Inter, scoring 28 goals for the club in 88 league games as well as 11 goals in European competitions, he was sold in August 2006.

This was due to Inter bringing in two new strikers; first Argentinian Hernán Crespo was brought in on loan from Chelsea and then the Swede Zlatan Ibrahimović was bought by Inter from Juventus.

After Martins submitted a transfer request, Premier League club Newcastle United completed a deal with Inter for the striker on 24 August 2006 for €15 million.

Martins signed a five-year deal.

He was paraded in front of the Geordie fans before their UEFA cup tie against FK Ventspils, and inherited the club's cherished number 9 shirt, vacated after the retirement of the club-record goalscorer Alan Shearer in April.

Martins made his Premier League debut on 27 August, in the 2–0 defeat to Aston Villa, in which he was stretchered off with a knee injury.

It turned out that Martins suffered a severe dead leg and internal bleeding.

His unremarkable first few appearances for Newcastle caused manager Glenn Roeder to speak out in his defence.

However, on 17 September, Martins scored his first goal for Newcastle.

It was the second goal in a 2–0 victory over West Ham United at Upton Park, and from there his goalscoring form began to improve steadily.

Reports in January 2007 suggested that Chelsea were considering making an offer for Martins' services after his impressive form.

These reports were later rubbished by Martins himself, and Roeder stated that although he was interested in signing a Chelsea player, he would not allow Martins to leave Newcastle.

On 14 January, in a 2–3 away win against Tottenham Hotspur, Martins' 20-yard shot rocketed into the net.

This strike was clocked by Sky Sports at a speed of 84 mph (135 km/h), making it unofficially the ninth hardest shot ever recorded in football according to the Guardian website.

Having joined Russian Premier League side Rubin Kazan in July 2010, they loaned him to Birmingham City in January 2011.

With Birmingham he scored the winning goal in the 2011 Football League Cup Final.

He has played European football with Inter, Newcastle and Wolfsburg, winning the UEFA Intertoto Cup with Newcastle.

He spent a season with La Liga club Levante, he played for Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer from 2013 to 2015, scoring 40 goals, before spending several years in China with Shanghai Shenhua and Wuhan.

In club football, Martins has won the Serie A title, the Italian Cup (twice), and the Italian Super Cup, all with Inter.