Emmanuel Amunike bio: family, salary, net worth, coaching career
Emmanuel Amunike remains one of the most popular and successful athletes who have won the Super Eagle's jersey. He carried his country's name high during the 1994 FIFA World Cup and helped it win the 1994 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. A look at his detailed biography will help you have a real picture of who he is.
Source: Instagram
Playing as a winger, the athlete enjoyed his career both at the club and national levels. However, his career was untimely hijacked by a knee injury that deteriorated his form.
Emmanuel Amunike profile summary
- Real name: Emmanuel Amunike
- Date of birth: December 25th, 1970
- Zodiac sign: Capricorn
- Place of birth: Eziobodo, Nigeria
- Nationality: Nigerian
- Gender: Male
- Ethnicity: Black
- Occupation: Soccer coach
- Eye colour: Black
- Hair colour: Black
- Marital status: Married
Emmanuel Amunike biography
The former Nigerian winger was born on December 25th, 1970, in Eziobodo, Owerri West local government area of Imo State, Nigeria. He is a husband and a father of two sons.
How old is Emmanuel Amunike?
Emmanuel Amunike age is 50 years as of 2021. The former soccer player celebrates his birthday on December 25th every year.
His career
The Nigerian winger has enjoyed a tremendous career as a player and coach. He was part of the team that represented his country in the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States and he also played for Barcelona Football Club. In the World Cup tournament, some of Emmanuel Amunike teammates were Daniel Amokachi, Uche Ekechukwu, Jay Jay Okocha, and many more.
He played in Nigeria and Egypt in his early career, playing for Julius Berger F.C. and Zamalek SC. He won numerous domestic titles with these teams. In 1994, he joined Sporting Lisbon in Portugal, and during his first season, he scored seven league goals for the club.
Source: Instagram
He also represented Nigeria in the 1994 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta. He scored the winning goal in the final, helping his national team win the gold medal.
In 1996, Barcelona bought him from Sporting Lisbon for a reported fee of $3.6 million. His tenure at the La Liga giants suffered a major blow in the 1997 off-season after he sustained a severe knee injury.
When he healed from the injury, his form had deteriorated. He appeared for the club in only three matches for the remaining three seasons he was there.
Barcelona eventually released Emmanuel in 2000. He later joined Segunda Division side Albacete Balompie, then move to Busan I’Cons in South Korea and then Al-Wahdat SC (Amman) in the Jordan Premier League. He hang his boots in 2003, at the age of 33 years.
Emmanuel Amunike coaching career
In 2008, the Super Eagles legend spent some time as an assistant coach at Saudi Premier League side Al-Hazm but left to become a scout for Manchester United in England. On December 23rd the same year, he took charge of his former side Julius Berger.
He combined the coaching job with his role at Old Trafford, but eventually quit to focus on coaching fully. He would later be sacked halfway into his first season after a fall out with the management even though he saved the team from relegation. On November 2009, he was hired as the new coach of Ocean Boys FC.
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Emmanuel has also used his coaching experience to the benefit of his country. He was the assistant coach when Nigeria won the Under-17 World Cup trophy for a record fourth time in the United Arab Emirates in 2013.
He then led the Golden Eaglets to a fifth U-17 World Cup title in Chile. He also managed the U20 Flying Eagles.
In November 2017, he became the coach for the Sudanese team Al Khartoum SC and left in March the following year. On August 6th, 2018, the Nigerian legend was appointed as the Head Coach of the Tanzania national football team - Taifa Stars.
Against all odds, he helped the team qualify for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations held in Egypt. However, he resigned from training the team after losing all three games.
The former Nigerian winger remains active as an academy supervisor at Misr Lel Makkasa SC.
Awards and achievements
As a player, Emmanuel has won several awards throughout his illustrious career, both at a personal and team level.
- In 1994, he won the African Footballer of the Year.
- In 1996, he won the BBC African Footballer of the Year.
- With Sporting CP, he won Taça de Portugal for the season 1994/95.
- With Barcelona, Emmanuel won the Copa del Rey for the season 1996/97
- For the Super Eagles, he helped them win the Africa Cup of Nations in 1994 and emerge as runner-up in 2000.
- In 1996, he won the Olympics Gold Medal at the Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta.
What is Emmanuel Amunike net worth?
The former footballer has played international football for various top clubs including the Catalans giants Barcelona. It must be right to assume that he made a substantial amount of money out of it.
Source: Instagram
He is reportedly worth a staggering $4 million. He has made this fortune from his career as a player and coach. Unfortunately, his contract details have never been disclosed to the public, so Emmanuel Amunike salary during his career, both as a player or a coach, is unknown.
He has also never disclosed his properties to the public. Therefore, details such as Emmanuel Amunike house or businesses are not known.
Emmanuel Amunike family
He is the son of the late Michael Amuneke, and his younger brothers are Kingsley and Kevin. They were also footballers who played for several years in Portugal and other countries.
Emmanuel Amunike wife is a Cantabrian. The two met during his time in Spain, and since his children were born in Cantabrian, he decided to settle there permanently after retirement. He has not disclosed the name of his wife. His children's names are Joseph and Mathew.
Controversial end of his coaching career in Tanzania
Even though he was a skillful player and trained coach, Amunike has not had it smooth in his careers. He has been marred by controversies, some of which have caused his sacking.
In 2019, it was reported that Tanzania had fired the Nigerian after the national team - Taifa Stars failed to win a single match in the entire AFCON competition. Emenike had taken over as the head coach in August the previous year and help the team qualify for the 2019 AFCON in Egypt after being out of the tournament for a record 39 years.
The Tanzania Football Federation's statement on their website read,
Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) and the coach of the national team, the Taifa Stars, Emmanuel Amunike, have jointly agreed to terminate our contract.
Taifa Stars finished last in Group C after losing to Algeria, Kenya, and Senegal in Group C. They managed to score only two goals and conceded eight.
The Former Nigerian star Emmanuel Amuneke is remembered as one of the most talented players in Nigeria and Africa at large. He helped position his country globally and equally achieved a lot as a player, winning numerous titles and awards. He is a voice to reckon with among young players.
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Source: Legit.ng
