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| DOB : 05/13/1982 |
Position : Defender |
| Height :
6'2''
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Weight : 180 |
| Team : U.S. Men |
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MNT Career Stats
GP: 12 – Goals: 1
World Cup Stats
GP:0 – Goals: 0
World Cup Qualifying Stats
GP: 7 – Goals: 0
U.S. National Team: A big, solid defender who is great in the air … Has the ability to get forward and be a scoring threat … Emerged as a regular part of the U.S. rearguard in 2005 … His ‘stare-down’ of Jared Borgetti in the Sept. 3, 2005, victory against Mexico proved one of the seminal moments of the 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign … Played every minute for the USA at the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship in Argentina and at the 1999 FIFA U-17 World Championship in New Zealand … 2005: Made quite an impression as newcomer, winning nine of his 11 career caps ... Scored his first ever goal with the U.S. in dramatic fashion, heading home a Landon Donovan free kick in added time to beat Honduras and put the U.S. side through to the Gold Cup final ... Recognized for his play by being voted to the tournament'ss best XI ... Named Man of the Match in opening round against Canada … Started in four of six Gold Cup matches, including the final ... His other five starts were all in World Cup qualifying ... On Sept. 3, in his strongest performance of the year, helped the U.S. stifle the Mexican attack and maintain a clean sheet while taking Man of the Match honors as the United States beat Mexico 2-0 to advance to World Cup finals ... 2004: Earned his first cap with the MNT coming on as a reserve in the 86th minute against Panama at RFK Stadium on Oct. 13 in a 2006 FIFA World Cup semifinal round qualifier … In that game he came close to getting his first goal when he went up for a corner kick and got a shoulder on the ball, knocking it goal-bound where a Panama defender deflected it into his own net for an own goal … Made his first start in the team’s next qualifier against Jamaica at Columbus Crew Stadium on Nov. 17 … Under-20s: Totaled one goal and three assists in 15 international appearances for the U-20s … Started in all four matches during the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship, playing every minute of every match … Notched an assist during the World Youth Championship … Played all 270 minutes at the CONCACAF qualifying tournament, notching an assist against Guatemala … Under-17s: Started all five matches he appeared in at the 1999 FIFA U-17 World Championship, playing every minute of every match … Tallied two goals and two assists for the U.S. in New Zealand, including scoring the equalizer in their 2-2 draw with Australia in the semifinals … The USA’s leading goalscorer in the home-and-away series with El Salvador that the U.S. won 10-1 to advance to New Zealand … First Appearance: Oct. 13, 2004, vs. Panama … First Goal: July 21, 2005, vs. Honduras.
Professional: Began his professional career in March 2002, signing a four-year contract with French side FC Metz after the club followed his progress at Clemson … Didn’t earn his first appearance with the team until months later when the team finally got approval from the French Professional League … 2005-06: Remained a fixture in the first XI for Standard de Liege, appearing in every match for which he was available in all competitions to start the 2005-06 season ... Anchored a defense that had kept nine clean sheets by the winter break ... 2004-05: Narrowly missed qualifying for the 2005-06 UEFA Cup, losing 4-3 on aggregate to Racing Genk on the last match day of the year ... An impressive showing forced Liege to exercise their option on the defender in October … He has since claimed the starting role and been named one of the best defenders in the country … 2003-04: Was sent back to Metz, but once again the club loaned him to a Belgium club, this time to Standard Liege … Started 24 matches and scored one goal during the season as he impressed from his central defensive position … Was named player of the week in February … 2002-03: Suited up for his first match in a 1-0 victory against Bordeaux in a French League Cup match in January … After a coaching change he was sent to Belgian side Louviere on loan after the season.
College: Played two seasons at Clemson … Was named an All-American and nominated for the 2001 Hermann Trophy, college soccer's highest individual honor … Helped Clemson reach the elite eight of the NCAA soccer tournament.
Personal: His given name, Oguchialu, means “God fights for me” … Called “Gooch” by his teammates …Took home the award for Best Performance (Player) in ussoccer.com’s ‘Best Of’ series with his impressive defensive effort against Jared Borgetti on Sept. 3 in Columbus … Featured in ESPN The Magazine’s 2006 ‘Next’ Issue, which showcases up and coming athletes from across the sports spectrum … Father, Pete, played soccer in Nigeria before moving to the U.S. and attending Howard University … Has two brothers (Uche and Nonye) and two sisters (Chi-Chi and Ogechi). |
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