John Utaka

John Utaka Biography / Profile

John Chukwudi Utaka was born on January 8th, 1982 in Enugu, Nigeria. He is a Nigerian footballer who currently plays as a striker for France fourth-tier club CS Sedan.

John Utaka Age

John Utaka is 42 years old.

John Utaka Early Life

Utaka began in Enugu, a coal-mining town in Eastern Nigeria.

John Utaka Career

Utaka first moved to Egypt in 1998, joining Arab Contractors and subsequently Ismaily. While with Ismaily, Utaka earned cult status with the local fans. They used to chant "Oh Oh Oh Utaka, Oh Oh Oh Utaka" during the matches. He played alongside the likes of Mohammed Barakat, Islam El-Shater, and captain Mohamed Salah Abo Greisha under the guidance of Mohsen Saleh, later appointed coach of Egypt.

He joined Al-Sadd of Qatar in 2001 for a fee of $1 million. This was then a record transfer fee in Qatar, where he spent one season. In 2002, he joined French club RC Lens whom he left in 2005 for Rennes. Utaka struggled to make an impact at the start of his Rennes stint. However, he took advantage of the absence of fellow striker Alexander Frei through injury to make his breakthrough. In February 2006, he scored two consecutive hat-tricks, against Lens and Lyon, and as a result received the L'Équipe's player of the month award. Utaka joined Portsmouth on a four-year deal in July 2007, for a fee of around £7 million. He scored his first goal on 11 August 2007 in a game against newly promoted Derby County. Some sources claim he became the club's record signing.

On 17 May 2008, Portsmouth won the FA Cup with a 1–0 victory over Cardiff City. Utaka provided the cross for the winning goal which was scored by Nwankwo Kanu. He went on to have a poor 2008/2009 season but on 27 June 2009 he confirmed he would be staying at the club for at least another season. On 29 January 2011, Utaka signed for French first division side Montpellier, agreeing a two-and-a-half year deal for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut for the new club on 26 February coming on as a 70th-minute substitute for Olivier Giroud in a 0–0 draw with Sochaux. He scored his first goal of the new Ligue 1 season, and his first for the club, against Ajaccio on 21 September 2011, and also provided an assist as Montpellier defeated Ajaccio 3–1 in Corsica. On 19 February 2012, Montpellier travelled to the Parc des Princes to face league leaders PSG; he headed in an 81st-minute goal from a Giroud cross but a late tap in from Guillaume Hoarau levelled the game at 2–2 and earned the sides a share of the points.

Montpellier played host to Bordeaux six days later and he headed home the only goal of the game in the 80th minute to keep up the pressure on league leaders PSG. On 20 May 2012, in a game marred by stoppages for crowd violence, Utaka scored a brace, his sixth and seventh league goals of the campaign, to secure a 2–1 victory over Auxerre and win the Ligue 1 title for Montpellier over PSG, for the first time in the club's history. On 1 August 2013, Utaka joined the Turkish club Sivasspor on a two-year contract. In July 2017, he returned to France to join fourth-tier club CS Sedan.

Utaka played for Nigeria until 2014 and was a participant at the 2002 World Cup. He started four of Nigeria's six games in the 2006 African Cup of Nations, in which Nigeria finished in third place. He was also part of the Nigeria squad that participated in the 2010 World Cup.

John Utaka Personal Life

In June 2013, Utaka got married to his white lover in France. He is the older brother of Peter Utaka, who plays for Shimizu S-Pulse in Japan. Utaka owns a Foundation known as the John Utaka Foundation. His humble beginnings made him realize the importance of education and support in a child's life.The foundation therefore truly represents John's belief in helping and empowering the youth of today for a better tomorrow.

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