Oguchi Onyewu

Oguchialu Chijioke “Oguchi” Onyewu is an American professional football player who currently plays for Spanish side Malaga on loan from Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon. Born on May 13, 1982, in Washington, D.C., United States, Onyewu’s parents are both Nigerian although they moved to the United States in order to study at Howard University in Washington, D.C.

When Onyewu was young, he studied at St. Andrew Apostle School, and then to Sherwood High School. During his time in high school, he played football for two years before he enrolled at a U.S. residency program in Florida. Onyewu is fluent in English and French, and he also holds a Belgian citizenship. Standing at 6 feet and 4 inches, Onyewu is also known as the tallest outfield player to ever grace the U.S. national team.

Onyewu played college football for two years at Clemson University before going pro and signing with Metz. He spent two years with Metz making only 3 appearances during that time. From 2004 to 2009, he spent time playing for Standard Liege where he made 139 appearances and 11 goals. It was during his time there that he was voted as the U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year in 2006. During his time with the club, he was loaned once to Newcastle United. He then transferred to A.C. Milan in 2009.

However, Onyewu failed to settle in at Milan and in 2011 he moved to Sporting. He still failed to find his rhythm and in 2012 he was farmed out on loan to Malaga for the 2012-13 campaign.

Onyewu is also a player for the United States national team since 2004. Since then, he has made 66 appearances and has six goals to his name.