Obafemi Martins Quotes

Obafemi Akinwunmi Martins is a Nigerian footballer who plays 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. He began his senior career in 2002 at Serie A club Inter Milan, before moving to Premier League club Newcastle United in 2006, and then to Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg in 2009. Having joined Russian Premier League side Rubin Kazan in July 2010, they loaned him to Birmingham City in January 2011.

In club football, Martins has won the Serie A title, the Italian Cup , and the Italian Super Cup, all with Inter. 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. 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. 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. He played for Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer from 2013 to 2015, scoring 40 goals, before moving on to China.

Martins had two brothers who also played football professionally. His elder brother, Oladipupo Martins, played for Reggiana, Partizan and Innsbruck before retiring from football in 2009 due to heart problems. He died on 8 August 2011 of a suspected heart attack in Lagos, Nigeria. Martins' younger brother is John Ronan Martins. The name "Obafemi" translates literally to "the king loves me" in the Yoruba language. Wikipedia  

✵ 28. October 1984
Obafemi Martins: 3   quotes 0   likes

Famous Obafemi Martins Quotes

“I am happy at Newcastle. I love the city and the people. Our fans are the best in the world. Even if we are losing or not playing well there are still 52,000 backing us and I respect that.”

On life at Newcastle. [April 22, 2007, http://home.skysports.com/list.aspx?hlid=462540&CPID=8&clid=4&lid=3&title=Martins:+Best+is+yet+to+come, Martins: Best is yet to come, Sky Sports, 2007-04-22]

“Things have taken time to get used to, the weather's not great and people seem to drink beer all the time, but there’s nowhere I’d rather be playing.”

Martins on settling in Newcastle. [August 8, 2007, http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2002390000-2007380294,00.html, Obafemi is a real shooting star, The Sun, 2007-08-18]

“When you look at Obafemi Martins, in my eyes he is one of the best strikers at the moment in this league and maybe Europe as well. He is flexible, he is fast, he can shoot with both feet and he is a good header of the ball.”

Louis van Gaal, the Dutch football manager. [March 8, 2007, http://www.sportinglife.com/football/cups/uefacup/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/07/03/07/SOCCER_AZ_Alkmaar_Nightlead.html, Van Gaal Rates Martins, Sporting Life, 2007-03-08]

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