Blessing Eleke (born 5 March 1996) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a striker who last played for Istiklol. He previously played for Gorica, Olimpija Ljubljana, Ashdod, Luzern, Beerschot, Gençlerbirligi and Kashima Antlers.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Blessing Chibuike Eleke | ||
| Date of birth | 5 March 1996 | ||
| Place of birth | Nigeria | ||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2014 | Flying Sports Academy | ||
| 2014 | Gorica | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014–2015 | Gorica | 37 | (15) |
| 2016–2017 | Olimpija Ljubljana | 43 | (10) |
| 2017–2018 | Ashdod | 27 | (4) |
| 2018–2020 | Luzern | 58 | (17) |
| 2020–2022 | Beerschot | 22 | (1) |
| 2021–2022 | → Gençlerbirligi SK (loan) | 24 | (7) |
| 2022–2023 | Kashima Antlers | 6 | (1) |
| 2024 | Istiklol | 10 | (6) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10:07, 4 August 2024 (UTC) | |||
Professional career
editEarly life and career
editEleke grew up in Lagos with his three brothers and four sisters.[2] He started playing football at Flying Sports Academy in his home country, before having an unsuccessful trial at Serie A club Sassuolo.[2] Later on, he admitted that the transition from Nigeria to Europe was a difficult task to handle at the beginning.[2]
Slovenia
editEleke signed for Olimpija Ljubljana in January 2016 for a reported fee of €750,000.[3] On 10 April 2016, in a league fixture versus Zavrč, Olimpija's manager Nikolić reportedly called Eleke a "black idiot", for elaborately celebrating an injury-time equalizer in an eventual 1–1 draw.[4] Nikolić's contract was eventually terminated by mutual consent on 18 April 2016.,[5][6] although Eleke asked club president Milan Mandarić not to sack the manager.[7] Eleke revealed that, although he considered leaving the club, he did not want to see his coach sacked, as he did not believe in eye for an eye.[3]
Israel and Switzerland
editIn August 2017, Eleke transferred to Israeli Premier League club Ashdod for a reported fee of €800,000.[8] On 27 July 2018, Eleke signed a four-year contract with Swiss Super League club FC Luzern for a reported fee of approximately 1 million Swiss francs.[2][9] After being cleared to play for Luzern,[10] he managed to score on his debut, helping his club get past Lugano 4–2.[11]
Gençlerbirligi SK
editOn 1 September 2021, Eleke was loaned out to Turkish club Gençlerbirligi SK for the rest of the season.
Kashima Antlers
editOn 1 August 2022, Kashima Antlers confirmed an agreement with K Beerschot VA for him to join on a complete transfer, becoming one of the few Nigerian footballers to play in Japan.[12] Eleke only made 6 appearances for the club over two seasons and was released from the club when his contract expired at the end of the 2023 season.[13]
Istiklol
editOn 21 March 2024, Tajikistan Higher League club Istiklol announced the signing of Eleke to a one-year contract.[14] On 20 April, Eleke scored a Hattrick for Istiklol in their 6-0 victory over Kuktosh Rudaki in the Tajikistan Higher League.[15]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of match played 26 June 2024 [16]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Gorica | 2014–15 | Slovenian PrvaLiga | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 2[a] | 0 | 19 | 3 | ||
| 2015–16 | 19 | 12 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | 20 | 12 | |||||
| Total | 36 | 15 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 2 | 0 | 39 | 15 | ||
| Olimpija Ljubljana | 2015–16 | Slovenian PrvaLiga | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | 12 | 3 | |||
| 2016–17 | 30 | 5 | 5 | 1 | - | 2[b] | 2 | - | 37 | 7 | ||||
| 2017–18 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | 2[c] | 0 | - | 5 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 45 | 10 | 5 | 1 | - | - | 4 | 2 | - | - | 54 | 12 | ||
| Ashdod | 2017–18 | Israeli Premier League | 27 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 31 | 6 | ||
| Luzern | 2018–19 | Swiss Super League | 32 | 13 | 4 | 2 | - | 2[c] | 0 | - | 38 | 15 | ||
| 2019–20 | 26 | 4 | 2 | 1 | - | 4[c] | 0 | - | 32 | 5 | ||||
| Total | 58 | 17 | 6 | 3 | - | - | 6 | 0 | - | - | 70 | 20 | ||
| Beerschot | 2020–21 | Belgian Pro League | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | 21 | 1 | |||
| 2021–22 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | 2 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 23 | 1 | ||
| Gençlerbirliği (loan) | 2021–22 | TFF First League | 24 | 7 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | 24 | 7 | |||
| Kashima Antlers | 2022 | J1 League | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | 4 | 1 | |||
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | 2 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | 1 | ||
| Istiklol | 2024[17] | Tajikistan Higher League | 10 | 6 | 0 | 0 | - | 0[d] | 0 | 1[e] | 1 | 11 | 7 | |
| Career total | 228 | 61 | 17 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 258 | 70 | ||
- ^ Appearances and goals in the PrvaLiga play-off
- ^ Appearances and goals in the UEFA Champions League
- ^ a b c Appearances and goals in the UEFA Europa League
- ^ Appearances and goals in the AFC Champions League Two
- ^ Appearances and goals in the Tajik Supercup
Honours
editOlimpija Ljubljana[2]
Istiklol
References
edit- ^ "Blessing Eleke" (in Japanese). Kashima Antlers. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Gutzwiller, Raphael (12 September 2018). "Blessing Eleke: Stürmer in Gottes Namen". Luzerner Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 14 October 2018.
- ^ a b "Eleke: I Almost Quit Olimpija After Being Called 'Black Idiot'". Complete Sports Nigeria. 13 April 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
- ^ "Olimpija Ljubljana manager keeps job after calling own player 'black idiot'". The Daily Telegraph. 12 April 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
- ^ "Predsednik NK Olimpija Milan Mandarić pojasnil razloge za prekinitev sodelovanja z Markom Nikolićem". nkolimpija.si (in Slovenian). 18 April 2016. Archived from the original on 5 September 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
- ^ "Epilog Nikolićeve neprimerne opazke: slovo od Olimpije" (in Slovenian). rtvslo.si. 18 April 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
- ^ "Blessing Eleke: Olimpija forward 'begged' for coach to stay". BBC. 19 April 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
- ^ "Blessing Eleke zapustil Olimpijo, ki je bogatejša za milijon evrov" (in Slovenian). Sio1NET. 27 August 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
- ^ "Blessing Eleke wechselt zum FC Luzern" (in German). Radio Pilatus. 27 July 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
- ^ "FCL-Stürmer Blessing Eleke darf spielen" (in German). Radio Pilatus. 3 August 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
- ^ "Eleke trifft bei seinem Debut für den FC Luzern" (in German). rontaler. 5 August 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
- ^ "ブレッシング エレケ選手の完全移籍加入クラブ間合意のお知らせ". antlers.co.jp (in Japanese). Kashima Antlers. 1 August 2022. Archived from the original on 1 August 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
- ^ "エレケ選手 契約満了のお知らせ | 鹿島アントラーズ オフィシャルサイト". 鹿島アントラーズ オフィシャルサイト | KASHIMA ANTLERS (in Japanese). 7 December 2023. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ^ "ВТОРОЙ ИЗ СТРАНЫ ВОСХОДЯЩЕГО СОЛНЦА! "ИСТИКЛОЛ" ПОДПИСАЛ СУЗУКИ!". t.me/s/fcistiklol2007 (in Tajik). FC Istiklol Telegram. 21 March 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ "Istiqlol Dushanbe 6-0 Kuktosh". soccer24.com. Soccer24. 20 April 2024. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
- ^ Blessing Eleke at Soccerway
- ^ 2024 FC Istiklol season
- ^ ""ИСТИКЛОЛ" В ДВЕНАДЦАТЫЙ РАЗ ВЫИГРАЛ СУПЕРКУБОК ТАДЖИКИСТАНА". fft.tj (in Russian). Tajikistan Football Federation. 11 May 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
External links
edit- Blessing Eleke at Soccerway
- Blessing Eleke at Soccerbase
