Daniel Amokachi

Daniel Owefin Amokachi (; born 30 December 1972) is a Nigerian football manager and former professional player.

As a player, he was a forward who notably played in the Premier League for Everton and was part of their 1995 FA Cup winning team. He also played top flight football in both Belgium and Turkey with extended spells at Club Brugge and Beşiktaş. Whilst with Brugge in 1992, he scored the club's first goal in the UEFA Champions League. He also had a brief spell with Ranchers Bees, Colorado Rapids and Nasarawa United. He was capped 44 times by Nigeria, scoring 13 goals. His spell in international football saw him win the African Cup of Nations in 1994 and a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics. He was also present in his nations squads for 1994 FIFA World Cup and 1998 FIFA World Cup.

Upon retiring, Amokachi moved into coaching and has spent time as manager of Nasarawa United, Enyimba, Ifeanyi Ubah and JS Hercules. He has also spent two spells as assistant coach of Nigeria, as well as managing his nation in an interim basis from 2014 to 2015.

Club career Amokachi, nicknamed "The Bull", was discovered while playing for Ranchers Bees by Nigerian national team coach Clemens Westerhof, who brought the talented player to the 1990 African Nations Cup, and soon Amokachi moved to play for Club Brugge in Belgium. He appeared in the final only briefly, late on, again as a substitute but is remembered fondly for his beret-wearing celebrations afterwards. In January 2016, he was named as manager of JS Hercules. On 4 February 2020, Amokachi was named as Nigeria’s football ambassador by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd).

Personal life Amokachi is married to a Tunisian woman and has twin sons named Kalim and Nazim, both of whom are currently in the Besiktas youth academy. He also has a daughter named Raya.

Career statistics

Club

International

Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Amokachi goal.

Honours Everton FA Cup: 1994–95 FA Charity Shield: 1995

Beşiktaş Turkish Cup: Turkish Super Cup: 1998

Nigeria African Cup of Nations: 1994 Olympic Games: Gold Medal 1996

Individual Beşiktaş's Super League 2000th goal. International Honorary Award of Sportsmen of Turkey: 2015 African Footballer of the Year Third: 1994 (France Football), 1995, 1996 UEFA Champions League First Goal: 1992 Belgian Ebony Shoes Award: 1992,1994 IFFHS 20th-century best player in Africa: 18th place West African Club Championship 'The best young footballer' award: 1989 Pro League 'Most successful foreign player' award: 1992