Obiora Odita

Obiorah Emmanuel Odita (; born 14 May 1983) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a forward. He also holds Serbian citizenship.

Career

Early years Born in Enugu, Odita started out at his local club Rangers, before switching to Udoji United. He was acquired by First League of FR Yugoslavia side Javor Ivanjica during the 2003 winter transfer window. Until the end of the 2002–03 season, Odita scored one goal in nine league appearances, as the club suffered relegation to the Second League. He led them in scoring in the first half of the 2004–05 Second League of Serbia and Montenegro with 10 goals, attracting attention from bigger teams.

Partizan In January 2005, Odita was officially transferred to Partizan, signing a four-year deal. He marked his competitive debut by scoring both of his team's goals in a 2–2 home draw with Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in the first leg of the UEFA Cup round of 32, as the club went on to win the tie after a 1–0 away win in the return leg. With five league goals in the remainder of the 2004–05 season, Odita helped the side win the championship title with an unbeaten record. He opened the 2005–06 season by netting both goals in two 1–0 wins over Moldovan champions Sheriff Tiraspol in the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round. In January 2006, Odita was sent back to Javor Ivanjica on a six-month loan. He subsequently returned to Partizan for the 2006–07 season, forming an attacking partnership with Stevan Jovetić and becoming their joint top scorer in the league with 10 goals. In June 2007, Odita moved to the United Arab Emirates and signed a two-year contract with Al Ain.

Westerlo In January 2008, Odita was loaned to Belgian club Westerlo. He scored twice in the second half of the 2007–08 season, before returning to Al Ain. In January 2009, Odita moved back to Belgium and signed a permanent contract with Westerlo.

Later years In July 2010, Odita returned to Serbia by rejoining his former club Javor Ivanjica for the 2010–11 season. He later moved to China and signed with Tianjin TEDA in early 2011. Following a brief stint in Asia, Odita made another return to Javor Ivanjica ahead of the 2011–12 season.

In the summer of 2012, Odita moved to Kazakhstan and signed with Taraz, netting six times in the remainder of the 2012 Kazakhstan Premier League. He subsequently finished as the team's top scorer in the 2013 campaign with five goals. In September 2014, Odita returned to Serbia once again and joined Voždovac.

After spending two seasons with Voždovac, Odita switched to fellow Serbian SuperLiga side Mladost Lučani in June 2016. He spent five seasons with club, amassing 142 appearances and scoring 10 goals in the top flight. In June 2021, Odita rejoined Javor Ivanjica once more.

Career statistics

Honours Partizan First League of Serbia and Montenegro: 2004–05 Mladost Lučani Serbian Cup runner-up: 2017–18