Rabiu Afolabi

Rabiu Afolabi (born 18 April 1980) is a Nigerian former professional footballer, who played as a centre-back.

Club career

Born in Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria, Afolabi started his football career at NEPA Lagos.

Standard Liège and Napoli loan

Afolabi soon left his home country by moving to Belgium to Standard Liège after impressing at the 1997 Meridian Cup. Once he made a move to Belgium, Afolabi immediately fell in love with the style of play. He made his debut for the club in the Austrian Supercup, which Wien won 2–1 against FC Kärnten. Five days, he made his league debut for the club, again versus FC Kärnten, in a 2–1 loss. In his first season, Afolabi played a total of 33 matches.

In summer 2004 interest for was reported from Marseille, as well as other clubs. He played in 27 league games in the 2004–05 season, all from the first until the last minute, and scored one goal in a 3–0 win away match against FC Wacker Tirol. Austria finished third place, just behind rival Rapid Wien and Grazer AK.

The following season, Afolabi played in the 2004–05 UEFA Cup tournament with Austria Wien, until the club was eliminated by Italian side Parma. Like last season, the club also won the Austrian Supercup.

Sochaux After the 2004–05 season, some Austria Wien players were linked a move away from clubs. Among them was also Afolabi, who joined Sochaux for a €2 million transfer fee. In his Ligue 1 debut on 13 August 2005 he came on as a substitute for youngster Jérémy Ménez. Sochaux won the away match against Nice 2–1 but Afolabi was sent off in the 87th minute of the match. Towards the end of the season, Afolabi scored his first goal, on 6 May 2006, in a draw at home to Troyes. The club finished in 15th place.

Afolabi spent four seasons at Sochaux. In his time there, he earned one title, the 2006–07 Coupe de France. He later stated that winning the cup was the greatest moment of his career.

Red Bull Salzburg

After leaving Sochaux at the end of 2008–09 season as a free agent, Afolabi returned to Austria, signing a two-year contract with Red Bull Salzburg having been previously linked with newly promoted Premier League side Burnley. He became a regular starter in central defence. In February 2010, he scored the winning goal away to title rivals Rapid Wien which helped keep the Red Bulls on course for the championship. Eventually, Red Bull Salzburg would win the title.

On 7 November 2010, he made his 100th Austrian Bundesliga match having made 60 appearances for FK Austria Wien and 40 for Red Bull Salzburg). In December, it was reported that Salzburg were looking to transfer Afolabi in the winter transfer window. After his second season in Salzburg, his contract was not renewed.

Monaco Following his release from Salzburg, Afolabi was linked with German side Eintracht Frankfurt but on 31 August 2011, he returned to France joining recently relegated Monaco on a free transfer, agreeing to a two-year contract with the club. On 19 September 2011, he scored his debut goal in a 1–0 victory over against Arles-Avignon. Over time, he featured less and less at Monaco and after one year at the club, it was announced he had left the club by mutual consent with one year of his contract remaining.

SønderjyskE and retirement After eight months without a club, Afolabi went on trial at Danish Superliga club SønderjyskE, with a view of earning a contract. On 13 March 2013, he eventually signed with the club for the rest of the 2012–13 season.

On his debut for SønderjyskE, a match against Silkeborg IF on 28 March 2013, Afolabi helped his team to a 5–0 victory over its bottom-table rivals. He was named as one of the best players on the field. Having played three matches he fractured a rib and was substituted during a match against Midtjylland. Afterwards, it was announced he would be out for between three and four weeks. Following his return, he went on to make five appearances in total helping the club survive relegation and finishing in eighth place. At the end of the season, the club remained keen on keeping him by offering him a new contract. However, Afolabi chose to leave the club after three months there.

After leaving Denmark, he announced his retirement and the intent to pursue a career in football management and scouting, having earned a certificate. His nickname in Nigeria is Robocop because of his stiff movements.

In 2011, Afolabi was involved in a charity called "The Rabiu Afolabi Educational Foundation" by setting up a foundation, which he started out with a donation of 50,000 customised books worth about $20,000 to selected public primary and secondary schools in his home state of Oshun State.