Chima Ephraim Okorie (// ⓘ; born 8 October 1968 in Izomber, Abia State) is a Nigerian former professional football striker[1] who was renowned for his goalscoring prowess in the Indian leagues.[2][3][4][5][6] He went on to score 131 goals for East Bengal in three seasons, becoming the top scorer in the history of East Bengal crossing K. P. Dhanaraj who had 127 goals, until it was crossed by Bhaichung Bhutia.[7][8][9][10]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Chima Ephraim Okorie | ||
| Date of birth | 8 October 1968 | ||
| Place of birth | Izomber, Imo State, Nigeria | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1984–1985 | Chandigarh Football Club | ||
| 1985–1987 | Mohammedan SC | (54) | |
| 1987–1990 | East Bengal | (122) | |
| 1991–1993 | Mohun Bagan | (114) | |
| 1993 | Peterborough United | 5 | (0) |
| 1993–1994 | Grimsby Town | 5 | (1) |
| 1994–1995 | Torquay United | 14 | (5) |
| 1995 | Sogndal | 9 | (1) |
| 1995–1996 | Ikast FS | 3 | (0) |
| 1996–1997 | Viborg FF | ||
| 1997–1999 | Mohun Bagan | ||
| 2001–2002 | Bengal-Mumbai FC | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Playing career
editOkorie moved to India as a student, his big break came when he played first time in the Durand Cup, when he represented Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad XI.[11] There was no such thing as Chandigarh team was an all volunteer team and could not afford to pay their players. He then signed a major deal with Mohammedan SC, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan.[12][13][14][15] With Mohammedan, he scored sixteen goals in 1985 CFL season.[16] He captained East Bengal in 1990–91.[17][18][19] He was received praise for his playing style as a forward [20][21][22] He is also the first foreign player in Mohun Bagan.[23] He then moved to England, firstly having an unsuccessful trial at Sunderland before joining Peterborough United on non-contract terms before joining Grimsby Town in September 1993.
He made his English league debut as a substitute away to Crystal Palace winning the Sunday Man of the match, and made four further appearances (all as a substitute) as his career at Grimsby was interrupted by a broken leg. He moved to Torquay United in March 1994 and was a regular in the Torquay side for the next twelve months, before losing his place to Duane Darby.
He was released at the end of the 1994–95 season was joined Norwegian second-tier side Sogndal, later playing for Danish premier sides Ikast FS and Viborg FF. He returned to India to play again for Mohun Bagan, but received a two-year suspension after being accused of assaulting a referee in a game on 31 August 1999.
In 2001, he came back to India and signed with Bengal Mumbai FC.[24] He appeared in few matches of Mumbai Senior Division with BMFC.
Managerial career
editOn 3 June 2006, he was made manager of Bengal-Mumbai FC,[25] and also became the club's CEO on 16 August. He was appointed manager of Mohun Bagan on 20 February 2007, but resigned on 7 April following differences with the club's senior players.[26] He then became the manager of the Delhi based I-League 2nd division side Osian's New Delhi Heroes.
Honours
editIndividual
edit- Calcutta Football League Top Scorer: 1987 (26 goals),[27] 1991 (11 goals)[28]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ K. John, Binoo (2 February 1998). "With over Rs 1 cr as prize money for Philips League, local clubs sign up foreign players". www.indiatoday.in. India Today. Archived from the original on 1 February 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
- ^ Basu, Joydeep (25 January 2021). "Indian football: Fred Pugsley, Chima Okorie, Ranti Martins – the foreign strikers who shone in India". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
- ^ Rahim (10 May 2020). "Chima Okorie: Indian football's greatest imports". theawayend.com. The Away End. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
- ^ Marar, Nandakumar (15 September 2001). "'Indian football gave me everything'". sportstar.thehindu.com. Sportstar. Archived from the original on 22 December 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
- ^ Foreign recruits in Indian football – A short recap Indianfooty.net. Retrieved 23 September 2021
- ^ "From the history book, roll of honour". the-aiff.com. All India Football Federation. 10 January 2015. Archived from the original on 9 January 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
- ^ Saha, Rupak (1 January 2020). "Top 10 Scorers". East Bengal - Prothom Eksho Bochor. The Cafe Table. p. 392. ISBN 978-93-89873-21-4.
- ^ Sabyasachi Chakraborty (20 April 2020). "100 Years of Glory: All time top scorers for East Bengal FC!". BADGEB. Archived from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
- ^ Sen, Debayan (1 August 2020). "A century of excellence: East Bengal's greatest hits". ESPN. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
- ^ Chatterjee, Sayan (6 April 2021). "Top 5 foreign footballers to have played in India". Archived from the original on 27 June 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
- ^ Banerjee, Ritabrata (16 May 2020). "Indian Football - The 10 best foreigners to have played for East Bengal". Goal. Archived from the original on 14 February 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
- ^ soumen78 (31 March 2016). "List of Foreign Players to Play for East Bengal Club from 1942 – East Bengal Club, India – Records, Funs and Facts". Eastbengalclubrecords.wordpress.com. Archived from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "TEAM ARCHIVES - East Bengal FC". Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
- ^ "TEAM ARCHIVES - East Bengal FC". Archived from the original on 8 November 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
- ^ Sengupta, Somnath (13 July 2011). "Tactical Evolution Of Indian Football: Part Four – Modern Era (1999—2011)". thehardtackle.com. Kolkata: The Hard Tackle. Archived from the original on 18 September 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ King, Ian; Morrison, Neil; Veroeveren, Piet; Cruickshank, Mark (30 May 2013). "India 1985 – Regional Leagues: Calcutta League". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 7 October 2022.
- ^ "Kolkatafootball.com :East Bengal League History: Indian Football Capital's News". kolkatafootball.com. Archived from the original on 12 February 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
- ^ "East Bengal FC » Historical squads". worldfootball.net. Archived from the original on 12 February 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
- ^ "East Bengal Club - The Official Site of East Bengal Club". eastbengalclub.co.in. Archived from the original on 8 November 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
- ^ Sengupta, Somnath (27 July 2013). "Mohun Bagan and East Bengal: A Derby to Remember". inbedwithmaradona.com. Archived from the original on 4 February 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
- ^ "Kolkata Derby: From the history book". All India Football Federation. the-aiff.com. 8 December 2012. Archived from the original on 5 February 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
- ^ Mergulhao, Marcus (21 April 2020). "Kiyan ready to shoulder Nassiri burden". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Panaji, Goa: The Times of India. Archived from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ Kapadia, Novy (7 June 2015). "Mohun Bagan: Blaze of Glory". indianexpress.com. The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 22 February 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
- ^ "Season ending transfers 2001". Indianfootball.de. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
- ^ "The Old Boys Club: Bengal Mumbai FC". mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com. The Mumbai Mirror. 2 September 2006. Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
- ^ "Displeased with seniors, Chima resigns as Mohun Bagan Coach". ExpressIndia.com: Kolkatta Newsline. 7 April 2007. Retrieved 21 April 2007.[dead link]
- ^ Roy, Gautam; Ball, Swapan (2007). "East Bengal Football Club – Famous Players". www.eastbengalfootballclub.com. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved 25 February 2009.
- ^ Bobrowsky, Josef (22 March 2002). "India tournaments 1991 – Calcutta Premier League". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 7 July 2003. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
Bibliography
edit- Sen, Dwaipayan (2013). "Wiping the Stain Off the Field of Plassey: Mohun Bagan in 1911". In Bandyopadhyay, Kausik; Mallick, Sabyasachi (eds.). Fringe Nations in World Soccer. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-99810-5.
- Sen, Ronojoy (2015). "The Empire Strikes Back: The 1911 IFA Shield and Football in Calcutta". Nation at Play: A History of Sport in India. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-16490-0.
- Kapadia, Novy (2017). Barefoot to Boots: The Many Lives of Indian Football. Penguin Random House. ISBN 978-0-143-42641-7.
- Mukhopadhay, Subir (2018). সোনায় লেখা ইতিহাসে মোহনবাগান (transl. Mohun Bagan in the history written in gold). ISBN 978-93-850172-0-9.
- Banerjee, Argha; Basu, Rupak (2022). মোহনবাগান: সবুজ ঘাসের মেরুন গল্প (transl. Mohun Bagan: Green fields' Maroon stories). Shalidhan. ISBN 978-81-954667-0-2.
- Dineo, Paul; Mills, James (2001). Soccer in South Asia: Empire, Nation, Diaspora. London, United Kingdom: Frank Cass Publishers. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-7146-8170-2. Archived from the original on 25 July 2022.
- Martinez, Dolores; Mukharji, Projit B (2009). Football: From England to the World: The Many Lives of Indian Football. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-138-88353-6. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022.
- Nath, Nirmal (2011). History of Indian Football: Upto 2009–10. Readers Service. ISBN 9788187891963. Archived from the original on 22 July 2022.
Further reading
edit- Tuhin, Saifur Rahaman (16 February 2023). "ঢাকার মাঠ মাতানো বিদেশি ফুটবলাররা" [Those iconic foreign players during the golden days in Dhaka football]. Durbin24.com (in Bengali). Dhaka. Archived from the original on 7 June 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
- Biswas, Koushik (16 July 2023). "কেন 'বিতর্কিত' সুব্রত ভট্টাচার্যের আত্মজীবনী? 'ষোল আনা বাবলু' নিয়ে মুখ খুললেন সাহেব" [Why 'controversial' Subrata Bhattacharya's autobiography? Saheb opened his mouth with 'Sixteen Anna Bablu']. eisamay.com (in Bengali). Kolkata: এই সময় সংবাদপত্র. Archived from the original on 29 July 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
- "ষোল আনা মোহনবাগানির কথা নিয়ে ময়দান থেকে সুব্রত ঢুকবেন পাঠক মহলে" [Subrata enters into the audience from the Maidan with words of pure 'Mohun Bagan']. kolkata24x7.in (in Bengali). Kolkata: Kolkata 24×7 News. 29 July 2023. Archived from the original on 29 July 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2023.