Down memory lane: Remembering Odafa Okolie's goalscoring prowess

The Nigerian was one of the finest talents to step foot in Indian football.

Since the introduction of the Indian Super League (ISL) a decade ago, Indian football has been graced by several major foreign players. Some legendary footballers like Alessandro Del Piero, Odafa Okolie, Diego Forlan and Robert Pires have all played in the competition. Even though the ‘marquee player’ rule is now void, the current ISL sides have some prominent foreign talents.

However, it will be difficult for many foreign players to match the sheer goal-scoring heroics of Odafa Okolie. To this day, the Nigerian forward remains one of the most prolific strikers in Indian Football and arguably the most clinical foreign striker to ever grace the game in India.

Odafa Okolie was a genuine ‘goal machine’ in Indian football well before the ISL era. He arrived in the country after the turn of the century and joined Kolkata's Peerless SC as a teenager in 2002. After a short stint with them, he joined Mohammedan in 2003. Incidentally, Okolie was used as a defender in the early parts of his career before teams realised his goal-scoring instincts.

Initial years

After a short spell at Mohammedan, Odafa Okolie moved to Bangladeshi club Muktijoddha SKC for the 2004-05 season. He scored 34 goals in under 30 appearances for them, which allowed Indian clubs to realise the sheer might of his striking ability.

Churchill Brothers moved fast to bring him back to India in 2005, and the rest is history. Odafa took to Indian football like bread to butter, excelling from the get-go. He helped Churchill get promoted from the National Football Second Division to the NFL (National Football League) in 2006, scoring four goals.

The Nigerian forward had his breakthrough season in India in the 2006-07 season for Churchill, scoring 18 goals to clinch the golden boot ahead of strikers like Ranti Martins and Dudu Omagbemi. After helping Churchill to a fourth-place finish in that campaign, he helped them do better and compete strongly for the title in their debut I-League season.

Odafa Okolie's move to Mohun Bagan

Odafa Okolie tormented the opposition in the 2007-08 season, scoring 22 goals in just 18 appearances for Churchill, who scored in second place tied on points with champions Dempo, who won the tournament on superior goal difference.

After that setback, the Nigerian ensured that goal difference wouldn’t be an issue for his side in the 2008-09 season. Odafa Okolie scored 24 goals in the 2008-09 I-League season, once again clinching the top scorer trophy for the third consecutive season and helping the Goan side clinch the I-League title over Mohun Bagan.

But Odafa Okolie was not done there at all. In the year 2009, he scored 47 goals across all competitions for Churchill and helped them win the Durand Cup as well as the IFA Shield. Odafa scored in the finals of both competitions, including a 10-minute extra-time hat trick in the 2009 Durand Cup final against Mohun Bagan.

He showed no signs of stopping in the 2009-10 season either. Even though Odafa was unable to help Churchill defend their I-League title, he still scored a respectable 21 goals to win the fourth Golden Boot trophy in as many seasons for himself.

Mohun Bagan stint and final years

But he saw his golden boot streak broken in the 2010–11 season. Despite scoring an impressive 25 goals in 26 games, he lost out on the trophy to Dempo’s Ranty Martins, who scored 28 goals! That also proved to be his final season at Churchill Brothers, as he was signed by Mohun Bagan for a then-record ₹3 crore fee.

Odafa left the Goan club after having scored a record 113 top-division goals for them across the NFL and I-League combined. Odafa Okolie started his Mohun Bagan career with a bang, scoring a hat trick on his debut against the Pailan Arrows.

The Nigerian forward scored 26 goals for the Mariners in his debut I-League campaign but again lost in the golden boot race to Ranti Martins, who scored 32 goals for champions Dempo, as Mohun Bagan only managed a fourth-place finish.

Odafa Okolie scored 19 goals in 22 appearances in a torrid 2012-13 season for the Mariners, who finished in 10th place after being banned for failing to show up in the second half of their Kolkata derby against East Bengal on December 29, 2012.

In his final season for Mohun Bagan, Okolie scored six goals before leaving in 2014. He spent the next two seasons at Sporting Club de Goa, scoring 14 goals in 23 I-League appearances. He would then spend his final seasons at second-division clubs Southern Samity and Gokulam Kerala before retiring in 2018.

Odafa Okolie ended his career with over 200 goals in Indian football and three goals in four AFC Cup appearances. He holds the record for the most hat-tricks scored by a single player in the I-League and NFL combined, with 14 hat-tricks. He is the second-highest scorer in I-League and NFL history, having scored 179 goals, just behind all-time top scorer Ranti Martins (214 goals).

The Nigerian was a complete forward who could finish chances from anywhere in the final third. He was a prolific finisher from close range, could score emphatic headers, and pulled off impressive strikes from long distances. Odafa Okolie remains one of the best foreign players to play on Indian soil and has raised the bar of expectations for foreign strikers in the country.