Angelo Ogbonna

At 36 years old, Angelo Ogbonna has this physical status:

Obinze Angelo Ogbonna (Italian pronunciation: [andelo obnna]; born 23 May 1988) is an Italian professional footballer who plays for West Ham United's centre-back.

Ogbonna joined Torino in 2002 after being a participant of Nuova Cassino's youth group. Under Alberto Zaccheroni, Ogbonna made his debut in Serie A at the age of 18. He returned to Torino after a five-season loan stint with Crotone in Serie C1. He moved to Juventus, a city rival, in 2013, 2014–15, as well as the 2013 Supercoppa Italiana and the 2014-2015 Coppa Italia.

He was a member of the Italian team that finished runners-up at UEFA EURO 2012 and then represented his country in UEFA Euro 2016.

Personal life

Ogbonna was born in Nigeria and emigrated to Italy in 1983, settling in Cassino, but only after his 18th birthday did he obtain Italian citizenship.

Ogbonna survived a car accident near Turin on December 22nd after he lost control of his Smart car and sped away from a bridge into a torrent around 5:00 a.m.

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Club career

Ogbonna began his career in Cassino's youth team, where he played as a central defender. He was discovered by Torino in 2002, who, on Antonio Comi's recommendation, bought him for €3,000 and assigned him to their youth team. He was consistently called up to the first team in the 2006–07 season, and he made his debut in Serie A against Reggina (1–2) on February 11, 2007. He made 4 appearances in the league at the end of season.

Following his release in the semi-final play-offs, he migrated to Crotone on loan, making 22 league appearances and almost losing promotion to Serie B.

He returned to Torino in the 2008–09 Serie A season, with 19 league appearances and four in Coppa Italia. Torino, on the other hand, had been relegated to Serie B at the end of the season. He earned his place as a starter for the Granata from 2009, following the club's relegation to Serie B. Ogbonna scored his first goal for Torino in the match against Cesena on April 17, 2010; finishing 1–1. He wore the captain's armband for the first time on August 15, 2010, in the second round of Coppa Italia against Cosenza. Ogbonna made 105 appearances in three Serie B seasons with Torino, helping the club return to Serie A after finishing second to Pescara in 2011.

He renewed his Torino deal on February 2nd, 2012, until June 30, 2016.

Before his proposed cross-town transfer to Juventus, Ogbonna underwent a medical at Fornaca, Isokinetic, and the Istituto di Medicina dello Sport in Turin. After passing the medical, he officially signed for Juventus for a €13 million transfer fee, with an additional €2 million to be paid in future bonuses. He became the first player to serve as captain of the Granata and transfer to Juventus, igniting a lot of dissatisfaction with Torino's old supporters.

In September 2013, he made his Champions League debut against F.C. Copenhagen is located in the city of Copenhagen. Despite being behind Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci, and Giorgio Chiellini in the pecking order at center back in his first season, Ogbonna made 25 appearances in all competitions, many in the second half of the season, as the team was heavily rotated for league, Coppa Italia, and Champions League matches. In the 2013–14 season, Ogbonna played 16 league games for Juventus, winning Serie A titles. He was also a member of the 2013 Supercoppa Italiana. Juventus defended the Serie A championship once more in the 2014-15 season, with Ogbonna appearing 25 times in leagues and the 2014–15 Coppa Italia. Juventus lost the Champions League Final 3–1 to Barcelona in Berlin on June 6, 2015, making him an unused substitute.

Ogbonna joined West Ham United in the Premier League on a four-year deal, earning €11 million over the next three years. West Ham defeated Astra Giurgiu 2–2 on a Sunday, making his debut 20 days later in the Europa League third qualifying round, beginning with a score equalizer. In the 121st minute of a 2–1 home victory over Liverpool in the fourth round FA Cup replay, Ogbonna scored his first goal for the club, scoring an injury-time match-winning header.

He was ruled out for the remainder of the season after playing 18 of a possible 22 Premier League games for West Ham in the 2016-2017 season because he required an operation. Despite suffering the injury, West Ham boss Slaven Bili said the Ogbonna had attended every game of the season. He was back for his final game of the 2016–17 season, defeating Burnley 2–1 away. In June 2017, Ogbonna signed a new deal with West Ham, committing him to the club until 2022.

Ogbonna scored the winning goal in a 2–1 away victory over Leeds United, which gave West Ham's first victory since 2000. In a home victory over Liverpool in November 2021, Ogbonna damaged his anterior cruciate ligament. He was out for the remainder of the 2021–22 season due to his injury. In a 3-1 home victory over Danish team Viborg on August 18, 2022, Ogbonna made his return to 2022-23 Europa Conference League in a 3-1 victory.

International career

In a friendly game against Russia on August 12, 2009, he made his debut with the Italian under-21 team.

In a 2–0 friendly victory over Poland on November 11, Ogbonna made his senior debut on November 11, 2011, when he came on as a replacement for Domenico Criscito in the 77th minute.

Ogbonna was named by boss Cesare Prandelli in the Italian 23-man final squad for Euro 2012, but did not participate in the tournament.

Ogbonna was drafted in the provisional 30-man Italy squad for Euro 2016 in May 2016. He was named in Antonio Conte's final 23-man squad for the tournament on May 31, 2016. On Sunday, Ogbonna made his first appearance of the tournament, losing 1–0 to Ireland in Italy's final group match. Ogbonna was called by the Italian squad's boss, Roberto Mancini, for two games in the Nations League in October 2020, after a two-year absence.

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