Obiora Odita

Obiora Odita
Personal information
Full name Obiorah Emmanuel Odita
Date of birth (1983-05-14) 14 May 1983
Place of birth Enugu, Nigeria
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position Forward
Youth career
Enugu Rangers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2003 Udoji United
2003–2005 Javor Ivanjica 43 (16)
2005–2007 Partizan 48 (16)
2006Javor Ivanjica (loan) 12 (5)
2007–2009 Al Ain 0 (0)
2008Westerlo (loan) 9 (2)
2009–2010 Westerlo 28 (3)
2010–2011 Javor Ivanjica 15 (2)
2011 Tianjin TEDA 8 (1)
2011–2012 Javor Ivanjica 23 (9)
2012–2013 Taraz 42 (11)
2014–2016 Voždovac 53 (11)
2016–2021 Mladost Lučani 142 (10)
2021–2022 Javor Ivanjica 34 (7)
2022 Železničar Pančevo 4 (0)
2023 FAP 14 (7)
2023–2024 Srbija Ulm 3 (1)
2024–2025 Tempo Frankfurt 32 (9)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 10 March 2026

Obiorah Emmanuel Odita (pronunciation; born 14 May 1983) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a forward. He also holds Serbian citizenship.[1]

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.[2] 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,[3] 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.[4][5] In January 2006, Odita was sent back to Javor Ivanjica on a six-month loan.[6] He subsequently returned to Partizan for the 2006–07 season and was their joint top scorer in the league with 10 goals, often partnering Stevan Jovetić. In June 2007, Odita moved to the United Arab Emirates and signed a two-year contract with Al Ain.[7]

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.[8]

Later years

In July 2010, Odita returned to Serbia by rejoining his former club Javor Ivanjica for the 2010–11 season.[9] 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.[10]

After spending two seasons with Voždovac, Odita switched to fellow Serbian SuperLiga side Mladost Lučani in June 2016.[11] 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

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[12]
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Javor Ivanjica 2002–03 First League of Serbia and Montenegro 9 1 0 0 9 1
2003–04 Second League of Serbia and Montenegro 16 5 0 0 16 5
2004–05 Second League of Serbia and Montenegro 18 10 1 0 19 10
Total 43 16 1 0 44 16
Partizan 2004–05 First League of Serbia and Montenegro 12 5 1 0 4 2 17 7
2005–06 First League of Serbia and Montenegro 13 1 2 1 6 2 21 4
2006–07 Serbian SuperLiga 23 10 1 0 6 2 30 12
Total 48 16 4 1 16 6 68 23
Javor Ivanjica (loan) 2005–06 First League of Serbia and Montenegro 12 5 0 0 12 5
Al Ain 2007–08 UAE Football League 0 0 0 0 0 0
2008–09 UAE Football League 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0
Westerlo (loan) 2007–08 Belgian First Division 9 2 0 0 9 2
Westerlo 2008–09 Belgian First Division 14 3 0 0 14 3
2009–10 Belgian First Division 14 0 1 1 15 1
Total 28 3 1 1 29 4
Javor Ivanjica 2010–11 Serbian SuperLiga 15 2 1 1 16 3
Tianjin TEDA 2011 Chinese Super League 8 1 0 0 6 0 14 1
Javor Ivanjica 2011–12 Serbian SuperLiga 23 9 2 1 25 10
Taraz 2012 Kazakhstan Premier League 12 6 0 0 12 6
2013 Kazakhstan Premier League 30 5 4 0 34 5
Total 42 11 4 0 46 11
Voždovac 2014–15 Serbian SuperLiga 21 5 3 0 24 5
2015–16 Serbian SuperLiga 32 6 1 0 33 6
Total 53 11 4 0 57 11
Mladost Lučani 2016–17 Serbian SuperLiga 30 4 1 0 31 4
2017–18 Serbian SuperLiga 28 0 1 0 1 0 30 0
2018–19 Serbian SuperLiga 25 3 2 0 27 3
2019–20 Serbian SuperLiga 24 1 2 1 26 2
2020–21 Serbian SuperLiga 35 2 1 1 36 3
Total 142 10 7 2 1 0 150 12
Javor Ivanjica 2021–22 Serbian First League 34 7 2 1 36 8
Železničar Pančevo 2022–23 Serbian First League 4 0 0 0 4 0
FAP 2022–23 Serbian League West 14 7 14 7
Srbija Ulm 2023–24 Landesliga Württemberg 3 1 3 1
Tempo Frankfurt 2024–25 Gruppenliga 24 7 24 7
2025–26 Gruppenliga 8 2 8 2
Total 32 9 32 9
Career total 510 110 26 7 23 6 559 123

Honours

Partizan

Mladost Lučani

References

  1. ^ "Exclusive : FK Vozdovac Striker Obiora Odita Gets Serbian Passport". allnigeriasoccer.com. 5 March 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  2. ^ "Odita potpisao za Partizan" (in Serbian). b92.net. 4 January 2005. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
  3. ^ "Dnipro deny Odita glorious debut". uefa.com. 16 February 2005. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  4. ^ "Odita puts Partizan ahead". uefa.com. 27 July 2005. Retrieved 10 March 2026.
  5. ^ "Odita produces repeat performance". uefa.com. 3 August 2005. Retrieved 10 March 2026.
  6. ^ "Bilans zimskog prelaznog roka" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 14 February 2006. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  7. ^ "Odita prešao u Al Ain" (in Serbian). partizan.rs. 7 June 2007. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
  8. ^ "Odita is opnieuw een speler van Westerlo" (in Dutch). voetbalkrant.com. 2 January 2009. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  9. ^ "Obiora Odita se vratio u Javor" (in Serbian). blic.rs. 30 July 2010. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
  10. ^ "Odita ponovo u srpskom fudbalu, potpisao za Voždovac" (in Serbian). blic.rs. 16 September 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  11. ^ "Odita pojačava napad Mladosti" (in Serbian). fkmladostlucani.com. 17 June 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
  12. ^ "Obiorah Emmanuel Odita" (in German). fupa.net. Retrieved 10 March 2026.