Ramon Azeez
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ramon Olamilekan Azeez | ||
| Date of birth | 12 December 1992 | ||
| Place of birth | Abuja, Nigeria | ||
| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 6 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Almería | ||
| Number | 8 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Future Pro Academy | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2011–2016 | Almería B | 78 | (7) |
| 2012– | Almería | 49 | (2) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2009 | Nigeria U17 | 7 | (1) |
| 2011–2012 | Nigeria U20 | 9 | (1) |
| 2014– | Nigeria | 4 | (0) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 4 June 2016. | |||
Ramon Olamilekan Azeez (born 12 December 1992) is a Nigerian footballer who plays for Spanish club UD Almería as a central midfielder.
Club career
Born in Abuja, Azeez began playing football in the Future Pro Academy. In 2010 he agreed a move to UD Almería in Spain, but had to wait until July 2011 to complete the transfer.[1]
On 17 August 2012, after one full season with the B-side in Segunda División B, Azeez made his debut with the first team: he came on as a substitute for Javier Casquero in the 55th minute of an away fixture against FC Barcelona B for the Segunda División championship (5–4 win), but was himself replaced after just ten minutes after being booked and, according to manager Javi Gracia, risking a subsequent sending off.[2]
On 28 June 2013, Azeez was definitely promoted to the Andalusians' main squad, with the club having just recently promoted to La Liga.[3] He made his debut in the competition on 30 August, playing roughly 20 minutes in a 2–2 home draw against Elche CF.[4]
Azeez scored his first professional goal on 21 December 2013, netting the game's only in a win at Real Betis.[5] He repeated the feat in the second meeting between the two teams, scoring in the 94th minute for a 3–2 triumph at the Estadio de los Juegos Mediterráneos.[6]
Azeez appeared sparingly during the 2014–15 campaign, as his side suffered relegation. In June 2015 he requested a transfer,[7] and after failing to sign a professional contract, he was demoted back to the reserves in August.[8]
On 26 January 2016, Azeez returned to the main squad, seriously threatened with relegation, after agreeing to a professional deal.[9]
International career
Azeez appeared with the under-17's in 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup, and was a regular in the team which eventually finished runner-up. Two years later he appeared in another World Cup in the category, also as a starter.
On 3 February 2014, Azeez was called up to the full side for a friendly against Mexico.[10][11] He made his debut on 5 March, playing the entire second-half in a 0–0 draw at Georgia Dome.[12]
On 6 May 2014, Azeez was named in the provisional 30-man squad ahead of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.[13] He was included in Stephen Keshi's final list for the tournament,[14] and made his debut on 16 June by starting in a 0–0 draw against Iran.[15]
Statistics
Club
- As of 4 June 2016[16]
| Club | Season | Competition | League | Cup | Other | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Almería B | 2011–12 | Segunda División B | 28 | 2 | — | 28 | 2 | |||
| 2012–13 | 31 | 3 | — | 31 | 3 | |||||
| 2015–16 | 19 | 2 | — | 19 | 2 | |||||
| Total | 78 | 7 | — | 78 | 7 | |||||
| Almería | 2012–13 | Segunda División | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |
| 2013–14 | La Liga | 30 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 32 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 17 | 0 | |||
| 2015–16 | Segunda División | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | ||
| Total | 49 | 2 | 7 | 0 | — | 56 | 2 | |||
| Career totals | 127 | 9 | 7 | 0 | — | 134 | 9 | |||
International
- As of 6 September 2014[17]
| Nigeria | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2014 | 4 | 0 |
| Total | 4 | 0 |
References
- ↑ Ramon Azeez sigue mostrando un excelente nivel en el Mundial sub-20 con Nigeria (Ramon Azeez keeps showing excellent level at the under-20 World Cup with Nigeria); Ideal, 12 August 2011 (Spanish)
- ↑ Festival goleador para abrir la Liga Adelante (Goalscoring party to open Liga Adelante); Marca, 17 August 2012 (Spanish)
- ↑ Dieciséis jugadores tienen actualmente contrato en vigor con la primera plantilla de la UD Almería (Sixteen players currently on contract with UD Almería's first team); Almería's official website, 28 June 2013 (Spanish)
- ↑ Almeria denied first win; ESPN FC, 17 August 2013
- ↑ Azeez effort enough for Almeria; ESPN FC, 21 December 2013
- ↑ El Almería nunca se rinde (Almería never surrenders); Marca, 4 May 2014 (Spanish)
- ↑ Azeez pide al club que escuche ofertas (Azeez asks the club to listen to offers); Mundo Deportivo, 16 June 2015 (Spanish)
- ↑ El club baja a Azeez al filial y Sergi piensa en José Ángel (The club demotes Azeez to the reserves and Sergi thinks of José Ángel); Diario AS, 10 August 2015 (Spanish)
- ↑ Ramón Azeez vuelve al primer equipo (Ramón Azeez returns to the first team); Marca, 26 January 2016 (Spanish)
- ↑ Azeez, convocado por la selección absoluta de Nigeria (Azeez, called up by Nigeria's full team); Almería's official website, 3 February 2014 (Spanish)
- ↑ Oluwashina Okeleji (10 February 2014). "Uncapped trio called up by Nigeria". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
- ↑ "Nigeria cancel out Mexico again". MTN Football. 6 March 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
- ↑ Oluwashina Okeleji (6 May 2014). "World Cup 2014: Peter Odemwingie in provisional Nigeria squad". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
- ↑ "World Cup 2014: Nosa Igiebor cut from Nigeria squad". BBC Sport. 3 June 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
- ↑ "Goals dry up as Iran, Nigeria draw". FIFA.com. 16 June 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
- ↑ "Ramon Azeez". Soccerway. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
- ↑ Ramon Azeez at National-Football-Teams.com
External links
- Ramon Azeez profile at BDFutbol
- Ramon Azeez profile at Futbolme (Spanish)
- Ramon Azeez at National-Football-Teams.com
- Ramon Azeez – FIFA competition record
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