Osaze Odemwingie targets coaching career after announcing retirement

Former Nigeria international, Peter Osaze Odemwingie has officially announced his retirement from playing football and is looking to go into football management.

The 37-year old, who played at the 2010 and 2014 World Cups and registered a goal in Brazil, made the announcement on Wednesday night at the UEFA’s Equal Game conference staged at the Wembley Stadium, England.

Odemwingie, known for his superb pace on the pitch last played professional football for Indonesian side Madura United.

“It’s an emotional day, so many memories go through your head. I didn’t know how to do it or where to do it, but I think this is the right place to do it,” Odemwingie stated.

“Wembley is a place with a lot of history in football.”

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He added: “The next chapter is slowly building up to a coaching career and hopefully I will be coaching in the Premier League one day.”

The forward had stints with West Bromwich Albion, Cardiff City and Stoke City in the English Premier League during his playing career.

Odemwingie was the subject of a peculiar story on Deadline Day in January 2013, when it was believed he was moving to QPR from West Brom, but drove to Loftus Road only to be refused entry to the stadium after both clubs said that no fee had been agreed.

Odemwingie – whose mother is Russian – chose to represent Nigeria [his father’s country] and made his debut on May 4, 2002, coming on as a substitute in a 3-0 victory over Kenya.

He went on to make 63 appearances for Nigeria and scored 10 times. And while at England, he scored 36 goals in 129 Premier League appearances between 2010 and 2016.

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