Samson Siasia

Football player infobox
playername = Samson Siasia
fullname = Samson Siasia
nickname = Sammy


dateofbirth = birth date and age|1964|08|14
cityofbirth = Lagos
countryofbirth = Nigeria
height =
currentclub =
clubnumber =
position = Forward
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1982-1984 1985-1986 1987 1987-1993 1993-1995
1995-1996
1996-1997
1997-1998
1998-2000
clubs = Julius Berger Flash Flamingoes El-Kanemi Warriors Lokeren
Nantes
Tirsense
Al Hilal
Perth Glory Zafririm Holon
caps(goals) = 151 (31) 040 0(4)
015 0(0)
022 0(3)
030+ (12+)
nationalyears = 1984-1998
nationalteam = fb|Nigeria
nationalcaps(goals) = 046 (13)
pcupdate = 20 July 2007
ntupdate =

Samson Siasia (born August 14, 1964 in Lagos) is a former football striker from Nigeria.

Playing career

Club career

At club level, Siasia most notably played for French team FC Nantes where he became league champion in 1994/95. He also played the for Australian club Perth Glory with fellow Nigerian Peter Anosike, as well as in Belgium, Portugal, Saudi Arabia and Israel.

International career

He played 46 international matches for Nigeria, in which he scored thirteen goals, and was part of the team that participated in the 1994 FIFA World Cup [ [http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/statisticsandrecords/players/player=57981/index.html Record at FIFA Tournaments] - FIFA] and won the 1994 African Nations Cup. He participated in the National Team over a period of 11 years and was recognized in Nigeria as the third leading scorer for the National Team.

Coaching career

In 2008, Samson Siasia coached the Nigerian Under-23, Olympic squad to the final against Argentina. In a superbly played series of matches, Nigeria's U23 team earned their Olympic Silver Medals. Earlier in 2008, the U-23 team won the inaugural Intercontinental Cup in Malaysia with Mr. Siasia as the coach. This fine U23 team was composed entirely of domestic Nigerian players and won the Cup against many teams headed for the upcoming 2008 Summer Olympic Games. In 2005, Mr. Siasia coached the Nigerian U-20 team ("Flying Eagles"), taking them to the finals of the 2005 Under-20 (U20) World Cup (World Youth Championship) and the U-20 African Youth Championship. He won the U-20 African Youth Championship with the ("Flying Eagles") in 2005 and advanced all the way to the final - before losing to Argentina 2-1 in the World Youth Championship) , he also assisted Augustine Eguavoen in coaching the national team.He was appointed national U-23 coach on January 2007 and turned the U-23 side into a powerful squad in African football.

In addition to his position as head coach of the Nigerian Under 23 Olympic Eagles, he developed a youth academy in the Nigerian capital city Abuja, called SiaOne Soccer Academy.

Coaching Highlights

*Samson Siasia was the coach of the Nigerian Olympics Team(Dream Team IV), who won a silver medal for Nigeria, losing to Argentina in the finals by a lone goal.
*Qualified Nigeria U-23 team for the 2008 Summer Olympics. His team reached the final.
*Nigeria's U-23 team win inaugural Intercontinental Cup in Malaysia (May 2008)
*Appointed national U-23 coach of Nigeria 2007
*Led Nigeria to the U-20 World Championship finals 2005 Netherlands (finished second)
*Qualified Nigeria U-20 team for the U-20 World Youth Championship 2005
*Coached Nigeria U-20 team to win the U-20 African Youth Championship 2005 in Benin
*Appointed national U-20 coach of Nigeria 2004
*Served as assistant coach to Nigerian National football team the Super Eagles from 2004-05
*Coached youth team in United States to Georgia state finals and national ranking 2003-04

External links

* [http://www.siaone.com Official Web Site of Samson Siasia at SiaOne.com]
* [http://www.siaone.com/academy.html Official Web Site of SiaOne Soccer Academy at SiaOne.com]
* [http://www.nigerianplayers.com/player.asp?pID=125 Samson Siasia] at nigerianplayers.com
* [http://www.national-football-teams.com/v2/player.php?id=14474 Career stats] - National Football Teams

References