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Blessing Eleke

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Blessing Eleke
Personal information
Full name Blessing Chibuike Eleke
Date of birth (1996-03-05) 5 March 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth Nigeria
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[1]
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
–2014 Flying Sports Academy
2014 Gorica
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2015 Gorica 37 (15)
2016–2017 Olimpija Ljubljana 43 (10)
2017–2018 Ashdod 27 (4)
2018–2020 Luzern 58 (17)
2020–2022 Beerschot 22 (1)
2021–2022 → Gençlerbirligi SK (loan) 24 (7)
2022–2023 Kashima Antlers 6 (1)
2024 Istiklol 10 (6)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10:07, 4 August 2024 (UTC)

Blessing Eleke (born 5 March 1996) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a striker who last played for Istiklol. He previously played for Gorica, Olimpija Ljubljana, Ashdod, Luzern, Beerschot, Gençlerbirligi and Kashima Antlers.

Professional career

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Early life and career

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Eleke grew up in Lagos with his three brothers and four sisters.[2] He started playing football at Flying Sports Academy in his home country, before having an unsuccessful trial at Serie A club Sassuolo.[2] Later on, he admitted that the transition from Nigeria to Europe was a difficult task to handle at the beginning.[2]

Slovenia

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Eleke signed for Olimpija Ljubljana in January 2016 for a reported fee of €750,000.[3] On 10 April 2016, in a league fixture versus Zavrč, Olimpija's manager Nikolić reportedly called Eleke a "black idiot", for elaborately celebrating an injury-time equalizer in an eventual 1–1 draw.[4] Nikolić's contract was eventually terminated by mutual consent on 18 April 2016.,[5][6] although Eleke asked club president Milan Mandarić not to sack the manager.[7] Eleke revealed that, although he considered leaving the club, he did not want to see his coach sacked, as he did not believe in eye for an eye.[3]

Israel and Switzerland

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In August 2017, Eleke transferred to Israeli Premier League club Ashdod for a reported fee of €800,000.[8] On 27 July 2018, Eleke signed a four-year contract with Swiss Super League club FC Luzern for a reported fee of approximately 1 million Swiss francs.[2][9] After being cleared to play for Luzern,[10] he managed to score on his debut, helping his club get past Lugano 4–2.[11]

Gençlerbirligi SK

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On 1 September 2021, Eleke was loaned out to Turkish club Gençlerbirligi SK for the rest of the season.

Kashima Antlers

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On 1 August 2022, Kashima Antlers confirmed an agreement with K Beerschot VA for him to join on a complete transfer, becoming one of the few Nigerian footballers to play in Japan.[12] Eleke only made 6 appearances for the club over two seasons and was released from the club when his contract expired at the end of the 2023 season.[13]

Istiklol

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On 21 March 2024, Tajikistan Higher League club Istiklol announced the signing of Eleke to a one-year contract.[14] On 20 April, Eleke scored a Hattrick for Istiklol in their 6-0 victory over Kuktosh Rudaki in the Tajikistan Higher League.[15]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 26 June 2024 [16]
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Gorica 2014–15 Slovenian PrvaLiga 17 3 0 0 - - 2[a] 0 19 3
2015–16 19 12 1 0 - - - 20 12
Total 36 15 1 0 - - - - 2 0 39 15
Olimpija Ljubljana 2015–16 Slovenian PrvaLiga 12 3 0 0 - - - 12 3
2016–17 30 5 5 1 - 2[b] 2 - 37 7
2017–18 3 2 0 0 - 2[c] 0 - 5 2
Total 45 10 5 1 - - 4 2 - - 54 12
Ashdod 2017–18 Israeli Premier League 27 4 4 2 0 0 - - 31 6
Luzern 2018–19 Swiss Super League 32 13 4 2 - 2[c] 0 - 38 15
2019–20 26 4 2 1 - 4[c] 0 - 32 5
Total 58 17 6 3 - - 6 0 - - 70 20
Beerschot 2020–21 Belgian Pro League 20 1 1 0 - - - 21 1
2021–22 2 0 0 0 - - - 2 0
Total 22 1 1 0 - - - - - - 23 1
Gençlerbirliği (loan) 2021–22 TFF First League 24 7 0 0 - - - 24 7
Kashima Antlers 2022 J1 League 4 1 0 0 - - - 4 1
2023 2 0 0 0 - - - 2 0
Total 6 1 0 0 - - - - - - 6 1
Istiklol 2024[17] Tajikistan Higher League 10 6 0 0 - 0[d] 0 1[e] 1 11 7
Career total 228 61 17 6 0 0 10 2 3 1 258 70
  1. ^ Appearances and goals in the PrvaLiga play-off
  2. ^ Appearances and goals in the UEFA Champions League
  3. ^ a b c Appearances and goals in the UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ Appearances and goals in the AFC Champions League Two
  5. ^ Appearances and goals in the Tajik Supercup

Honours

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Olimpija Ljubljana[2]

Istiklol

References

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  1. ^ "Blessing Eleke" (in Japanese). Kashima Antlers. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e Gutzwiller, Raphael (12 September 2018). "Blessing Eleke: Stürmer in Gottes Namen". Luzerner Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Eleke: I Almost Quit Olimpija After Being Called 'Black Idiot'". Complete Sports Nigeria. 13 April 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  4. ^ "Olimpija Ljubljana manager keeps job after calling own player 'black idiot'". The Daily Telegraph. 12 April 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  5. ^ "Predsednik NK Olimpija Milan Mandarić pojasnil razloge za prekinitev sodelovanja z Markom Nikolićem". nkolimpija.si (in Slovenian). 18 April 2016. Archived from the original on 5 September 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  6. ^ "Epilog Nikolićeve neprimerne opazke: slovo od Olimpije" (in Slovenian). rtvslo.si. 18 April 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  7. ^ "Blessing Eleke: Olimpija forward 'begged' for coach to stay". BBC. 19 April 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  8. ^ "Blessing Eleke zapustil Olimpijo, ki je bogatejša za milijon evrov" (in Slovenian). Sio1NET. 27 August 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  9. ^ "Blessing Eleke wechselt zum FC Luzern" (in German). Radio Pilatus. 27 July 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  10. ^ "FCL-Stürmer Blessing Eleke darf spielen" (in German). Radio Pilatus. 3 August 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  11. ^ "Eleke trifft bei seinem Debut für den FC Luzern" (in German). rontaler. 5 August 2018. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
  12. ^ "ブレッシング エレケ選手の完全移籍加入クラブ間合意のお知らせ". antlers.co.jp (in Japanese). Kashima Antlers. 1 August 2022. Archived from the original on 1 August 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  13. ^ "エレケ選手 契約満了のお知らせ | 鹿島アントラーズ オフィシャルサイト". 鹿島アントラーズ オフィシャルサイト | KASHIMA ANTLERS (in Japanese). 7 December 2023. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  14. ^ "ВТОРОЙ ИЗ СТРАНЫ ВОСХОДЯЩЕГО СОЛНЦА! "ИСТИКЛОЛ" ПОДПИСАЛ СУЗУКИ!". t.me/s/fcistiklol2007 (in Tajik). FC Istiklol Telegram. 21 March 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  15. ^ "Istiqlol Dushanbe 6-0 Kuktosh". soccer24.com. Soccer24. 20 April 2024. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  16. ^ Blessing Eleke at Soccerway
  17. ^ 2024 FC Istiklol season
  18. ^ ""ИСТИКЛОЛ" В ДВЕНАДЦАТЫЙ РАЗ ВЫИГРАЛ СУПЕРКУБОК ТАДЖИКИСТАНА". fft.tj (in Russian). Tajikistan Football Federation. 11 May 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
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