Philly Sports Jabronis
Report From Philadelphia Union
CHESTER, Pa. – Philadelphia Union today announced that they have signed defender Oguchi Onyewu (pronounced: o-GOO-chee on-YAY-woo) as a Discovery Signing. A native of Olney, Maryland, Onyewu joins Philadelphia with over 350 professional appearances across club and country, including 69 caps for the United States Men’s National Team, where he was a part of the Stars and Stripes for the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cups.
Over his club career, Onyewu has captured two Belgian league titles and one Dutch Cup. He most recently played for Charlton Athletic in England.
“Oguchi is a big, physical presence who brings experience and veteran professionalism, important traits that we believe will be an asset for our group of young defenders,” said Philadelphia Union Sporting Director Earnie Stewart. “He provides excellent depth at the centerback position and we are pleased that we were able to add him to our squad.”
After two years at Clemson, Onyewu signed his first professional contract with Metz in France ahead of the 2002-03 season at the age of 20. He made his professional debut on January 22, 2003 in Ligue 2. He transferred to the Belgian first division club La Louviere for the 2003-2004 campaign before joining Standard Liege in 2004-05.
With Standard Liege, Onyewu totaled 178 appearances over four-and-a-half seasons, totaling 16 goals and 10 assists. He won the Belgian league championship with the team in both 2007-08 and 2008-09. Midway through his third campaign with Standard Liege, Onyewu made a brief loan spell with Newcastle United, where he recorded his Premier League debut on February 3, 2007 against Fulham.
The defender transferred to Italian giants AC Milan ahead of the 2009-10 campaign, where he made his first appearance for the team in the UEFA Champions League against FC Zurich on September 30, 2009. In his second season with Milan, he was loaned to Dutch side FC Twente, helping the team capture the Dutch Cup.
After stints in Portugal with Sporting CP and in Spain with Malaga, Onyewu returned to England to join Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield Wednesday and Charlton Athletic in recent campaigns.
Internationally, the defender has earned 69 caps for the United States National Team, scoring six goals. His first tally came in the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup against Honduras on July 21, 2005 at Giants Stadium. He was part of the 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cup squads.
TRANSACTION: Philadelphia Union signed defender Oguchi Onyewu as a Discovery Signing on January 30, 2017.
Name: Oguchi Onyewu (pronounced: o-GOO-chee on-YAY-woo)
Position: Defender
Height: 6’4”
Weight: 210
Born: May 13, 1982 in Washington, D.C.
Hometown: Olney, MD
Citizenship: United States, Belgium, Nigeria
Acquired: Philadelphia Union signed defender Oguchi Onyewu as a Discovery Signing on January 30, 2017.
Previous Experience: Charlton Athletic (2014-2015), Sheffield Wednesday (2014), Queens Park Rangers (2013-2014), Malaga (2012-2013), Sporting CP (2011-2013), Twente (2011), Milan (2009-2011), Newcastle (2007), Standard Liege (2004-2009), La Louviere (2003-2004), Metz (2002-2004)
