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Chima Ephraim Okorie (born 8 October 1968 in Izomber, Abia State) is a Nigerian former professional football striker who was renowned for his goalscoring prowess in the Indian leagues.[1][2] He went on to score 131 goals for East Bengal in three seasons, becoming the top scorer in the history of East Bengal crossing K. P. Dhanaraj who had 127 goals, until it was crossed by Bhaichung Bhutia.[3][4][5][6]
Playing career
Okorie moved to India as a student, his big break came when he played first time in the Durand Cup, when he represented Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad x1.[7] There was no such thing as Chandigarh team was an all volunteer team and could not afford to pay their players. He then signed a major deal with Mohammedan SC, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan.[8][9][10] He was a deadly forward and use to score by using his tremendous power , He then moved to England, joining Peterborough United on non-contract terms before joining Grimsby Town in September 1993.
He made his English league debut as a substitute away to Crystal Palace winning the Sunday Man of the match, and made four further appearances (all as a substitute) as his career at Grimsby was interrupted by a broken leg. He moved to Torquay United in March 1994 and was a regular in the Torquay side for the next twelve months, before losing his place to Duane Darby.
He was released at the end of the 1994-95 season was joined Norwegian premier side Sogndal, later playing for Danish premier sides Ikast FS and Viborg FF. He returned to India to play again for Mohun Bagan, but received a two-year suspension after being accused of assaulting a referee in a game on 31 August 1999.
On 3 June 2006 he was made manager of Bengal-Mumbai FC, and also became the club's CEO on 16 August. He was appointed manager of Mohun Bagan on 20 February 2007, but resigned on 7 April following differences with the club's senior players.[11] He then became the manager of the Delhi based I-League 2nd division side Osian's New Delhi Heroes.
See also
References
- ↑ Indian football: Fred Pugsley, Chima Okorie, Ranti Martins – the foreign strikers who shone in India, Basu, Joydeep. Scroll.in(25 January 2021). Retrieved 26 June 2021.
- ↑ Chima Okorie: Indian football's greatest imports theawayend.com. Retrieved 3 July 2021
- ↑ East Bengal - Prothom Eksho Bochor{{#if:Saha|, Saha}. The Cafe Table(1 January 2020). ISBN 978-93-89873-21-4
- ↑ 100 Years of Glory: All time top scorers for East Bengal FC!(20 April 2020). Retrieved 24 June 2021.
- ↑ A century of excellence: East Bengal's greatest hits, Sen, Debayan. ESPN(1 August 2020). Retrieved 24 June 2021.
- ↑ Top 5 foreign footballers to have played in India, Chatterjee, Sayan(6 April 2021). Retrieved 26 June 2021.
- ↑ Indian Football - The 10 best foreigners to have played for East Bengal, Banerjee, Ritabrata(16 May 2020). Retrieved 27 June 2021.
- ↑ List of Foreign Players to Play for East Bengal Club from 1942 – East Bengal Club, India – Records, Funs and Facts. Eastbengalclubrecords.wordpress.com(2016-03-31). Retrieved 2018-12-18.
- ↑ TEAM ARCHIVES - East Bengal FC. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
- ↑ TEAM ARCHIVES - East Bengal FC. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
- ↑ Displeased with seniors, Chima resigns as Mohun Bagan Coach(7 April 2007). Retrieved 2007-04-21.Template:Dead link