Clubs: FC Lyn Oslo, Chelsea FC

UEFA honours
UEFA Champions League: runner-up 2008, winner 2012

• Started out with Plateau United FC of his hometown of Jos in Nigeria before a brief spell in South Africa with Ajax Cape Town FC.

• First earned global recognition at the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Finland before commanding even greater attention by steering Nigeria to the final of the FIFA U-20 World Cup in the Netherlands two years later.

• Joined Lyn at the start of the 2005 season but made only six league appearances before Chelsea and Manchester United FC engaged in a long battle for his services, the Blues coming out on top in 2006 when he signed for the Stamford Bridge club at a cost of €16m.

• Sent off in Chelsea's 2007 League Cup final triumph over Arsenal FC but played the full 120 minutes of the FA Cup showpiece victory against United (1-0) a few months later; became a regular thereafter, particularly after Claude Makelele's departure, starting 33 Premier League games in 2008/09.

• Signed a new five-year contract in summer 2009 and made his 100th Premier League appearance for Chelsea in February 2010 – against Arsenal (2-0) − shortly after returning from his third Africa Cup of Nations tournament with Nigeria.

• Suffered a knee injury in the closing stages of Chelsea's double-winning 2009/10 campaign which caused him to miss the FA Cup final and the FIFA World Cup in South Africa. 

• In May 2012 he appeared in his third successful FA Cup final, a 2-1 victory against Liverpool FC, two weeks before playing the full 120 minutes of Chelsea's UEFA Champions League shoot-out triumph over FC Bayern München.