Whatever happened to?

[Neiler]

A thread to catch up on former players when they left the club and what are they up to now!

Daniel Owefin Amokachi, the Nigerian living football legend, was born in Kaduna on 30th December 1972 to Mr. Ikwulechin Amokachi who hails from Otukpa in Ogbadibo Local Government Area. Amokachi aka "The Bull" came to national limelight in 1988 when he broke into the first team at Ranchers Bees FC of Kaduna in the second half of the 1988 Nigeria Division One League Football season.

The exploits of this new exciting talent, called Amokachi, continued into the 1989 football season and soon caught the attention of the national team handlers. While Nigerians were expecting the then 16 year old Amokachi to be selected for the Golden Eaglets side preparing for 1989 U-17 World Cup in Scotland, national team coach Clemens Westerhof had other ideas and Amokachi was invited to the senior team B side which went on to win the ECOWAS Cup in Bauchi in December 1989.

Due to the pay dispute that existed in early 1990 between foreign based players and the Nigerian Football Association (NFA), Clemens Westerhof decided to take the bulk of his ECOWAS Cup winning side to the African Cup of Nations in Algiers in March 1990. The then 17 year old Amokachi made his debut in the premier African football competition and played a key part in Nigeria placing second at the competition, having lost the finals 1-0 to host Algeria.

Amokachi's performance in Algiers meant it was only a matter of time before he left the domestic scene and in July 1990 he signed for Belgian side Club Brugge KV. His game developed in Belgium and he would go on to score 35 goals in 81 appearances before leaving in August 1994. During his time in Brugge, he won the "Best African Player in Belgium" award for two (2) seasons and went into the history books by scoring the first goal in the new UEFA Champions League with his goal against CSKA Moscow in a 1-0 victory on 25th November 1992.

Just as his club career was growing in leaps and bounds, so also was his national team stature. Amokachi was an integral part of the successful Super Eagles side of the 90s, helping Nigeria to third place at the 1992 African Cup of Nations in Senegal, securing Nigeria's qualification for the USA 94 World Cup in October 1993 and winning the 1994 African Cup of Nations in Tunisia in April 1994.

At the 1994 World Cup in USA, hard-working Amokachi, whose power play style of football had earned him the nickname the "The Bull", announced himself on the world stage. His goals against Bulgaria and Greece in the group stages, helped Nigeria progress to the second round where the Super Eagles narrowly lost to Italy 2-1 after extra time.

After the World Cup, it was no surprise when Amokachi sealed a £3m move from Club Brugge to English Premiership side Everton. Amokachi, known to the Evanton fans as "Amo Taxi" due to his bustling style of play, won the prestigious FA Cup in 1995. He also earned a place in Evanton's folklore when he came on as a substitute (against the manager's order) in the FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham Hotspurs and scored 2 goals in a 4-1 victory. Following a change of Managers at Everton, Amokachi found playing time limited and not one to sit around, he left Evanton in June 1996. In his 2 seasons with Evanton, he scored 10 goals in 43 appearances.

In July 1996, Amokachi signed for Turkish side, Besiktas before joining up with the Nigerian U-23 side (known as Dream Team) as one of the 3 overage players, along with Emmanuel Amunike and Uche Okechukwu, at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. Amokachi played all 6 matches as Nigeria went on to win Africa's first Olympic gold in football with a 3-2 victory against Argentina in the final match with Amokachi scoring the second goal.

Just before the 1998 World Cup in France, Amokachi sustained a knee injury that would ultimately end his football career. Despite his knee injury, Amokachi made the Nigerian team to the 1998 World Cup but could only play 67 minutes in the 1-0 victory over Bulgaria. His national team career saw him score 14 goals in 42 appearances.

After the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Amokachi continued to struggle with knee problems and had to leave Besiktas in 1999. During his time in Turkey, Besiktas won the Chancellor Cup (1997), TSYD Cup (1997), Turkish President Cup (1998) and Turkish Cup (1998) scoring 19 goals in 97 appearances.

Planned moves to 1860 Munich in Germany and Tranmere Rovers in England fell through due to failed medical tests. He had stints with US Créteil-Lusitanos in France (2000/2001), Colorado Rapids in the US (2002) and Emirate Club in UAE (2002/2003) before finally retiring from professional football.

In 2005, Amokachi came out of retirement as a Player / Manager with Nasarawa United in Nigerian Premier League and successfully led Nasarawa United to second place in league in 2006. He briefly coached Enyimba in 2008 before joining the national team set-up. Daniel Amokachi is currently one of the assistants to the national team coach, Stephen Keshi.

 

[Neiler]

Andres Limpar


On transfer deadline day in March 1994, Limpar transferred to Everton for £1.6 million, and while there he won the FA Cupa second time with Everton in 1995. Indeed, he played a vital role, his run from inside his own half leading to the winning goal by Paul Rideout. He also hit a memorable 50-yard reverse-pass which led to an Everton break-away that BBC commentatorBarry Davies described as the 'pass of the match'.

However, Limpar fell out of favour at Goodison Park after 1995–96, making only two appearances for the club during the 1996–97 season.

Birmingham City
On 20 January 1997, Limpar was signed by Birmingham City for a fee of £100,000. He made his league debut on 1 February 1997, in a 1–2 away defeat against Bolton Wanderers. The move proved unsuccessful, as he made only four appearances, before the club later cancelled his contract in April 1997.[7]

Later career
Moving back to Sweden on a free transfer to AIK in the summer of 1997, he won the Swedish championship (Allsvenskan) in 1998. After two years in Stockholm, he signed for Major League Soccer side Colorado Rapids in February 1999. He stayed until November 2000. He returned to Sweden, signing for Djurgårdens IF. He failed to make an appearance for them, however, as he retired from the game in March 2001 at the age of 35, due to his declining physical condition.



Lim par was the victim of TV hoax in 1997, where he was duped into believing that he had traveled two years into the future via a time machine. After retiring from football in 2001, Limpar opened a bar,The Limp Bar, in central Stockholm, although it has since closed. 2012 Limpar joined forces with Mikael Crona, and started to launch the Super Lock line of plastic boxes in Sweden. Currently CEO of the betting site www.BestBetToday.com.

 

[tommye]

Daniel Amokachi, born 1972......


hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha








yeah, right, ok.

 

[Minimeister]

Amotaxi.

 

[Pat's Van]

Anders' "Limp Bar" hahha the go to social club for people with erectile disfunction

 

[Muzumbu]

Now playing for Emelec in the Ecuadorian Serie A

 

[Walken]

A thread to catch up on former players when they left the club and what are they up to now!

Daniel Owefin Amokachi, the Nigerian living football legend, was born in Kaduna on 30th December 1972 to Mr. Ikwulechin Amokachi who hails from Otukpa in Ogbadibo Local Government Area. Amokachi aka "The Bull" came to national limelight in 1988 when he broke into the first team at Ranchers Bees FC of Kaduna in the second half of the 1988 Nigeria Division One League Football season.

The exploits of this new exciting talent, called Amokachi, continued into the 1989 football season and soon caught the attention of the national team handlers. While Nigerians were expecting the then 16 year old Amokachi to be selected for the Golden Eaglets side preparing for 1989 U-17 World Cup in Scotland, national team coach Clemens Westerhof had other ideas and Amokachi was invited to the senior team B side which went on to win the ECOWAS Cup in Bauchi in December 1989.

Due to the pay dispute that existed in early 1990 between foreign based players and the Nigerian Football Association (NFA), Clemens Westerhof decided to take the bulk of his ECOWAS Cup winning side to the African Cup of Nations in Algiers in March 1990. The then 17 year old Amokachi made his debut in the premier African football competition and played a key part in Nigeria placing second at the competition, having lost the finals 1-0 to host Algeria.

Amokachi's performance in Algiers meant it was only a matter of time before he left the domestic scene and in July 1990 he signed for Belgian side Club Brugge KV. His game developed in Belgium and he would go on to score 35 goals in 81 appearances before leaving in August 1994. During his time in Brugge, he won the "Best African Player in Belgium" award for two (2) seasons and went into the history books by scoring the first goal in the new UEFA Champions League with his goal against CSKA Moscow in a 1-0 victory on 25th November 1992.

Just as his club career was growing in leaps and bounds, so also was his national team stature. Amokachi was an integral part of the successful Super Eagles side of the 90s, helping Nigeria to third place at the 1992 African Cup of Nations in Senegal, securing Nigeria's qualification for the USA 94 World Cup in October 1993 and winning the 1994 African Cup of Nations in Tunisia in April 1994.

At the 1994 World Cup in USA, hard-working Amokachi, whose power play style of football had earned him the nickname the "The Bull", announced himself on the world stage. His goals against Bulgaria and Greece in the group stages, helped Nigeria progress to the second round where the Super Eagles narrowly lost to Italy 2-1 after extra time.

After the World Cup, it was no surprise when Amokachi sealed a £3m move from Club Brugge to English Premiership side Everton. Amokachi, known to the Evanton fans as "Amo Taxi" due to his bustling style of play, won the prestigious FA Cup in 1995. He also earned a place in Evanton's folklore when he came on as a substitute (against the manager's order) in the FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham Hotspurs and scored 2 goals in a 4-1 victory. Following a change of Managers at Everton, Amokachi found playing time limited and not one to sit around, he left Evanton in June 1996. In his 2 seasons with Evanton, he scored 10 goals in 43 appearances.

In July 1996, Amokachi signed for Turkish side, Besiktas before joining up with the Nigerian U-23 side (known as Dream Team) as one of the 3 overage players, along with Emmanuel Amunike and Uche Okechukwu, at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. Amokachi played all 6 matches as Nigeria went on to win Africa's first Olympic gold in football with a 3-2 victory against Argentina in the final match with Amokachi scoring the second goal.

Just before the 1998 World Cup in France, Amokachi sustained a knee injury that would ultimately end his football career. Despite his knee injury, Amokachi made the Nigerian team to the 1998 World Cup but could only play 67 minutes in the 1-0 victory over Bulgaria. His national team career saw him score 14 goals in 42 appearances.

After the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Amokachi continued to struggle with knee problems and had to leave Besiktas in 1999. During his time in Turkey, Besiktas won the Chancellor Cup (1997), TSYD Cup (1997), Turkish President Cup (1998) and Turkish Cup (1998) scoring 19 goals in 97 appearances.

Planned moves to 1860 Munich in Germany and Tranmere Rovers in England fell through due to failed medical tests. He had stints with US Créteil-Lusitanos in France (2000/2001), Colorado Rapids in the US (2002) and Emirate Club in UAE (2002/2003) before finally retiring from professional football.

In 2005, Amokachi came out of retirement as a Player / Manager with Nasarawa United in Nigerian Premier League and successfully led Nasarawa United to second place in league in 2006. He briefly coached Enyimba in 2008 before joining the national team set-up. Daniel Amokachi is currently one of the assistants to the national team coach, Stephen Keshi.

I'm mates with Amo on facebook, he's sound, but never tags me in anything

 

[Neiler]

Andy van der Meyde



Most of the boys in the Ajax academy are from Amsterdam or the area surrounding the Dutch capital. Boys from other parts of the country usually get picked up by other clubs. PSV Eindhoven, for example, rules the South of the country. Clubs like Heerenveen and FC Groningen rule the North.

Andy van der Meyde was born and bred in Arnhem, a medium sized town in the centre of the Netherlands. Yet it wasn’t Vitesse, his home town side, or any of the other clubs in the Arnhem area who spotted his talent when he was a boy. By some twist of faith, it was an Ajax scout.

Since Van der Meyde was a fan of Ajax as a boy, this was just as well and he dreamt of playing for Ajax, not Vitesse. In this regard, Van der Meyde and his famous fellow townsman Theo Janssen are from different planets. Janssen played at Ajax for one year before going back to Vitesse. Not because he wasn’t good enough, or anything like that. It was because he didn’t really like the Amsterdammers. He only joined them for the money. They were way too pompous and arrogant to love.

There were no such moral obligations for Van der Meyde. He loved Amsterdam, Ajax, and everything they stood for. He even loved living in Diemen, a grey suburb on the outskirts of the city, together with his mum (although this might have had something to do with his Arnhem based father – a mean and criminal drunk).

He made his debut for Ajax in 1997. His first couple of matches weren’t a success. Van der Meyde was too lightweight and lacked confidence. He was sent away on loan to FC Twente. After a year, he came back, now much stronger. He impressed Ajax manager Ronald Koeman, who made him a part of the Ajax team that reached the quarter final of the Champions League in the 2002-2003 season.

This team was Ajax’s best since the mid-90s. Players like Maxwell, Rafael Van der Vaart, Cristian Chivu and Zlatan Ibrahimovic made up the backbone. They were beaten by AC Milan, who would later go on to win the tournament, but only after a dramatic added time goal from the Italians.

Van der Meyde was the right winger. Zlatan the striker. Together, they scored goal after goal, especially in the Dutch league. But Van der Meyde and Zlatan weren’t just friends on the football pitch. They were best mates in real life as well. In his book I Zlatan, the Swedish striker states he wasn’t particularly fond of the Dutch players at Ajax. They were too arrogant, Zlatan reckons. But there was one exception: Andy van der Meyde. They were from similar, working class backgrounds and Zlatan could relate to him.

Putting Zlatan’s book and Van der Meyde’s biography (Geen Genade, only published in Dutch) together would probably cause the world’s most ardent drug takers and sex addicts to blush. Cocaine, loose girls, street racing on the highways of Amsterdam, it’s all there. In some scenes, confirmed mad man Mido makes a guess appearance.



Later, Zlatan would go to Juventus, and Van der Meyde went to Inter. But while Zlatan flourished, Van der Meyde lost his swagger in Italy. It’s as if he reverted back to being the shy, young man he was before Ajax sent him to FC Twente on loan. He wasn’t able to fit in with the gentlemen and the half-gods.

Van der Meyde did even worse at Everton. When PSV signed him on a free transfer in 2010, he was obviously overweight. He didn’t make a single official appearance for the Eindhoven based side. When Van der Meyde released his biography Geen Genade in 2012, Dutch TV-program Voetbal International aired a genuinely touching promotional clip featuring Van der Meyde visiting his old friend Zlatan in Paris.

There they were, the Swedish god in Paris, and the bald, overweight winger from Arnhem. The two were very happy to see each other. You could tell the friendship was still there. But their lives had gone in such different directions.

“What happened?”, Zlatan taunted Van der Meyde, pointing towards the Dutchman’s stomach. It’s a good question. While both from a disadvantaged background, Zlatan was able to reach super stardom, while Andy van der Meyde nowadays features in a slightly vulgar Dutch reality TV-program that nobody seems to watch. The program shows Van der Meyde serving coffee in his wife’s hair salon in Arnhem.

In late February 2011 Van der Meyde retired from professional football, at the age of 31.However, in December, he returned to action and joined Topklasse amateurs WKE based in Emmen, until the end of the season.


Van der Meyde was married, a relationship from which he has two daughters.

In November 2012, following the publication of his biography Geen genade (English: No Mercy), Van der Meyde gave a series of media interviews, including with The Times in England, in which he admitted to a long term series of personal problems: after a difficult first year in Milan he spent a long time on the bench in his second year, and began drinking. Offered the chance to join AS Monaco FC at the end of the season his wife, who liked to keep animals, rejected the prospect of living in an apartment, so he joined Everton. When he joined the club he was injured, but after regaining fitness he played regularly for a period, before getting injured against Manchester United; in rehabilitation for six months, after his newly born daughter was hospitalised for six months, he again turned to alcohol.

In his second year at Everton, Van der Meyde's wife and daughters returned to the Netherlands to enable his youngest child to gain more hospital treatment with family support. He then began an affair, which after denying this for a period to his wife, was discovered after she paid a private detective to follow him; this resultantly lead to his divorce, and also a break-up with his girlfriend.

After having his contract terminated with Everton at the end of the fourth season due to recurring injury, personal problems, and falling out with manager David Moyes, Van der Meyde stayed resident in Liverpool for a year. Moving in with a friend he began a downward spiral of drink, excessive gambling and drug taking, including cocaine.

Realising his now depressive state, Van der Meyde agreed with his agent to return to Amsterdam, who negotiated a training agreement with former club Ajax. This allowed him to turn around his life, and regain contact with his ex-wife and daughters.

 

[phil j]

Now playing for Emelec in the Ecuadorian Serie A

Ah Dennis... If every one of our players had half your heart ... God bless you mate

 

[maverick94]

Can't wait to see this man at Brazil this summer!

Hope he invests in some decent shinnies sometime soon though

 

[Neiler]

Matteo Ferrari

Everton (loan)
Despite facing a transfer ban blocking Roma from signing players, on 24 August 2004, the Giallorossi loaned him to UEFA Champions League competitor Everton for €200,000, with an option to purchase for €5.5 million.

It took a few games for him to get accustomed to the Premiership, but Ferrari showed plenty of quality when he finally got going for Everton. Unfortunately that was brought to an end in the 1–0 win over Arsenal, when he sustained nerve damage to his hamstring which kept him out of action. He returned to the Everton side for the FA Cup 4th round replay defeat against Chelsea. In April 2006 Everton FC manager David Moyes was talking about the summer transfer campaign on evertonfc.com and said that based on player performance he had already decided which players he wanted to keep.[14]

"Players are always playing for their future in some way, but we know exactly what they can do and I don't think what happens in the last month of the season will make a big difference to what I have decided."

–David Moyes

In May 2006, Moyes told evertonfc.com, the official site of Everton FC, that Ferrari loan would not be extended.

Genoa
As his contract with Roma expired at the end of 2007–08 Serie A season, Clubs like AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus,Fiorentina, Genoa and Manchester City were linked to Ferrari.m Eventually, Ferrari decided to sign with Genoa for the 2008–09 Serie A season on a free transfer. Following his move to Genoa, Ferrari made his debut on the opening game of the Serie A 2008/09 season on 31 August 2008 in a 1–0 loss against Catania. During his time at Genoa, Ferrari had disciplinary issues with 6 yellow card and 2 red card. Ferrari received a red card in a 1–1 draw against Catania (the club he played against on his debut on a Genoa shirt) on 25 January 2009 after a second bookable offence. He received a one match ban and made his return against Palermo in a 1–0 win on 1 February 2009. Ferrari received another after another second bookable offence in a 3–1 win over Sampdoria on 3 May 2009. He also received a one ban match and made his return against Chievo in a 2–2 draw on 17 May 2009. At Genoa, Ferrari played under coach Gian Piero Gasperini was a regular player in defense.

Beşiktaş


Ferrari training before the match preparation at Beşiktaş.
After one season at Genoa, Turkish side Beşiktaş J.K. were interested in signing him. Eventually on 7 July 2009, Genoa confirmed on its official website that Ferrari transferred to Turkish club Beşiktaş for €4.5 million. He signed a 4-year contract. His salary rises to € 2.5 million per season. On the opening day of the Turkish League, Ferrari made his debut for Beşiktas in a 1–1 draw against İstanbul B.B. on 7 August 2009. On 27 October 2009, Ferrari received a straight red card in a 2–1 win over Kasımpaşa SK. In September 2009, Ferrari had been one of the under-performing players for Besiktas and was expected to leave in the January transfer window. However, Ferrari didn't leave and remained at the club. In the 2010/11 season, Ferrari's play with the first team squad was limited under managerBernd Schuster and also Ferrari suffered a serious injury in the match against Bursaspor and was absent for two months. He was then released on 21 August 2011.[23] Following his release, Besiktas said the club filed a lawsuit against Ferrari at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, saying the defender left in violation of his contract and the club was seeking €7.7 million ($10.5 million) from Ferrari in damages. Ferrari said he had filed a case against Besiktas with CAS, saying he was owed several months' salary.[24]

Montreal Impact
Following time away from Beşiktaş, Ferrari began training with Monza in Lega Pro Prima Divisione from 12 November 2011, until the end of December. Ferrari then proceeded to train with Inter Milan, the club where he began his football career.

While training with Inter Milan, the Montreal Impact organization invited Ferrari to the team's preseason training camp in Los Angeles, on 14 February 2012. During his tryout, Ferrari and the Impact organization began negotiating contractual terms, so that Ferrari can join the club for its inaugural 2012 MLS season. On 1 March 2012, the Impact formally announced that he had signed with the club for the 2012 season. Ferrari scored his first goal for the club in a 3–2 league win against Real Salt Lake on May 11, 2013.

 

[toffeepie1878]

van der meyde, christ on a bike.

have some sympathy for him he had undoubted talent but all manner of things contrived to go against him.

he did set up a danny gosling goal in the cup against the rs, so all is not too bad. !

 

[Duncans Pigeons]

Ray atteveld (deceased)

 

[SingBlue]

Ray atteveld (deceased)

I remember when we signed him thinking he must be boss cos he's foreign. The folly of youth. I was also excited when we signed Stefan Rehn, who turned out to be little more than a continental Mike Milligan. An incontinent Spike Milligan would've provided more entertainment.

 

[Dubai Blue]

I swear I read "Evanton"