Benedict Iroha

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Benedict Iroha
Personal information
Date of birth (1969-11-29) 29 November 1969
Place of birth Aba, Nigeria
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Positions
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1989 Bendel Insurance Falcons FC, Aba
1985 Iwuanyanwu Nationale
1991–1992 ASEC Mimosas ? (?)
1992–1996 Vitesse Arnhem 21 (1)
1996–1997 San Jose Clash 33 (2)
1997 D.C. United 17 (4)
1997–1998 Elche 1 (0)
1998–2000 Watford 10 (0)
Total 82 (7)
International career
1990–1998 Nigeria 50 (1)
Managerial career
2000–2006 FC Dallas (Youth Coach)
2007 Nigeria U-17 (assistant coach)
2007–2008 Dolphins FC
2009–2010 Heartland F.C. (Chief Trainer)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Benedict "Ben" Iroha (born 29 November 1969) is a Nigerian former professional association football player who played as a left-back or left midfielder.

Career

Iroha started his career in Nigeria, scoring the first ever goal in the newly professional Nigerian league in 1990 for Iwuanyanwu Nationale, who went on to win the league that year.[1]

Iroha was originally a midfielder before national coach Clemens Westerhof converted him to play left back. His club career in Europe was largely unsuccessful, and Iroha was allocated to San Jose Clash in 1996. Iroha ended up playing in the inaugural MLS match against D.C. United, and is credited with the league's first-ever assist.[2][3] The next season, he was traded to D.C. United, where he won the league title but was dropped to comply with salary restrictions. He entered negotiations with the team to re-sign his contract, but they were halted after Iroha was called up to the World Cup squad for Nigeria.[4] After a move to Spanish side Elche CF in 1997, he moved to Watford in December 1998, playing ten games for the Hertfordshire side. A problem with bunions forced him to the sidelines, and he retired in March 2000.

International career

Playing for the Nigerian national team, he featured in the 1994 FIFA World Cup and the 1998 FIFA World Cup as well as when they won the 1994 African Nations Cup. At the Nations Cup, he scored his only goal for Nigeria in the semifinals against Côte d'Ivoire. At the 1994 World Cup, he played Nigeria's very first World Cup game against Bulgaria, which Nigeria won 3−0, but suffered an injury in that game and was subsequently replaced by Michael Emenalo for the remainder of Nigeria's tournament,[5] which ended in a 2−1 defeat to Italy in the round of 16.

Coaching career

After retiring, he returned to the US to coach in the youth department of FC Dallas. Most recently, he was an assistant with the Nigerian U-17 team that won the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup and head coach of Nigeria's Dolphins FC. Iroha is on the staff of Heartland of Owerri.

References

  1. Solaja, Kunle (12 May 2018). "NIGERIA PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE CLOCKS 28". Sports Village Square. Archived from the original on 7 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  2. "MLS celebrates 20th anniversary of DC United v San Jose". 1 April 2016.
  3. "Watch the first-ever MLS Match: San Jose Clash vs D.C. United". MLS. 6 April 2016. Archived from the original on 10 August 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  4. Goff, Steven (1 June 1998). "Iroha Called Up By Nigeria; United Was Seeking To Acquire Player". The Washington Post. p. D10.
  5. Tunde Liadi (21 June 2024). "Golden Super Eagles of 1994: Where Are They Now?". thenationonline.net. Retrieved 18 August 2026.