Emmanuel Olisadebe (Polish pronunciation: [ɛmaˈnuɛl olisaˈdɛbɛ]; born 22 December 1978) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Born in Nigeria, he played for the Poland national team. He scored 11 international goals in 25 caps between 2000 and 2004, and participated in the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

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Emmanuel Olisadebe

Olisadebe with Henan Construction in 2009
Personal information
Date of birth	(1978-12-22) 22 December 1978 (age 45)
Place of birth	Warri, Nigeria
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1995–1997	Jasper United	40	(20)
1997–2001	Polonia Warsaw	66	(20)
2001–2005	Panathinaikos	74	(24)
2005–2006	Portsmouth	2	(0)
2006–2007	Skoda Xanthi	9	(0)
2007–2008	APOP Kinyras Peyias	17	(6)
2008–2010	Henan Construction	63	(24)
2011–2012	Veria	9	(1)
Total		276	(95)
International career
2000–2004	Poland	25	(11)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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Olisadebe began his career with Jasper United in his native Nigeria, before signing with Polish top flight club Polonia Warsaw in 1997. At Polonia he became a first team regular, and helped the club to the Ekstraklasa title, and Ekstraklasa Cup and Polish SuperCup. After meeting the residency requirements, Olisadebe became a Polish national in 2000 making him available for selection for the Poland national football team. He was subsequently called up to the national team and in the process become the first black player to represent Poland.^[1]

After leaving Polonia he went on to play in Greece, Cyprus, England and China before retiring.

Though Nigerian by birth, Olisadebe became a Polish citizen in 2000 and was selected by the Poland national team. He scored eight goals in ten qualification matches as coach Jerzy Engel's team reached the 2002 FIFA World Cup, their first since 1986, gaining one vote for 2001 FIFA World Player of the Year. He netted their second of three goals in a victory over Norway on 1 September which confirmed qualification.^[9]

Olisadebe scored Poland's first goal of their 2002 FIFA World Cup campaign in a 3–1 victory against the United States in Daejeon in the last group match.^[10] However, Poland did not progress to the second round and Olisadebe would not score again for Poland. Jerzy Engel, the national coach who brought Olisadebe into the fold, resigned following Poland’s exit from the World Cup, and barring a handful of sporadic appearances that resignation ended Olisadebe’s association with the national team as well.

Olisadebe supported the "Let’s Kick Racism out of the Stadiums" campaign, organised by the Polish Never Again Association.^[11][12] He married a Polish woman, Beata Smolińska, in 2001 and they remained married until 2017; they parted on friendly terms.^[13] Olisadebe retired from football in 2012 and eventually moved back to Nigeria. Although he admits to sometimes missing Poland, he prefers life in his original homeland of Nigeria, where he now profits from housing construction.^[14]

Polonia Warsaw

• Ekstraklasa: 1999–2000
• Polish SuperCup: 2000
• Polish League Cup: 2000

Panathinaikos

• Superleague Greece: 2003–04
• Greek Cup: 2003–04

Individual

• Polish footballer of the Year: 2001
• Fourth-best Polish sportsman of the Year: 2002
• Nominated for the FIFA World Player of the Year: 2002