Daniel Chima Chukwu

Daniel Chima Chukwu (born 4 April 1991) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Indian Super League club Chennaiyin.

Daniel Chima Chukwu

Chukwu in training with Legia Warsaw in 2017
Personal information
Full name	Daniel Chima Chuwku
Date of birth	(1991-04-04) 4 April 1991 (age 33)
Place of birth	Kano, Nigeria
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	Chennaiyin
Number	27
Youth career
	Festac Sport
	Bussdor United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010	Lyn	11	(4)
2010–2015	Molde	107	(31)
2015–2017	Shanghai Shenxin	49	(21)
2017–2018	Legia Warsaw	4	(1)
2017	Legia Warsaw II	3	(3)
2018–2020	Molde	11	(3)
2019	→ Heilongjiang Lava Spring (loan)	23	(15)
2020–2021	Taizhou Yuanda	13	(3)
2021–2022	East Bengal	10	(2)
2022–2024	Jamshedpur	49	(18)
2024–	Chennaiyin	1	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 06:47, 14 September 2024 (UTC)

Career

Early career

Chima started playing football for Festac Sport, before going on loan to Bussdor United.

He joined the Norwegian First Division side Lyn at the beginning of the 2010-season, and scored his first goal in his debut against Bodø/Glimt on 5 April 2010.^[1]

Molde

Following the bankruptcy of Lyn, Chima joined Tippeligaen side Molde on 28 July 2010.^[2]

2011 season

On 25 April 2011, he secured a 3–1 win against Brann with a stoppage-time goal, which was also his first goal for Molde.^[3] He played 24 games and scored five goals in the 2011 Tippeligaen and contributed to Molde's first ever league championship.

2012 season

On 4 August 2012, Chukwu scored the winning goal which gave champions Molde FK victory over Sogndal in the Tippeligaen.^[4] On 30 September 2012, he fired a treble against Stabaek in a 4–3 victory to shoot Norwegian champions Molde back to the top of the table.^[5] Chima was the hero of his club as he sealed victory in a 2–0 win over Stuttgart in the Europa League on 4 October 2012.^[6] On 8 November 2012, he got on the score sheet, but ended up on the losing side as Steaua București completed a two way win in a Europa League group clash.^[7] Chima scored the only goal in Molde's 1–0 home victory against Hønefoss on 11 November 2012, which, coupled with their title challengers Strømsgodset's 2–1 defeat away to Sandnes Ulf, secured Molde's second Tippeligaen title.^[8] In December 2012, reports surfaced that Chima was wanted by Romanian club Steaua București, who were weighing a bid.^[9][10] His agent Atta Aneke confirmed to Aftenposten that Steaua had shown interest in signing him in the winter of 2012.^[11]

Shanghai Shenxin

On 29 January 2015, Molde agreed to sell Chima to Shanghai Shenxin.^[12]

Legia Warsaw

On 5 January 2017, he signed a contract with Polish side Legia Warsaw.^[13] He played a total of nine games for the club before returning to Molde.

Return to Molde

On 14 February 2018, he once again signed a contract with Molde FK for an undisclosed fee. He scored six goals in 17 games in the 2018 season. On 18 February 2019, Chima Chukwu joined Chinese club Heilongjiang Lava Spring on loan until the end of the 2019 season.^[14]

Taizhou Yuanda

In February 2020, Chima Chukwu moved to Chinese club Taizhou Yuanda where he signed a two-year contract.^[15]

East Bengal

On 16 September 2021, Chukwu signed with Indian Super League side SC East Bengal on a one-year deal.^[16][17] He scored a brace on 30 November against Odisha FC, but lost the match by 6–4.^[18]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 14 September 2024^[19]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup[lower-alpha 1]		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Lyn	2010	1. divisjon	11	4	3	2	—		—		14	6
Molde	2010	Tippeligaen	4	0	0	0	—		—		4	0
	2011	Tippeligaen	24	5	5	7	—		—		29	12
	2012	Tippeligaen	24	7	4	1	11[lower-alpha 2]	3	—		39	11
	2013	Tippeligaen	28	9	5	2	6[lower-alpha 3]	2	—		39	13
	2014	Tippeligaen	27	10	6	4	3[lower-alpha 4]	0	—		36	14
	Total		107	31	20	14	20	5	—		147	50
Shanghai Shenxin	2015	Chinese Super League	27	10	0	0	—		—		27	10
	2016	China League One	22	11	1	0	—		—		23	11
	Total		49	21	1	0	0	0	—		50	21
Legia Warsaw	2016–17	Ekstraklasa	2	0	0	0	1[lower-alpha 4]	0	—		3	0
	2017–18	Ekstraklasa	2	0	4	0	—		—		6	0
	Total		4	0	4	0	1	0	—		9	0
Legia Warsaw II[20]	2016–17	III liga	3	3	—		—		—		3	3
Molde	2018	Eliteserien	11	3	2	3	4[lower-alpha 4]	0	—		17	6
Heilongjiang Lava Spring (loan)	2019	China League One	23	15	0	0	—		—		23	15
Taizhou Yuanda	2020	China League One	13	3	1	0	—		—		14	3
East Bengal	2021–22	Indian Super League	10	2	0	0	—		—		10	2
Jamshedpur	2021–22	Indian Super League	11	7	0	0	—		—		11	7
	2022–23	Indian Super League	19	5	3[lower-alpha 5]	0	—		1[lower-alpha 6]	0	23	5
	2023–24	Indian Super League	20	6	2[lower-alpha 5]	3	—		—		22	9
	Total		50	18	5	3	0	0	1	0	56	21
Chennaiyin	2024–25	Indian Super League	1	1	0	0	—		—		1	1
Career total			282	101	36	22	25	5	1	0	344	128

1. Norwegian Football Cup, Chinese FA Cup, Polish Cup, Super Cup
2. Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, seven appearances and three goals in UEFA Europa League
3. Four appearances and two goals in UEFA Champions League, two appearances UEFA Europa League
4. Appearances UEFA Europa League
5. Appearance(s) in Super Cup
6. Appearance in play-offs for AFC Champions League

Honours

Molde

• Tippeligaen: 2011, 2012, 2014
• Norwegian Cup: 2013, 2014

Legia Warsaw

• Ekstraklasa: 2016–17^[21]

Jamshedpur

• Indian Super League League Winners' Shield: 2021–22^[22]

Individual

• Molde top scorer: 2013

References

1. "Daniel Chima". lynfotball.net. FK Lyn. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
2. "Molde signerte angriper". rbnett.no. Romsdals Budstikke. 28 July 2010. Archived from the original on 1 August 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
3. "Diouf senket Brann". bt.no. Bergens Tidende. 25 April 2011. Archived from the original on 30 April 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
4. "Osaze, Daniel Chima to the rescue". mtnfootball.com. 5 August 2012. Archived from the original on 7 August 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
5. "Hat-trick spurs Chima for Europa League tie". mtnfootball.com. 1 October 2012. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
6. "Daniel Chima nails Stuttgart". mtnfootball.com. 4 October 2012. Archived from the original on 22 November 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
7. "Europa Lge: Chima scores, but Molde lose". futaa.com. 9 November 2012. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
8. "MOLDE ER SERIEMESTER: – STØRRE PRESTASJON I ÅR" [Molds are champions: – GREATER PERFORMANCE THIS YEAR]. football.no. Norges Fotballforbund. 11 November 2012. Archived from the original on 12 January 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
9. "VIDEO Steaua va transfera un atacant care i-a dat gol în Europa League!" (in Romanian). Gazeta Sporturilor. 10 December 2012.
10. "Steaua a trimis oferta pentru Chima, atacantul lui Molde. Norvegienii au răspuns imediat şi şi-au exprimat pretenţiile. Iată situaţia negocierilor!" (in Romanian). Prosport. 12 December 2012.
11. "Steaua-interesse for Chima" (in Norwegian). Aftenposten. 12 December 2012. Archived from the original on 18 December 2012.
12. "Hardtarbeidende spiss klar for Kina" [Hard working forward goes to China]. moldefk.no/ (in Norwegian). Molde FK. 29 January 2015. Archived from the original on 3 February 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
13. "Daniel Chima Chukwu piłkarzem Legii" (in Polish). 90minut. 5 January 2017. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
14. "CHIMA LÅNES UT TIL KINESISK KLUBB". moldefk.no (in Norwegian). Molde FK. 18 February 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
15. "Daniel Chima Chukwu". eurosport.no (in Norwegian). Eurosport. 15 February 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
16. ISL 2021–22: SC East Bengal Sign Daniel Chima Chukwu Khel Now. Retrieved 16 September 2021
17. "ISL – SC East Bengal Secures The Signature of Nigerian Striker Daniel Chima | IFTWC – Indian Football Team For World Cup". Retrieved 16 September 2021.
18. "ISL: Odisha FC come from behind to beat SC East Bengal in 10-goal thriller". Hindustan Times. 1 December 2021. Archived from the original on 1 December 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
19. Daniel Chima Chukwu at Soccerway
20. "Sezon 2016/17". 90minut.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 4 April 2024.
21. "Legia Warszawa mistrzem Polski w sezonie 2016/17". polskieradio24.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 4 April 2024.
22. "Jamshedpur FC clinch League Winners' Shield after beating ATK Mohun Bagan". Indian Super League. Archived from the original on 7 March 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022.

External links

• Daniel Chima Chukwu at Soccerway
• Daniel Chima Chukwu at 90minut.pl (in Polish)