Anthony Nwakaeme

Anthony Nnaduzor "Tony" Nwakaeme (born 21 March 1989) is a Nigerian professional footballer who currently plays as a left winger for Turkish club Trabzonspor.^[2]

Anthony Nwakaeme

Personal information
Full name	Anthony Nnaduzor Nwakaeme[1]
Date of birth	(1989-03-21) 21 March 1989 (age 36)
Place of birth	Lagos, Nigeria
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Left winger
Team information
Current team	Trabzonspor
Number	9
Youth career
2006–2009	Vejle Football Academy
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2010–2012	Universitatea Cluj	37	(8)
2010–2011	→ Arieșul Turda	8	(5)
2012–2013	Petrolul Ploiești	3	(0)
2013	Universitatea Cluj	10	(2)
2013–2015	Hapoel Ra'anana	55	(13)
2015–2018	Hapoel Be'er Sheva	95	(35)
2018–2022	Trabzonspor	120	(41)
2022–2024	Al-Fayha	45	(13)
2024–	Trabzonspor	20	(1)
International career
2017	Nigeria	1	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 16 June 2025

Club career

In 2008 Tony played for Kristianstad BoIS, a lower division team. He was already then a very solid player with outstanding skills. He didn’t get signed by Kristianstad. He also stayed with his trainer at his home, who helped him when he got sick.

Arieșul Turda

Anthony Nwakaeme began his career in 2010 at Romanian club Arieșul Turda of the Second Division, on loan from Universitatea Cluj. He played eight games and scored five goals.

Universitatea Cluj

In January 2011, he returned to Universitatea Cluj and his most productive season came in 2011–12, when he appeared in 28 matches and scored seven goals.

Petrolul Ploiești

In the 2012–13 season, he spent the first half at Petrolul Ploiești, playing just three matches.

Return to Universitatea Cluj

In February 2013, he returned to Universitatea Cluj and appeared in ten matches and scored two goals.

Hapoel Ra'anana

On 13 August 2013, Nwakaeme signed for Hapoel Ra'anana. On 31 August, he scored a goal on his Israeli Premier League debut, a 1–1 draw against Hapoel Haifa.^[3]

Hapoel Be'er Sheva

On 24 June 2015, Nwakaeme signed to Hapoel Be'er Sheva. On 3 October 2015, he scored his debut goal for Be'er Sheva. This goal was also the debut goal in Turner Stadium.^[4]

Nwakaeme won the Israeli Premier League best player trophy in 2017.

Along with Nigerian midfielder John Ogu and Israeli strikers Ben Sahar and Elyaniv Barda, he led Hapoel Be'er Sheva to a historical series of three Israeli championship titles in a row in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

Trabzonspor

In August 2018, Nwakaeme joined Turkish Süper Lig side Trabzonspor.^[5]

International career

On 10 November 2017, he made his debut for Nigeria national team against Algeria in 1–1 draw counting for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.^[6][7]

In April 2019, he said he deserved to make a further appearance for Nigeria.^[8]

Personal life

Anthony Nwakaeme is the younger brother of professional footballer Dickson Nwakaeme.^[9][10]

Career statistics

As of 17 January 2025^[6][11][12]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup[a]		League cup[b]		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Arieșul Turda	2010–11	Liga II	8	5	0	0	–		–		–		8	5
Universitatea Cluj	2010–11	Liga I	9	1	0	0	–		–		–		9	1
	2011–12		28	7	1	0	–		–		–		29	7
	2012–13		10	2	0	0	–		–		–		11	2
	Total		47	10	1	0	–		–		–		48	10
Petrolul Ploiești	2012–13	Liga I	3	0	1	0	–		–		–		4	0
Hapoel Ra'anana	2013–14	IPL	30	6	2	0	–		–		–		32	6
	2014–15		25	7	2	0	3	0	–		–		30	7
	Total		55	13	4	0	3	0	–		–		62	13
Hapoel Be'er Sheva	2015–16	IPL	34	11	4	2	6	0	2[c]	0	–		46	13
	2016–17		33	14	1	0	1	2	13[d]	2	1[e]	1	49	19
	2017–18		28	10	3	1	2	0	11[f]	5	1[e]	1	45	17
	2018–19		0	0	0	0	0	0	4[g]	1	1[e]	0	5	1
	Total		95	35	8	3	9	2	30	8	3	2	145	50
Trabzonspor	2018–19	Süper Lig	27	10	4	1	–		–		–		31	11
	2019–20		29	11	6	2	–		8[c]	1	–		43	14
	2020–21		34	7	1	0	–		–		1[h]	0	36	7
	2021–22		30	13	2	1	–		4[i]	1	–		36	15
	2024–25		11	1	1	1	–		0	0	–		12	2
	Total		131	42	14	5	–		12	2	1	0	158	49
Al-Fayha	2022–23	SPL	25	9	2	0	–		–		1[j]	0	28	9
	2023–24		20	4	2	0	–		3[k]	2	–		25	6
	Total		45	13	4	0	–		3	2	1	0	53	15
Career total			377	117	31	7	12	2	45	12	5	2	470	140

1. Includes Romanian Cup, Israel State Cup, Turkish Cup, King Cup
2. Includes Toto Cup
3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
4. Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, seven appearances and two goals in UEFA Europa League
5. Appearance in Israel Super Cup
6. Six appearances and four goals in UEFA Champions League, five appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
7. Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League
8. Appearance in Turkish Super Cup
9. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
10. Appearance in Saudi Super Cup
11. Appearances in AFC Champions League

Honours

Hapoel Be'er Sheva

• Israeli Premier League: 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18^[6]
• Toto Cup: 2016–17^[6]
• Israel Super Cup: 2016, 2017^[6]

Trabzonspor

• Süper Lig: 2021–22
• Turkish Cup: 2019–20^[6]
• Turkish Super Cup: 2020^[6][13]