# Ibezito Ogbonna

Ibe Zito Ogbonna // (born on 27 March 1983, in Sokoto, Nigeria) is a former Nigerian football player who lives in Ashdod, Israel.

## Club career

Ibe Zito Ogbonna was born on 27 March 1983, in Sokoto, Nigeria, starting to play football in 1998 at Enugu Rangers, afterwards playing for Nigerdock and Sharks.
In 2003 he went to play for Hapoel Tel Aviv in the Israeli Premier League, scoring 11 league goals in his first season, also making his debut in European competitions as he played in both legs of the 1–0 aggregate loss in front of Gaziantepspor from the first round of the 2003–04 UEFA Cup. In the 2005–06 season, Ogbonna scored nine goals which helped Hapoel finish runner-up in the league, also in the same season he won the first trophy of his career, the Israel State Cup. In the following season he won another State Cup with the club and made eight appearances in the 2006–07 UEFA Cup campaign, helping Hapoel get past Domžale and Glasgow Rangers, netting a goal against the first, reaching the group stage of the competition where he netted once in a 2–2 with Rapid București.
In June 2007, Ogbonna was transferred to CFR Cluj in Romania, coach Ioan Andone describing him:"Special force. He has to work on his physical training. He hits equally well with the left and the right". Because of his physique he was compared to the boxer Mike Tyson. He made his Liga I debut on 1 August when coach Andone sent him on the field in the 86th minute in order to replace Eugen Trică in a 1–0 away win over Oțelul Galați. His following appearance was when he replaced Emmanuel Culio in the 84th minute of a 2–2 with Politehnica Timișoara. Afterwards he got injured and did not make any further appearances until the end of the season as CFR won The Double which were the first trophies in the club's history.
In the following years he played at clubs from various countries, firstly at South African Premiership side, Kaizer Chiefs, then going at Albanian club, Apolonia Fier, Tunisia's EGS Gafsa from which he went to Atyrau in the Kazakhstan Premier League, then in the 2011–12 Macedonian First Football League season he won the title with Vardar Skopje, contributing with two goals scored in 12 matches.
He relocated to Israel in 2017, ending his career at Agudat Sport Ashdod in the fourth league.

## International career

Ibe Zito Ogbonna played for Nigeria under-23 at the 2008 Summer Olympics qualifiers but was not part of the squad that went at the final tournament.

## Personal life

Ibe Zito Ogbonna was a fan of hip-hop music, appreciating artists like 50 Cent, Tupac Shakur and Jay-Z. One of his brothers was a footballer in Nigeria. His favorite footballer was Zinedine Zidane, also he was a fan of AC Milan and Real Madrid.
In May 2021, Ogbonna's apartment from Ashdod where he was living with his wife and two daughters was hit by a missile fired from Gaza. He was hospitalized following minor injuries, saying:"I am extremely lucky to be alive after this rocket was fired and it's third time lucky for me after being involved in a car crash and a horrible robbery incident in Nigeria".

## Honours

Hapoel Tel Aviv
* Israeli Premier League runner-up: 2005–06
* Israel State Cup: 2005–06, 2006–07
CFR Cluj
* Liga I: 2007–08
* Cupa României: 2007–08
Vardar Skopje
* First Macedonian Football League: 2011–12