Nigeria national football team
Vincent Enyeama played for which team from 2002 to 2005?
Vincent Enyeama Vincent Enyeama ( born 29 August 1982 ) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper . During his senior career , which spanned nearly 20 years , Enyeama played for Ibom Stars , Enyimba , Iwuanyanwu Nationale , Bnei Yehuda , Hapoel Tel Aviv , Lille and Maccabi Tel Aviv . He was also a member of the Nigeria national team from 2002 until October 2015 , serving as its captain from 2013 until his retirement from international football in 2015 . With 101 caps , he is Nigerias most capped player of all time . Club career . Enyimba International . During his spell with Enyimba International F.C. , he won the CAF Champions League twice , with one noteworthy distinction : He was always substituted before penalty shootouts . I dont know why I was substituted before penalties , but it worked , he said in an interview in 2006 . In Israel I stopped many penalties and now everyone knows that I can handle penalties . Bnei Yehuda . After three seasons with Enyimba International F.C . and one with Iwuanyanwu Nationale ( now known as Heartland F.C. ) , Enyeama moved to small Israeli club Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv . In his first season , the team qualified for the final of the Israel State Cup and , having finished fourth in the Israeli Premier League , for the 2006 UEFA Cup competition as well . Hapoel Tel Aviv . Enyeama signed for Hapoel Tel Aviv in 2007 . Hapoel endured a poor season in 2007/2008 , but Enyeama helped the team avoid relegation and reach the state cup final . During the 2008–09 season , Enyeama became Hapoels penalty kicker , won the Player of The Year award , and just missed leading Hapoel to the league title . In the 2009–10 season , Hapoel won the league and cup double , with Enyeama featuring prominently . He scored a goal in the Cup Final , but missed a penalty in the last fixture of the year , which Hapoel eventually won by scoring in the 92nd minute , thereby capturing the league title . On 18 August 2010 , he scored his first goal of the 2010–11 season with a penalty against Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League qualifiers . Enyeama played well on the Champions League Group Stage , especially against Lyon and Schalke 04 . Hapoel also won the Israeli cup again . Lille . In June 2011 Enyeama moved to French side Lille for an undisclosed fee on a three-year contract . He made his debut on 18 October 2011 against Inter Milan in the 2012 UEFA Champions League group stage , where Inter managed a 1–0 victory . In August 2012 Enyeama agreed a one-year loan deal with Maccabi Tel Aviv and was presented to the media by Maccabis Sports Director Jordi Cruyff on 8 August 2012 . He appeared in 27 Israeli Premier League fixtures and Maccabi went on to win the championship title . During the 2013–14 Ligue 1 season , club manager René Girard picked Enyeama as his first-choice goalkeeper ahead of Steeve Elana , who had previously been the first-choice goalkeeper under Rudi Garcia . With the help of his two centre-backs , Marko Baša and Simon Kjær , Enyeama kept 11 consecutive clean sheets in Ligue 1 matches during the first half of the season . On 8 December 2013 , Enyeama finally conceded a goal after playing 1,062 minutes of Ligue 1 football in an away match against Bordeaux , during which he was beaten by Landry NGuémos deflected strike in the 27th minute . He thus came within 114 minutes of equalling Gaëtan Huards Ligue 1 goalkeeping record , set in 1993 , of playing 1,176 minutes without conceding a goal . In the 2017–18 season Enyeama did not make a league appearance having been left out of the first team due to a disagreement between the player and the clubs management . He joined the first teams pre-season training in July 2018 . He was released by mutual consent on 31 August 2018 . In January 2019 he said he was keen to play again , and in July 2019 he went on trial with French club Dijon . Despite not being offered a contract by Dijon he expressed gratitude to the club . While at the start of the 2019–20 season Enyeama stated that he hoped to find a new club and continue playing , he finally retired after the end of the campaign . International career . After making his debut for the Nigeria national football team against Kenya in May 2002 , Enyeama was selected for the 2002 FIFA World Cup as a cover for Ike Shorunmu . He made his competitive debut in that tournament , keeping a clean sheet against England in the third group match . Since the retirement of Shorunmu , he has been the first-choice goalkeeper for the national team , helping the Super Eagles to third-place finishes in the 2004 , 2006 , 2010 Africa Cup of Nations tournaments , and captaining the team to victory of in the 2013 edition . He has also participated in the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups , and the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup . In the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations , Enyeama stopped three kicks in the quarter-final penalty shootout against Tunisia , but could not prevent a loss to Ivory Coast in the semi-final . In the 2010 tournament , he was again Nigerias shootout hero at the quarter-final stage , saving from Zambias Thomas Nyrienda and scoring the winning kick himself . Enyeama made his second FIFA World Cup appearance in the 2010 tournament in South Africa . He was named man of the match in Nigerias first game of the tournament , a defiant display that restricted Argentina to a 1–0 win . Enyeama , who was playing his 56th international for the Super Eagles , made six fine saves against the two-time world champions , four of them from Lionel Messi . Argentine coach Diego Maradona praised him as the reason Messi was not able to score a goal . Enyeama was also awarded man of the match in the teams next fixture , a 2–1 loss to Greece , but was at fault for Vasilis Torosidis winning goal . At the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations , Enyeama deputised for regular captain Joseph Yobo , who stayed on the bench for most of the competition . On 10 February , Enyeama led Nigeria to its third continental victory , keeping a clean sheet in a 1–0 defeat of Burkina Faso in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations Final . He was named to the team of the tournament as first choice goalkeeper , conceding only four goals in six matches . In June 2014 , Enyeama was named in Nigerias squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup . In the Super Eagles first fixture , he kept the second FIFA World Cup clean sheet of his career as Nigeria drew 0–0 with Iran . He subsequently recorded a second consecutive shutout in the fixture against Bosnia and Herzegovina , a 1–0 win which gave Nigeria its first win at the tournament since the 1998 edition . He conceded three goals in the last match of the first round against Argentina , a game which ended in a 3–2 defeat for Nigeria , placing them second in the group and thus qualifying them for the second round for the first time in 16 years . On 26 March 2015 , Enyeama won his 100th cap for Nigeria in a 1–0 loss to Uganda . He retired from international football on 8 October 2015 . Personal life . A Christian from Ika Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State , Enyeama is married and a father of three . In 2004 , he was involved in a car accident in Uyo , Akwa Ibom State southern Nigeria , in which two motorcycle passengers were killed . The driver of the car in which Enyeama was travelling was left in critical condition . Despite the severity of the accident , Enyeama suffered only bruises after the car somersaulted twice as it swerved to avoid the motorbike . Honours . Club . Enyimba International - Nigerian Premier League : 2001 , 2002 , 2003 - CAF Champions League : 2003 , 2004 Hapoel Tel-Aviv - Israeli Premier League : 2009–10 - Israel State Cup : 2009–10 , 2010–11 Maccabi Tel-Aviv - Israeli Premier League : 2012–13 International . Nigeria - Africa Cup of Nations : 2013 Individual . - CAF Champions League Player of the Year : 2003 , 2004 - Footballer of the Year in Israel : 2009 - UNFP Player of the Month : October 2013 , November 2013 - Prix Marc-Vivien Foé : 2014 - Goalkeeper of the year Nigeria Pitch Awards : 2013 , 2014 - King of the pitch Nigeria Pitch Awards : 2014 - Goal Nigeria Player of the Year : 2014 - IFFHS CAF Mens Team of the Decade 2011–2020