Top ten: Okocha, Osimhen, Awoniyi among the best Nigerian players that have graced the Bundesliga

The German Bundesliga is one of the top five leagues in the World, and many Nigerian stars- past and present have set the league alight.

The Bundesliga has released a list of the top Nigerian stars that have graced the league, and Okocha, Awoniyi, and Osimhen headline the list.

1. Jay-Jay Okocha 

The retired Super Eagles star is one of the best players that has come out of Africa. The Nigerian star had his first taste of European football in Germany when he joined Borussia Neunkirchen from Enugu Rangers in 1990.

He then moved to the German top-flight, joining Eintracht Frankfurt in 1992.

Okocha was known for his ability to leave defenders for dead with his fantastic dribbling skills. He was also deadly from free-kick situations.

Okocha spent four years at Eintracht Frankfurt, making 116 appearances, scoring 25 goals, and assisting 18.

He left Eintracht Frankfurt for Turkish giants Fenerbahce in the summer of 1996.

2. Jonathan Akpoborie

Akpoborie is also another Nigerian star that made his name in the Bundesliga. In fact, Akpoborie spent his entire European career in Europe.

The retired Super Eagles star played for Saarbrucken, Carl Zeiss Jena, Stuttgart kickers, Waldhof Mannheim, Hansa Rostock, VFB Stuttgart, and VFL Wolfsburg.

However, he made his name as a target man playing for Hansa Rostock, Wolfsburg, Stuttgart.

In his days, Akpoborie was a fox in the box. He was very deadly in front of goal. The Lagos-born star played in the Bundesliga for five years, scoring 60 goals and assisting 19 in 144 appearances.

The former Super Eagles star holds the record for the most Bundesliga appearances. He also has the most goals and assists.

3. Victor Agali

The retired Super Eagles star was a lethal point man for Hansa Rostock and Schalke. Agali had a massive figure at 6’4″. He was deadly with his feet and also in aerial situations.

Agali moved from SC Toulon to German side Hansa Rostock in the summer of 1998. He was a replacement for Akpoborie, who left the year before.

The big talisman scored six goals for Rostock in his first season in the Bundesliga. He followed up with the same numbers the following season before scoring five goals in his final year at the club.

Agali then moved to Schalke, where he posted decent performances, scoring 20 goals in 74 appearances.

In total, Agali scored 32 goals in 148 Bundesliga appearances. He also won the German Cup with Schalke.

4. Sunday Oliseh

Oliseh is arguably one of Nigeria’s biggest exports. He played for Borussia Dortmund, Cologne, and Bochum. The former Super Eagles midfielder first played in Cologne in the 95/96 season, helping them to a 12th place finish.

However, after his second season, where he scored four goals and assisted as many games in 30 appearances, was his last at Cologne, he moved to Ajax in 1997.

However, he returned to Germany in 2000, where he ended his German stint with Borussia Dortmund. He spent four years at the black and yellow before calling time on his career in the Bundesliga.

5. Obafemi Martins 

Oba-goal, as he was fondly nicknamed by Nigerian fans. Martins arrived as a deadly force to be reckoned with in the Bundesliga.

He arrived in Wolfsburg in 2009 for a massive 10.5 million euros after explosive performances at Newcastle and Inter Milan. Martins scored five goals in his nine appearances for Wolfsburg, but afterwards, he was plagued with injuries.

After an injury ridden season that saw him make only 25 appearances in all competitions, Martins departed for Rubin Kazan in 2010.

6. Anthony Ujah

Nigerian star Ujah made his mark in the Bundesliga in the early 2010s. He was massive for Cologne in the 2014/15 season, scoring ten goals in 32 appearances.

He was vital in helping Cologne gain promotion to the Bundesliga a year before, and he continued with his brilliance the following season.

Ujah then moved to Werder Bremen in 2015, where he scored 14 goals in 37 appearances.

7. Victor Osimhen

Osimhen joined Wolfsburg in 2017 after setting the 2015 World Cup alight. The Super Eagles star had to play for the youth teams after his arrival.

Osimhen struggled to get a place in the first team at Wolfsburg. In his two years at the club, he had 16 appearances, but he failed to hit the target.

However, he got his career on track in 2019 when he moved to Belgium side Charleroi.

8. Leon Balogun

The Super Eagles Vice-captain spent the early years of his career in the lower tiers of German football.

He made his first Bundesliga appearance in 2009 whilst playing for Hannover 96.

However, the Nigerian defender became a regular in the Bundesliga in the 2012/13 season for Mainz. He made 17 appearances that season. Balogun went down with Mainz in the 13/14 season, but he helped them return to the Bundesliga three years later.

Balogun made 75 Bundesliga appearances, scoring one goal and assisting two.

9. Pascal Ojigwe

The Aba-born defensive midfielder left the shores of Nigeria for Germany in 1995. He spent his entire European football career in Germany playing for Kaiserslautern, Cologne, Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Monchengladbach, and 1860 Munich.

The retired Nigeria international was a warrior in midfield. He made his Bundesliga debut in October 1997 for Kaiserslautern. But it took him two years later before his next appearance.

Ojigwe played 42 Bundesliga games before leaving for Enyimba in 2006.

10. Taiwo Awoniyi

The Super Eagles striker is currently making waves with Union Berlin. He struggled with the earlier years in Europe, trying to find a niche for himself. Due to his inability to secure an England work permit, he had to spend time in Belgium and Netherlands.

Awoniyi’s first stint in the Bundesliga was in the 2019/20 season while he was on loan at Mainz. He made 12 appearances, scoring one goal.

He then moved to Union Berlin the following season, where he poached five goals in 21 appearances.

This season, Awoniyi has already rattled the net nine times in 18 games.