Alex Tayo Akande

Alex Tayo Akande
Personal information
Full name Alexander Oluwatayo Akande
Date of birth (1989-02-09) 9 February 1989
Place of birth Lagos, Nigeria
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Forward
Club information
Current team
Kitchee
Number 8
Youth career
2006–2007 Eastbourne Borough
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2008 Waltham Forest 16 (10)
2008 Advance Tai Chung 10 (10)
2009 Eastern 16 (6)
2009–2010 Kitchee 10 (4)
2009–2010Tai Chung (loan) 12 (4)
2010–2011 Tai Chung 20 (3)
2011–2012 Biu Chun Rangers 4 (2)
2012HK Sapling (loan) 12 (9)
2012–2013 Wofoo Tai Po 30 (19)
2013– Kitchee 55 (25)
National team
2015– Hong Kong 10 (9)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11 May 2016.

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 12 November 2016

Alexander Oluwatayo Akande (Chinese: 艾力士; born 9 February 1989), more commonly known as Alex Akande, is a Hong Kong footballer who currently plays as a forward in Hong Kong Premier League for Hong Kong club Kitchee.

Club career

England | Waltham Forest | Season 2007-008

Akande started his professional career in England at age 18 with local side Waltham Forest in 2007.[1] And in summer 2010, he spent two weeks training with Premier League side Blackpool and played in their pre-season friendly against Hibernian.[2]

Advance Tai Chung | Eastern | Season 2008-09

Akande arrived in Hong Kong in 2008 and played for Advance Tai Chung in the Hong Kong second division league. His prolific performance soon drew interest of first division side Eastern. Akande joined Eastern in January 2009 and finished the season with 6 goals.

Tai Chung | Kitchee | Season 2009-2010

Akande returned to Tai Chung in season 2009-10. After scoring 3 goals in 12 matches for Tai Chung in half a season, he joined Kitchee SC in mid-season following the departure of Kitchee's Spanish striking duo Albert Virgili Fort and Raul Torres.

The transfer also gave Akande an opportunity to play the 2010 Lunar New Year Cup as he played for Kitchee against Pegasus Invitation team and Korean side Pohang Steelers. In two 45 minutes matches, Akande scored against Pegasus Invitation in a 1-0 win and assisted his teammates in a 1-1 draw against the 2009 AFC Champions League winner. Despite losing the title to Pohang Steelers due to one less goal scored, Akande was named the MVP of the tournament.

Akande scored 4 more goals for Kitchee in local competitions during his half-season spell .

Tai Chung | Season 2010-11

Akande once again returned to Tai Chung and played a full season for the team in season 2010-11. His 3 goals in 19 matches were not enough to save Tai Chung from relegation.

Biu Chun Rangers | Hong Kong Sapling | Season 2011-12

Akande's 4th season in Hong Kong began with joining Biu Chun Rangers. He was loaned to Hong Kong Sapling, a development team formed by the Hong Kong Football Association, in the mid-season after a slow start at Biu Chun Rangers.

Akande found his scoring touch soon after joining Hong Kong Sapling, where he scored 9 goals in 12 matches. However the Hong Kong F.A. decided not to continue running Hong Kong Sapling after the team failed to avoid relegation. As a result, Hong Kong Sapling were disbanded after the season.

Wofoo Tai Po | Season 2012-13

Akande joined another Hong Kong First Division club "Wofoo Tai Po" in season 2012-13, in which he played one of his best seasons in his career. He scored 5 goals including a hat-trick against Tuen Mun in the quarter-final for the 2012-13 Senior Shield that contributed the team's first ever title-triumph in the tournament. He finished the season with a tally of 19 goals in all competitions.

His performance also earned him a place in the Hong Kong League XI for the 2013 Lunar New Year Cup where he played against Busan I'Park from Korea and Muangthong United from Thailand in this annual International tournament.

However, despite his prolific performance up front, the team's vulnerable defense cost them the place in the top-tier league. Tai Po were involved in a relegation battle-turmoil in which totally 6 teams were fighting to avoid relegation on the final day of the league. He opened the score for Tai Po in a huge battle against Yokohama FC Hong Kong, another team in this turmoil. Yet Tai Po conceded a heart-breaking final-second goal which cancelled their lead and sent them to relegation dramatically.

Kitchee SC | Season 2013-14

Following the relegation of Tai Po FC, Akande joined his former club Kitchee SC. Kitchee began the season with an International exhibition match with Manchester United.[3] He had the chance to play against the defending Premier League champions, and scored a brilliant goal in the 2-5 defeat as he turned Man United's defender Alex Buttner inside out before firing home.

Akande also had his first opportunity in continental competition as he was chosen as one of the four foreign players for the 2013 AFC Cup quarter-final match against Al-Faisaly from Jordan. Kitchee lost the 1st leg at home in a 1-2 defeat to the Jordanian side with Akande once equalized the score in the early 2nd half. Kitchee were eliminated from the competition with a same scoreline in the 2nd leg.

The season ended well for both Kitchee and Akande, as Kitchee had an invincible season as the league champions with 16 points above the runners-up Sun Pegasus, while Akande added 10 more goals to his tally in all local competitions.

Kitchee SC | Season 2014-15

Kitchee began their new season with another International exhibition match. This season It was Kitchee versus Paris Saint Germains[4] at Hong Kong Stadium on 2014 July 29. Akande once again found the back of the net against a European giant in this 2-6 defeat with Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored a hat-trick.

This season Kitchee appointed former Spanish International and Atletico Madrid goalkeeper José Francisco Molina as their head coach. Aiming for higher success in the 2014 AFC Cup and the 2015 AFC Champions League Playoffs. However Akande picked up an injury in a training session in early season which forced him to miss the rest of the season. After a successful surgery he went to the United States for his rehab with specialized physical therapy . The rehab was a success and he was ready to return for the next season.

Kitchee SC | Hong Kong national team | Season 2015-16

Akande returned from his injury in season 2015/16. On late October, after 7 years of residency,[5] he became a naturalized Hong Kong citizen and immediately called up by the Hong Kong national team for the FIFA friendly match against Myanmar on 7 November 2015 at Mongkok Stadium. Akande made his international debut in this match and scored his first international goal for Hong Kong in the 5-0 victory.[6]

Akande then played all the remaining three 2018 World Cup AFC qualification second round matches of the Hong Kong national team against Maldives,[7] China[8] and Qatar.[9] Hong Kong completed the group stage as the 2nd runners-up and secured a direct entry to the 2019 Asian Cup qualifying third round.

Since making his International debut and the managerial change of Kitchee in mid-season, Akande has recovered his scoring form before the injury by scoring 10 goals in 18 matches including 2 goals in the League Cup final victory which saw Kitchee lifted this trophy for the historical fifth times.

Kitchee SC | Hong Kong national team | Season 2016-17

Alex Akande has soon become a regular starter of the Hong Kong national team. He started in all three International friendly matches against Cambodia (twice) and Singapore, in which he netted 2 goals that contributed 3 consecutive victories.

Akande kept his momentum to the 2017 EAFF E-1 Football Championship Round 2. He scored 6 goals in the first two games in this tournament against Guam and Chinese Taipei, including all the 4 goals in the 4-2 victory over Chinese Taipei. Akande was awarded the top scorer of the tournament. He also took his tally to 9 goals in 10 matches since winning his first cap for Hong Kong.

International career

Akande was born in Nigeria. But after living for more that seven years in Hong Kong, Akande obtained his Hong Kong citizenship and became eligible to play with the Hong Kong national team in October 2015. He soon made his international debut for Hong Kong in a FIFA friendly against on 7 November 2015. He also scored on his debut in this 5-0 win.

Akande started in the 2018 World Cup AFC qualification second round match against Maldives on 12 November 2015 in which Hong Kong defeated the home side with a narrow 1-0 win. He then played against China and Qatar in the same competition. Hong Kong finished the group stage as the 2nd runners-up and secured a direct entry to the 2019 Asian Cup qualifying third round.

On 9 November 2016, Alex Akande scored four goals to lead Hong Kong to a 4-2 victory over Chinese Taipei in the 2017 EAFF East Asian Cup Second Round.[10]

Career statistics

As of 11 May 2016.

League Club Season League Cups AFC Cup International

Exhibition matches

Hong Kong

International matches

Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals Apps GoalsAppsGoals
Hong Kong

2nd Division League

Advance

Tai Chung

2008–09 7 7 3 3 10 10
Hong Kong

Premier League

Eastern 13 3 3 3 16 6
Tai Chung 2009–10 10 4 2 0 12 4
Kitchee 9 4 1 0 2 1 12 5
Tai Chung 2010-11 17 3 3 0 20 3
Biu Chun

Rangers

2011-12 3 2 1 0 4 2
Hong Kong

Sapling

10 7 2 2 12 9
Tai Po FC 2012–13 18 13 12 6 2 0 32 19
Kitchee SC 2013-14 16 7 5 3 2 1 1 1 24 12
Kitchee SC 2014-15 1 0 1 0 1 1 3 1
Kitchee SC 2015–16 13 7 9 4 4 1 26 12
Kitchee SC 2016-17 6 3 2 0 6 8 14 11
Total 185 94

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/30/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.