Patrick Owomoyela


Patrick Olaiya Olukayode Owomoyela is a German footballer who played as a defender or midfielder. He previously played for Lüneburger SK, VfL Osnabrück, SC Paderborn 07, Arminia Bielefeld, SV Werder Bremen, Borussia Dortmund and Hamburger SV II. He has been capped by Germany at international level and was a member of the squad at the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup.

Club career

Owomoyela, a right-sided defender/midfielder, began his career in lower league German football. In 2003, he made the step up to Arminia Bielefeld, then in the 2. Bundesliga.
Great performances for Bielefeld in the 2004–05 season earned Owomoyela interest from German top clubs, and in 2005, he joined SV Werder Bremen. In his first season, Owomoyela was the undisputed starter at right back and helped Bremen reach second in the league. With the arrival of Clemens Fritz the following season, however, he lost his starting position due to injuries and bad displays. Owomoyela was finally transferred to Borussia Dortmund at the beginning of the 2008–09 season, where he looked to reestablish himself in German top-flight football.

International career

Owomoyela debuted for Jürgen Klinsmann's national side in an Asian tour, playing 90 minutes in a 3–0 win over Japan, on 16 December 2004, in Yokohama. He later was selected in the Bundestrainer's team for the Confederations Cup in 2005, but was unused there and was finally overlooked for Germany's World Cup final squad. In total he collected eleven caps.

Post-retirement

Following his retirement, Owomoyela became an English-language commentator for Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal international broadcasts. He received international attention and criticism in August 2019 following an incident in which he used a racial slur and Hitler parody to describe players from Italian club Udinese.

Personal life

In addition to his football skills, Owomoyela is also a basketball player, having played in the German regional league before switching to football full-time. He was born to a German mother and a Nigerian father. His name "Olukayode" stems from the Yoruba words "Olu", a diminutive form of "Oluwa" or Olorun meaning "God" and "Kayode" meaning "to bring joy", which translates to "God brings me joy and happiness".

Honours

Werder Bremen
Borussia Dortmund