Patrick Owomoyela

Patrick Owomoyela

Owomoyela in 2019
Personal information
Full name	Patrick Olaiya Olukayode Owomoyela
Date of birth	(1979-11-05) 5 November 1979
Place of birth	Hamburg, West Germany
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position	Right back
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2000–2001	Lüneburger SK	34	(3)
2001–2002	VfL Osnabrück	33	(1)
2002–2003	SC Paderborn	23	(4)
2003–2005	Arminia Bielefeld	63	(8)
2005–2008	Werder Bremen	50	(0)
2007	Werder Bremen II	1	(0)
2008–2013	Borussia Dortmund	76	(3)
2011–2013	Borussia Dortmund II	8	(2)
2014	Hamburger SV II	12	(0)
Total		300	(21)
International career
2004–2006	Germany	11	(0)
Medal record Borussia Dortmund Winner Bundesliga 2011 Winner Bundesliga 2012 Winner DFB-Pokal 2012
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Patrick Olaiya Olukayode OwomoyelaListen^ⓘ (German pronunciation: [ˈpatʁɪk ʔovomoˈjɛlaː]; born 5 November 1979) is a German former professional footballer who played mainly as a right-back. He previously played for Lüneburger SK, VfL Osnabrück, SC Paderborn 07, Arminia Bielefeld, SV Werder Bremen, Borussia Dortmund and Hamburger SV II. He was capped by Germany at international level and was a member of the squad at the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup.

Club career

Owomoyela 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 ahead of the 2005–06 season, he joined SV Werder Bremen. In his first season, Owomoyela was the undisputed starter at right back and helped Bremen reach second in the Bundesliga. 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 Germany 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.

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".

In the run-up to the 2006 World Cup, the National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) distributed leaflets showing a Germany jersey with the number 25, and the slogan "White - not just a jersey colour! For a real NATIONAL team!". Owomoyela and the German Football Association filed charges, interpreting the leaflet as directed to Owomoyela due to his squad number and the colour of his skin. In April 2009, NPD leader Udo Voigt and two others were convicted of incitement to racial hatred and defamation, and given suspended prison sentences. The convictions were overturned by the Berlin State Court in March 2011, judging that the number alone was not enough to link the leaflet to Owomoyela, and that "white" has other meanings including good moral character.

In 2021, Owomoyela featured in Schwarze Adler, a documentary detailing the experiences of Black players in German professional football.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			DFB-Pokal		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Lüneburger SK	2000–01	Regionalliga Nord	34	3	0	0	–		–		34	3
VfL Osnabrück	2001–02	Regionalliga Nord	33	1	1	0	–		–		34	1
SC Paderborn	2002–03	Regionalliga Nord	23	4	1	0	–		–		24	4
Arminia Bielefeld	2003–04	2. Bundesliga	33	3	1	0	–		–		34	3
	2004–05	Bundesliga	30	5	4	1	–		–		34	6
	Total		63	8	5	1	0	0	0	0	68	9
Werder Bremen	2005–06	Bundesliga	32	0	4	0	10	0	–		46	0
	2006–07		9	0	1	0	6	0	1	0	17	0
	2007–08		9	0	1	0	3	0	–		13	0
	Total		50	0	6	0	19	0	1	0	76	0
Werder Bremen II	2006–07	Regionalliga Nord	1	0	0	0	–		–		1	0
	2007–08		0	0	1	0	–		–		1	0
	Total		1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Borussia Dortmund	2008–09	Bundesliga	26	1	0	0	–		–		26	1
	2009–10		33	1	3	0	–		–		36	1
	2010–11		6	0	1	0	3	0	–		10	0
	2011–12		11	1	1	0	0	0	–		12	1
	2012–13		0	0	0	0	0	0	–		0	0
	Total		76	3	5	0	3	0	0	0	84	3
Borussia Dortmund II	2010–11	Regionalliga West	3	0	0	0	–		–		3	0
	2011–12		3	2	0	0	–		–		3	2
	2012–13	3. Liga	2	0	0	0	–		–		2	0
	Total		8	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	2
Hamburger SV II	2013–14	Regionalliga Nord	12	0	0	0	–		–		12	0
Career total			300	21	19	1	22	0	1	0	342	22

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Germany	2004	3	0
	2005	7	0
	2006	1	0
Total		11	0

Honours

Werder Bremen

• DFL-Ligapokal: 2006

Borussia Dortmund

• Bundesliga: 2010–11, 2011–12
• DFB-Pokal: 2011–12

External links

• Patrick Owomoyela at fussballdaten.de (in German)