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Newcastle’s Forgotten Man: Oguchi Onyewu

By Carson A Merk

NEWCASTLE, UNITED KINGDOM: Arsenal's Jeremie Aliadiere (R) is challenged by Newcastle United's Oguchi Onyewu during their English Premiership football match at St James' Park, Newcastle, north-east England, 09 April 2007. AFP PHOTO / PAUL ELLIS Mobile and website use of domestic english football pictures subject to a subscription of a license with Football Association Premier League (FAPL) tel: +44 207 2981656. For newspapers where the football content of the printed and electronic versions are identical, no license is necessary. (Photo credit should read PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
NEWCASTLE, UNITED KINGDOM: Arsenal's Jeremie Aliadiere (R) is challenged by Newcastle United's Oguchi Onyewu during their English Premiership football match at St James' Park, Newcastle, north-east England, 09 April 2007. AFP PHOTO / PAUL ELLIS Mobile and website use of domestic english football pictures subject to a subscription of a license with Football Association Premier League (FAPL) tel: +44 207 2981656. For newspapers where the football content of the printed and electronic versions are identical, no license is necessary. (Photo credit should read PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images) /
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The American defender had a terrible stint on loan with Newcastle United.

We are continuing our series on some Newcastle United players that had a tenure that was short, subpar, or both. Previously, we’ve highlighted Emre Belozoglu, Xisco, Patrick Kluivert, Islam Slimani, and Patrick van Aanholt. Today, we take a trip down memory lane to Oguchi Onyewu’s time with the Magpies.

Coming off recent accomplishments like US Soccer Player of the Year and the Juliper Pro League’s XI of the Season, Onyewu joined Newcastle United on loan from Standard Liege in January 2007. The central defender made his debut in a 2-1 loss to Fulham. His home debut was a 2-1 win over Liverpool. But, that would be only one of two wins he would experience in a Newcastle United kit.

The Magpies gave up 13 goals in the 11 matches that he appeared in. They only secured two clean sheets over that span of time. He served in an ill-fated partnership with Titus Bramble. Once Sam Allardyce arrived, he released Bramble and other players and didn’t extend Onyewu’s stay on Tyneside.

After the season, he returned to Standard Liege and won two Belgian titles before making a move to Milan in 2009, where he notoriously fought Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He returned to English soccer with Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield Wednesday, and Charlton Athletic.

Next. Analyzing what Arturo Vidal would bring to NUFC. dark

Where Are They Now?

Onyewu’s last action on the pitch came in 2017 when he was playing back in the United States with the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer. He retired from professional soccer in 2018 and was last seen as the Orlando City B technical director.