Brian Oladapo Idowu (Russian: Брайан Оладапо Идову; born 18 May 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a left-back. Born in Russia, he plays for the Nigeria national team.
 Idowu with Nigeria at the 2018 FIFA World Cup | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Brian Oladapo Idowu[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 18 May 1992 | ||
| Place of birth | Saint Petersburg, Russia | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1999– | Smena-Zenit | ||
| –2010 | Zenit St. Petersburg | ||
| 2010–2015 | Amkar Perm | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2012–2018 | Amkar Perm | 87 | (1) |
| 2013–2014 | → Dynamo St. Petersburg (loan) | 25 | (1) |
| 2018–2021 | Lokomotiv Moscow | 25 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | → Khimki (loan) | 28 | (3) |
| 2021–2023 | Khimki | 41 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2017–2018 | Nigeria | 10 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 15 April 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20 November 2018 | |||
Club career
Born in Saint Petersburg to a Nigerian father and a Russian-Nigerian mother, Idowu moved to Owerri, Nigeria at early age, and later moved back to Russia.
He made his Russian Premier League debut for FC Amkar Perm on 6 May 2012 in a game against FC Terek Grozny.[2]
After a loan spell with Dynamo St Petersburg during the 2013–14 season, Idowu signed a new 3-year deal with Amkar on 30 June 2014,[3] extending his contract again in February 2017 until the summer of 2020.[4]
Lokomotiv Moscow
On 10 July 2018, he signed a 3-year contract with FC Lokomotiv Moscow.[5]
Khimki
On 7 August 2020, he joined Khimki on loan for the 2020–21 season.[6]
On 7 June 2021, he moved to Khimki on a permanent basis, signing a 2-year contract with an additional 1-year extension option.[7] He left Khimki in July 2023.[8]
International career
In November 2017, Idowu was called up to the Nigerian national team for their friendly against Argentina in Krasnodar on 14 November 2017.[9] Idowu made his debut against Argentina on 14 November, coming on as a half-time substitute for Ola Aina, and scoring Nigeria's third goal in a 4-2 win.[10]
In May 2018 he was named in Nigeria's preliminary 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[11]
Personal life
Idowu's father is Nigerian and his mother is half-Russian, half-Nigerian. He was born and raised in St. Petersburg, except for a period when he was aged 3 to 6 when he lived in Owerri, Nigeria.[12] Idowu speaks perfect Russian and acted as a makeshift translator of the Nigerian national team at news conference ahead of a fixture in Krasnodar in November 2017.[13]
Career statistics
Club
- As of 28 May 2022[14]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Amkar Perm | 2011–12 | RPL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 2013–14 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 2014–15 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 12 | 0 | ||||
| 2015–16 | 22 | 0 | 3 | 1 | – | – | 25 | 1 | ||||
| 2016–17 | 26 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 28 | 1 | ||||
| 2017–18 | 27 | 0 | 3 | 1 | – | 2[a] | 0 | 32 | 1 | |||
| Total | 87 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 99 | 3 | ||
| Dynamo St. Petersburg (loan) | 2013–14 | FNL | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 26 | 1 | ||
| Lokomotiv Moscow | 2018–19 | RPL | 13 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3[b] | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| 2019–20 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[b] | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 18 | 0 | ||
| Total | 25 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 0 | ||
| Khimki | 2020–21 | RPL | 28 | 3 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 30 | 3 | ||
| 2021–22 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 2[a] | 0 | 28 | 0 | |||
| 2022–23 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 0 | – | – | 16 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 64 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 74 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 201 | 5 | 23 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 237 | 7 | ||
International
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- As of 20 November 2019[15]
| Nigeria | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2017 | 1 | 1 |
| 2018 | 9 | 0 |
| Total | 10 | 1 |
International goals
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 14 November 2017 | Krasnodar Stadium, Krasnodar, Russia |  Argentina | 3–2 | 4–2 | Friendly | [10] |
Honours
Club
- Lokomotiv Moscow