Kevin John Ufuoma Akpoguma (born 19 April 1995) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre back or left-back for Bundesliga club TSG Hoffenheim.[3] Born in Germany, Akpoguma was a youth international for Germany but switched and plays for the Nigeria national team.[4]
 Akpoguma with Germany U21 in 2016 | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kevin John Ufuoma Akpoguma | |||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 19 April 1995[1] | |||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Neustadt an der Weinstraße, Germany | |||||||||||||
| Height | 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)[1][2] | |||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Centre back, left-back | |||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||
Current team | TSG Hoffenheim | |||||||||||||
| Number | 25 | |||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||
| Rot-Weiß Speyer | ||||||||||||||
| Schwarz-Weiß Speyer | ||||||||||||||
| FC Bavaria Wörth | ||||||||||||||
| –2007 | FC Neureut 08 | |||||||||||||
| 2007–2012 | Karlsruher SC | |||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Karlsruher SC | 8 | (1) | |||||||||||
| 2013–2021 | TSG Hoffenheim II | 62 | (3) | |||||||||||
| 2015– | TSG Hoffenheim | 135 | (3) | |||||||||||
| 2015–2017 | → Fortuna Düsseldorf (loan) | 45 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2019 | → Hannover 96 (loan) | 4 | (0) | |||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | Germany U16 | 5 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | Germany U17 | 15 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Germany U18 | 5 | (3) | |||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Germany U19 | 18 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2014–2016 | Germany U20 | 14 | (1) | |||||||||||
| 2015–2017 | Germany U21 | 7 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 2020– | Nigeria | 8 | (0) | |||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18 May 2024 | ||||||||||||||
Club career
Akpoguma spent the 2016–17 season on loan at 2. Bundesliga side Fortuna Düsseldorf. On 21 April 2017, towards the end of the season, he collided with FC St. Pauli's Bernd Nehrig in a league match. Both players were hospitalised with Akpoguma suffering a broken neck.[5]
Akpoguma made his first appearance in the Bundesliga the following season on 22 October 2017, replacing Stefan Posch at half-time in 1899 Hoffenheim's 1–1 draw with VfL Wolfsburg.[6] Four days later, he made his first start for the club, in a 1–0 away to Werder Bremen in the second round of the DFB-Pokal.[7]
International career
Born to a German mother and a Nigerian father, Kevin Akpoguma is eligible to play for Germany and Nigeria. He has represented Germany at youth level, playing for the U16, U17, U18, U19, U20, and U21 teams.
He was the captain of the German U-20 National, helping the team reach the quarterfinals of the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand.[8][9]
In October 2018 he stated that he was open to playing to Nigeria.[10]
On 21 September 2020, Nigeria national team coach Gernot Rohr stated that Akpoguma has switched allegiance to play for the Nigeria national team.[11][12]
On 28 September he confirmed reports that he has decided to play for the Nigeria national team.[13] Akpoguma made his debut with the Nigeria national team in a friendly 1–0 loss over Algeria on 9 October 2020.[14]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 18 May 2024
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Karlsruher SC | 2012–13 | 3. Liga | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 8 | 0 | |
| 1899 Hofenheim II | 2013–14 | Regionalliga Südwest | 26 | 1 | – | – | 26 | 1 | ||
| 2014–15 | Regionalliga Südwest | 29 | 2 | – | – | 29 | 2 | |||
| 2017–18 | Regionalliga Südwest | 4 | 0 | – | – | 4 | 0 | |||
| 2019–20 | Regionalliga Südwest | 1 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2020–21 | Regionalliga Südwest | 2 | 0 | – | – | 2 | 0 | |||
| Total | 62 | 3 | – | – | 62 | 3 | ||||
| 1899 Hoffenheim | 2013–14 | Bundesliga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | |
| 2017–18 | Bundesliga | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 23 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | Bundesliga | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2019–20 | Bundesliga | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 19 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | Bundesliga | 16 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4[b] | 0 | 22 | 2 | |
| 2021–22 | Bundesliga | 26 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | 29 | 2 | ||
| 2022–23 | Bundesliga | 28 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 30 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24 | Bundesliga | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 18 | 0 | ||
| Total | 135 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 151 | 4 | ||
| Fortuna Düsseldorf II (loan) | 2015–16 | Regionalliga West | 5 | 0 | – | – | 5 | 0 | ||
| Fortuna Düsseldorf (loan) | 2015–16 | 2. Bundesliga | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 18 | 0 | |
| 2016–17 | 2. Bundesliga | 28 | 0 | 2 | 1 | – | 30 | 1 | ||
| Total | 45 | 0 | 3 | 1 | – | 48 | 1 | |||
| Hannover 96 (loan) | 2018–19 | Bundesliga | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 4 | 0 | |
| Career total | 259 | 6 | 13 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 278 | 8 | ||
International
- As of matches played on 18 June 2023
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | 2020 | 4 | 0 |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 8 | 0 | |
Honours
Individual
- Fritz Walter Medal U18 Gold: 2013[15]
References
External links
- Kevin Akpoguma at fussballdaten.de (in German)
- Kevin Akpoguma at Soccerway
- Kevin Akpoguma at DFB (also available in German)