A-Z of West Ham United – N is for…

The enigmatic forward scored just three Premier League goals in 25 appearances, including two in a 3-1 win at Blackpool, in February 2011, having netted a hat-trick in an FA Cup fourth-round win over Nottingham Forest at the Boleyn Ground the previous weekend.

Obinna had also supplied assists for all four goals in the memorable 4-0 League Cup fifth-round win over Manchester United in the east London snow in November 2010, before being sent-off in the semi-final first leg against Birmingham City!

Victor Moses was loaned to West Ham by Chelsea for the 2015/16 season and highlighted his year-long stay in east London with a rasping strike in the 2-1 Premier League win at Manchester City in September 2015.

Moses’ international teammate Emmanuel Emenike also spent the 2015/16 season on loan with the Irons, from Turkish club Fenerbahçe. The striker failed to score in 13 Premier League appearances, but did manage a brace in the 5-1 FA Cup fifth-round win at Blackburn Rovers in February 2016.

While he was not born in Nigeria himself, current defender Angelo Ogbonna was raised in Italy by Nigerian parents, while former striker Carlton Cole has Nigerian heritage, as does current Academy goalkeeper Daniel Jinadu.

North American Soccer League

The star-studded North American Soccer League (NASL) was launched in December 1967 and last for 18 seasons before folding in March 1985.

For much of its existence, the NASL was headed by former West Ham United forward Phil Woosnam, who had emigrated to the United States in 1966, becoming head coach of the United States national team in 1968.

Welshman Woosnam became NASL Commissioner in 1969 and is credited as an important figure in the development of the league in the 1970s, when it attracted a succession of the world’s leading players, including Pelé, Eusébio, Franz Beckenbauer, Johan Cruyff, Carlos Alberto, George Best, Gerd Muller, Ruud Krol, Johan Neeskens, Rob Rensenbrink, Gordon Banks and Woosnam’s former Hammers teammates Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Harry Redknapp.

Hurst made 23 appearances for the Seattle Sounders during the 1976 NASL season, while Moore represented the same club seven times during the 1978 NASL campaign. England’s 1966 FIFA World Cup-winning captain had earlier turned out for the San Antonio Thunder in 1976. Redknapp also turned out for the Sounders from 1977 to 1979.