Lucky Isibor

Lucky Isibor
Personal information
Full name Anthony Joseph Isibor
Date of birth (1977-01-01)1 January 1977
Place of birth Benin City, Nigeria
Date of death 24 June 2013(2013-06-24) (aged 36)
Place of death Lagos, Nigeria
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995 Concord FC (Nigeria)
1995–1996 Bellinzona
1996–1997 Luka Koper 12 (2)
1997–1998 Enosis 17 (4)
1998–2000 Reggiana 4 (0)
1998Dynamo Moscow (loan) 27 (4)
1999–2000Dynamo Moscow (loan) 24 (1)
2000 Suwon Samsung Bluewings 5 (1)
2002–2003 Zürich 0 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Anthony Joseph "Lucky" Isibor (1 January 1977 – 24 June 2013) was a Nigerian professional footballer.[1]

Career

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He was playing with Nigerian Concord FC when he moved to Switzerland in 1995 signing with AC Bellinzona. Between 1996 and 1998 he played with Slovenian FC Koper[2] and Cypriot Enosis Neon Paralimni FC before signing with Italian A.C. Reggiana 1919. After that short spell in Italy he moved to Russia. He made his debut in the Russian Premier League in 1998 for FC Dynamo Moscow.[3] He played 4 games in the UEFA Cup 1998–99 for FC Dynamo Moscow. Afterwards he also played in South Korean K-League club Suwon Samsung Bluewings and Swiss FC Zürich. FC Zürich refused to honour his contract after they discovered he was HIV-positive. Swiss court eventually ruled that the club must pay him 315,000 Swiss francs as his HIV status was not deemed in itself a valid reason to dissolve the contract.[4]

According to a 2004 interview with a fellow Nigerian footballer James Obiorah Isibor had AIDS[5] and according to some later reports, he died on 8 January 2006. However, according to former Isibor's teammate Aleksandr Tochilin, another former Dynamo player Patrick Ovie met Isibor in Nigeria after his supposed death and Isibor was healthy and well.[6] He died on 24 June 2013 in Lagos, Nigeria, after a brief illness.[7]

Honours

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References

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  1. ^ dbFCZ | Lucky Isibor
  2. ^ Stats from Slovenia at PrvaLiga.
  3. ^ Lucky Isibor at FootballFacts.ru (in Russian) Edit this at Wikidata
  4. ^ "HIV-positive striker fired unjustly - FCZ has to pay 315 000 francs!" (in German). Blick. 11 November 2013.
  5. ^ БЫВШИЙ ФУТБОЛИСТ МОСКОВСКОГО "ДИНАМО" ЛАКИ ИЗИБОР БОЛЕН СПИДом, А НА ПРЕЗИДЕНТА ФРАНЦУЗСКОГО "ПСЖ" СОВЕРШЕНО РАЗБОЙНОЕ НАПАДЕНИЕ
  6. ^ Александр ТОЧИЛИН: ВОР ОТ МЕНЯ УШЕЛ НАРЯДНЫМ (in Russian). FC Dynamo Moscow. Archived from the original on 2011-07-19.
  7. ^ Punch: Ex-junior international, Isibor, to be buried on Friday Archived 2013-11-11 at the Wayback Machine
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