| Chidozie Awaziem | |
| Fullname: | Chidozie Collins Awaziem[1] |
| Birth Date: | 1 January 1997[2] |
| Birth Place: | Enugu, Nigeria |
| Height: | 1.92 m |
| Position: | Centre-back |
| Currentclub: | FC Cincinnati |
| Clubnumber: | 6 |
| Youthyears1: | 2011–2014 |
| Youthclubs1: | El-Kanemi Warriors |
| Youthyears2: | 2014–2015 |
| Youthclubs2: | Porto |
| Years1: | 2015–2019 |
| Caps1: | 62 |
| Goals1: | 2 |
| Years2: | 2016–2021 |
| Caps2: | 10 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 2017–2018 |
| Clubs3: | → Nantes (loan) |
| Caps3: | 22 |
| Goals3: | 1 |
| Years4: | 2019 |
| Clubs4: | → Çaykur Rizespor (loan) |
| Caps4: | 16 |
| Goals4: | 0 |
| Years5: | 2019–2020 |
| Clubs5: | → Leganés (loan) |
| Caps5: | 26 |
| Goals5: | 0 |
| Years6: | 2020–2021 |
| Clubs6: | → Boavista (loan) |
| Caps6: | 27 |
| Goals6: | 0 |
| Years7: | 2021–2024 |
| Caps7: | 27 |
| Goals7: | 0 |
| Years8: | 2021–2022 |
| Clubs8: | → Alanyaspor (loan) |
| Caps8: | 18 |
| Goals8: | 1 |
| Years9: | 2022–2023 |
| Clubs9: | → Hajduk Split (loan) |
| Caps9: | 28 |
| Goals9: | 5 |
| Years10: | 2024– |
| Caps10: | 0 |
| Goals10: | 0 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2017– |
| Nationalcaps1: | 33 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 1 |
| Club-Update: | 14:06, 31 May 2024 (UTC) |
| Nationalteam-Update: | 23:40, 29 July 2024 (UTC) |
Chidozie Collins Awaziem (born 1 January 1997) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Major League Soccer club FC Cincinnati.
Born in Enugu, Awaziem joined FC Porto from Portugal in 2014, where he spent his last year as a junior and won the corresponding league title.[3] His senior debut was made with the B team in the Segunda Liga.[4]
On 27 January 2016, aged 19, Awaziem appeared in his first competitive game with the main squad, featuring the full 90 minutes in a 2–0 away loss against C.D. Feirense in the Taça da Liga.[5] [6] His maiden appearance in the Primeira Liga took place on 12 February, as he again started in a 2–1 win at S.L. Benfica due to an injury crisis to the defensive sector.[7] [8]
Awaziem was loaned to French club FC Nantes for the 2017–18 season.[9] His first match in Ligue 1 took place on 6 August 2017, when he came on as a 74th-minute substitute in a 3–0 defeat away to Lille OSC.[10]
In January 2019, Awaziem joined Çaykur Rizespor on loan until the end of the campaign.[11] On 15 August, in the same situation, he moved to CD Leganés.[12]
Still owned by Porto, Awaziem signed a temporary deal with Boavista F.C. – also in Portugal and the city of Porto – ahead of 2020–21, with the obligation of a permanent four-year contract on 30 June 2021.[13] He returned to the Turkish Süper Lig on 8 September that year, being loaned to Alanyaspor.[14]
On 1 August 2022, Awaziem was loaned to HNK Hajduk Split with an option to make the move permanent at the end of the season.[15] During his tenure, he scored a career-best five goals and also won the Croatian Football Cup.[16]
Awaziem joined Major League Soccer side FC Cincinnati on 25 July 2024, on a two-year contract with the possibility of an extension through 2027.[17]
Aged 19, Awaziem was called up by Nigeria for friendlies against Mali and Luxembourg, on 27 and 31 May 2016.[18] He made his senior debut on 1 June 2017, starting in a 3–0 win over Togo in Paris in another exhibition game.[19]
Awaziem was included in Gernot Rohr's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia,[20] being an unused player as the tournament ended in group stage exit. He was also picked for the 2019[21] and 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.[22]
| Season | League | National cup[23] | League cup[24] | Continental | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Porto B | 2015–16 | LigaPro | 24 | 2 | — | — | — | 24 | 2 | ||||
| 2016–17 | LigaPro | 35 | 0 | — | — | — | 35 | 0 | |||||
| 2018–19 | LigaPro | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 62 | 2 | — | — | — | 62 | 2 | ||||||
| Porto | 2015–16 | Primeira Liga | 10 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 | |
| 2016–17 | Primeira Liga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | Primeira Liga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[25] | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Total | 10 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 1 | |||
| Nantes (loan) | 2017–18 | Ligue 1 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 23 | 1 | ||
| Çaykur Rizespor (loan) | 2018–19 | Süper Lig | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 0 | |||
| Leganés (loan) | 2019–20 | La Liga | 26 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 0 | |||
| Boavista (loan) | 2020–21 | Primeira Liga | 27 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 0 | |||
| Boavista | 2021–22 | Primeira Liga | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24 | Primeira Liga | 24 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 27 | 0 | |||
| Total | 54 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 59 | 0 | ||||
| Alanyaspor (loan) | 2021–22 | Süper Lig | 18 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 1 | |||
| Hajduk Split (loan) | 2022–23 | Croatian Football League | 28 | 5 | 4 | 0 | — | 4[26] | 0 | 36 | 5 | ||
| FC Cincinnati | 2024 | Major League Soccer | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 236 | 9 | 17 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 238 | 10 | |||
| Nigeria | |||
| Year | Apps | Goals | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 3 | 1 | |
| 2019 | 12 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 33 | 1 | |
Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Awaziem goal.
Porto B
Porto
Hajduk
Nigeria
Orders