Femi Hollinger-Janzen Explained

Femi Hollinger-Janzen
Fullname:Oluwafemi Hollinger-Janzen
Birth Date:14 December 1993
Birth Place:Cotonou, Benin
Height:1.83 m
Position:Forward
Collegeyears1:2012–2015
College1:Indiana Hoosiers
Collegecaps1:88
Collegegoals1:22
Years1:2016–2018
Clubs1:New England Revolution
Caps1:32
Goals1:2
Years2:2018
Clubs2:Tulsa Roughnecks (loan)
Caps2:1
Goals2:0
Years3:2019
Clubs3:Birmingham Legion
Caps3:21
Goals3:1
Club-Update:21 October 2019

Oluwafemi Hollinger-Janzen (born 14 December 1993) is a Beninese former footballer.

Early life

Hollinger-Janzen was born on 14 December 1993 in Cotonou, Benin. A mission worker named Lynda Hollinger-Janzen was working in a church-based health care center in Benin, in the maternity department. Women would arrive well into labor, pay $3 to have their babies’ umbilical cords cut with sterile instruments, then leave a few hours later. A maternity doctor burst in the room with an abandoned child... one with a deformed leg. That child was Femi. After a few attempts of connecting the birth mother to him, it failed. When Femi was 6, the birth father signed off on him being adopted, and the birth mother was considered legally incapable of caring for her child. A family court judge then granted Femi's adoption into the Hollinger-Janzen family. He was officially adopted in 1999.[1]

Career

High school

Femi Hollinger-Janzen attended high school at Bethany Christian Schools in Goshen, Indiana. Femi was named Northern Indiana Soccer Conference Player of the Year, Gatorade All-American, Gatorade Indiana Player of the Year and Indiana Soccer Coaches Association Player of the Year in 2011. Femi had a total of 67 goals and 23 assists during his high school career.

College

Hollinger-Janzen spent his entire college career at Indiana University. In his four years with the Hoosiers, he made a total of 88 appearances and tallied 22 goals and eight assists and was part of the team that won the 2012 College Cup.[2]

Professional

On 19 January 2016, Hollinger-Janzen was selected in the third round (51st overall) of the 2016 MLS SuperDraft by the New England Revolution.[3] He signed a professional contract with the club on March 16 and made his professional debut four days later in a 3–0 defeat to the Philadelphia Union.[4] [5] Hollinger-Janzen scored his first professional goal in a 2–0 win over Chicago Fire on 14 May 2016.[6]

In the 2016 MLS Expansion Draft, Femi was selected by Minnesota United FC with the 10th pick.

In 2017, the New England Revolution and Minnesota United FC completed a trade deal which included a player swap. Minnesota received New England Revolution goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth, and Revs received Hollinger-Janzen.[7]

New England declined Hollinger-Janzen's contract at the end of their 2018 season.[8]

On 7 January 2019, Hollinger-Janzen joined USL Championship club Birmingham Legion ahead of their inaugural season.[9] Following his release at the end of the 2019 season, Hollinger-Janzen announced his retirement.[10]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Thomas. Everett J.. From deformed leg to national championship. themennonite.org. The Mennonite. 24 July 2017. May 29, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160529055052/https://themennonite.org/feature/femi-hollinger-janzen-deformed-leg-national-championship%C2%AD/. dead.
  2. Web site: Indiana Wins Eighth National Title with 1-0 Win Over Georgetown. IUHoosiers.com. Indiana University Athletics. March 20, 2016. December 9, 2012.
  3. Web site: Revolution select forward Femi Hollinger-Janzen in third round of MLS SuperDraft. RevolutionSoccer.net. New England Revolution. March 20, 2016. January 19, 2016.
  4. Web site: Rodriguez. Alicia. New England Revolution sign MLS SuperDraft pick Femi Hollinger-Janzen. MLSsoccer.com. March 20, 2016. March 16, 2016.
  5. Web site: Philadelphia Union vs. New England Revolution New England Revolution MatchCenter Boxscore. MLSsoccer.com MatchCenter. en-US. 2018-02-13.
  6. Web site: Revolution defeat Chicago Fire, 2-0 | New England Revolution.
  7. Web site: SHUTTLING OFF TO MINNESOTA Revolution trade Bobby Shuttleworth, re-acquire Femi Hollinger-Janzen . February 16, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170216131023/http://www.newenglandsoccernews.com/teams/revolution2.php?article_id=16389 . February 16, 2017 . dead .
  8. Web site: New England Revolution announce end of season roster moves MLSSoccer.com.
  9. Web site: Legion FC Signs Forward Femi Hollinger-Janzen. January 7, 2019. January 7, 2019. March 27, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190327090438/https://www.bhmlegion.com/news_article/show/982801. dead.
  10. Web site: Legion FC Announces Further Roster Moves. January 24, 2020.