ISL: Mumbai City FC rope in Ogbeche, FC Goa sign Muhammed Nemil

Ogbeche kicked off his youth career at Lobi Stars in Nigeria and was then signed by Paris Saint-Germain into their youth system before making his first team debut for the French giants in 2001-02 at just 17.

An illustrious journey began for Ogbeche, playing in France (Bastia, Metz), the UAE (Al Jazira), Spain (Alavs, Valladolid, Cdiz, Xerez), Greece (Kavala), England (Middlesbrough) and the Netherlands (Cambuur, Willem II).

The 36-year-old made his debut in Indian football in the 2018-19 season, captaining NorthEast United FC and scored 12 goals in 18 games.

Continuing with the ISL, he went on to represent Kerala Blasters in the 2019-20 season and finished with 15 goals in 16 games, the joint top goal-scorer in the division.

We are pleased to confirm that Bartholomew Ogbeche has joined #TheIslanders for the 2020/21 campaign!

All details of the move 👇#BlueBart 🔵https://t.co/cEioTeWpji

— Mumbai City FC (@MumbaiCityFC) October 21, 2020

Ogbeche has also represented Nigeria on several occasions, including twice in the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

“Besides the brilliant mix of youth and experience in our team, the apparent quality and level of the squad speaks volumes about the ambitions we have here at the club,” Ogbeche said.

“In my two years in the ISL, I’ve come up a fair few times against Sergio Lobera’s team, and our coach’s positive and free-flowing brand of football perfectly fits my style and idea of the game as well,” the striker added.

Mumbai City head coach Sergio Lobera described the Nigerian as a top-class player.

“He is not only a terrific goal-scorer but also a leader in the true sense. Bart (Ogbeche) can be a role-model to plenty of the young boys in our squad and not to mention, be a winner for us on the pitch with his attacking talents,” Lobera said.

FC Goa signs 18-year-old mid-fielder Muhammed Nemil

Indian Super League franchise FC Goa has roped in 18-year-old midfielder Muhammed Nemil on a four-year deal. Nemil, who spent a season with the club’s developmental side, is a product of Reliance Foundations Youth Champs (RFYC) academy and is among its first badge of graduates, having joined the programme as a 13-year-old back in 2015.

Nemil was sent to Spain last year to train with Marcet’s High-Performance Academy in Spain by RFYC. The youngster will spend this season out on loan in Spain as a part of Gramanet’s U-18 set up, who play in the Juvenile Liga Nacional.

Prodigy. Future. Talent ✅

Muhammed Nemil is now one of us 🧡

Read more about the signing here: https://t.co/Sp9tuBt4Ky#ForcaGoa #WelcomeNemil pic.twitter.com/zehtHCuUYq

— FC Goa (@FCGoaOfficial) October 20, 2020

“I have been in Spain for some time and gotten used to the style of play. It suits me perfectly to take the initiative and control the game via passing and movement. That’s what FC Goa is all about and I feel this is a dream fit,” Nemil said.

Speaking on his signing, FC Goa’s Director of Football, Ravi Puskur remarked, “We’re extremely happy to have brought Nemil on board to FC Goa. He is one of the standout players of this batch of players coming through from the RFYC and we’re excited about the prospect of him joining our club.”