Ikechukwu Uche began his humble football career with the local team, Amanze United FC from Aba, before teaming up with the first division team, Iwuanyanwu Nationale FC from Owerri in Imo State, eastern Nigeria. He is a natural striker with an eye for beautiful goals.
Born in 1984 in the industrial city of Aba, he grew up loving the game of round leather from a young age and the passion for football took him from the coast of Nigeria in 2001, when he signed his first professional football contract with the Spanish second division. Ensemble-Racing by Ferrol at the tender age of 17.
His dribbling and his clinical shot in front of the goal earned him the move from modest Racing de Ferrol to Recreativo de Huelva. He played some of his best football at Recreativo during the 2003-2007 football season, appearing for them 133 times and scoring a whopping 50 goals in the process.
Uche then joined Getafe FC at the end of the 2007 season after helping Recreativo enter the top-tier Spanish league. However, it was not a rocky start for the 1.7m tall Uche, who was mainly used as a substitute during his time at Getafe.
His stay at Getafe soon ended in 2009 when Real Zaragoza offered the small striker a mouth-watering four-year contract that made him one of their star strikers. It was a sad start for Uche at his new club when he suffered a terrible knee injury while playing for his new club in their second game against Sevilla FC.
He ended up on the sidelines for 8 months recovering and undergoing rehabilitation before sustaining another knee injury in the 2010/11 season. It was a difficult period for the Nigerian striker who was desperate to impress for both club and country. Uche, who prior to his injury problems formed a deadly strike force with Kalu Uche (his older brother), missed the 2010 FIFA World Cup hosted by South Africa as a result of injury.
Prior to his injury stint he was a super regular with the Nigerian Super Eagles and had appeared in 22 senior team games scoring a total of 5 goals in the process. He is one of the most talented strikers in the current Super Eagles fold with good dribbling ability, ball control and great air force. He can use both legs when he goes on offense, an added bonus considering the fact that some forwards are one-footed.
As Nigeria takes on the Ethiopian team in a crucial African Cup of Nations match scheduled for the Abuja National Stadium on March 27, 2011, there is already agitation from football-loving Nigerian fans for coach Samson Siasia to include the dynamic striker in the team to face the Ethiopians, as he has gradually regained his fitness.