US World Cup Soccer Player Has Nigerian Roots

Oguchi Onyewu is the anchor of the U.S. World Cup soccer team's defense. VOA has this look at the one American player who has African roots.

The first thing you might notice is that his name is not typically American. While Oguchi Onyewu was born in Washington, DC, his parents are Nigerian. They came to the United States from Nigeria to study at Howard University in Washington, DC. They ended up settling in suburban Maryland where Onyewu played soccer in high school.

The second thing you notice is that Onyewu, 28, does not look like a typical American soccer player. In fact, he looks more like an American-style football player. He weighs 95 kilograms and is 1.93 meters tall, making him the tallest player, other than a goalkeeper, to play for the U.S. national team. The central defender has been described as one of the most intimidating soccer players in the world.

Read more: http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/usa/US-World-Cup-Soccer-Player-has-Nigerian-Roots-96754679.html

 

Cool,hope he would help win the Cup.