Brown Ideye - Player of the Week

Ideye has his eye on Wembley!

Nigerian international, Brown Ideye, scored twice to help West Brom to a 4-0 win against West Ham, in the fifth round of the FA Cup. The Baggies are into the quarter-finals of the Cup for the first time since 2008, and are only 2 matches away from their first Cup Final since 1970! Ideye opened the scoring in the 20th minute when he side-footed home. James Morrison increased West Brom's lead before half-time, and Ideye got his second goal with a header in the 57th minute. Saido Berahino made it 4-0 near the end, to set up a West Midland's Derby against Aston Villa in the quarter-finals.

"I've never been to Wembley, or played there, so it would be a dream come true." Brown Ideye talking about the possibility of playing at Wembley Stadium in the FA Cup Final.

What's changed at West Brom?

Ideye has scored four goals in his last three games after only scoring twice in his first 17 appearances for West Brom. Ideye took time to settle at the West Midlands club, but, is now scoring the goals that West Brom fans were hoping for when he signed last August. His current form has helped West Brom move away from the relegation zone and The Baggies have only lost one game this year (9 matches). Another change that has coincided with West Brom's good form was a change of manager. Tony Pulis, who previously managed Crystal Palace and Stoke City, took charge of West Brom at the beginning of January and they are now looking at Premier League safety and a possible Cup Final appearance.

"Brown Ideye was fantastic and looks a really good player." West Brom manager, Tony Pulis.

"The way Tony wants me to play suits my game. Right now, I'm in the right place." Brown Ideye.

What do we know about Brown Ideye?

Aide Brown Ideye was born in October 1988, and is from Lagos, the biggest city in Nigeria, and the largest city in Africa. He played as a youth with Bayelsa United, but his first professional club was Ocean Boys, a now defunct club from the south of the country. In 2006, Ideye moved to Europe to play for Xamax in Switzerland. The club went bankrupt in 2012, but Ideye had already left to play in France, with Sochaux, and later, with Dynamo Kiev in Ukraine. Ideye had a good scoring record for Kiev and helped the team win the Cup, and he also played and scored in the Champions League. In August 2014, West Brom made Ideye their record signing when he signed for a reported transfer fee of £10 million.

Is Ideye the first Nigerian to play for West Brom?

Brown Ideye is not the first Nigerian to play for West Brom, he's not even the only Nigerian striker on the books at The Hawthorns (West Brom's stadium) at the moment! Ideye's teammate is Victor Anichebe, who won a silver medal for Nigeria at the London Olympics. Peter Odemwingie, who is currently at Stoke City, played nearly 100 matches for West Brom and scored 30 Premier League goals. Probably the most famous Nigerian to play for West Brom was Nwankwo Kanu. Kanu was African Footballer of the Year twice and won the Premier League twice with Arsenal before he signed for West Brom. Kanu is one player that Ideye looks to for advice.

"In Nigeria, Kanu is one of the big players who everybody looks up to, so I'm happy that we talk. He calls me sometimes and I get advice from him because he played here, too." Brown Ideye.

Who's got the best celebration?

Brown Ideye celebrates in flamboyant style, as you can see in the photo on the left, but what's the best ever goal celebration in the Premier League? When Jurgen Klinsmann arrived in the Premier League, in 1994, he had a reputation for diving, so what did he do? As part of his celebration he dived on the pitch, followed by his Spurs teammates!  Stoke City striker, Peter Crouch is famous for his robot dance, which is believed to have been inspired by the lyrics to a song by the Arctic Monkeys - a British rock band. But if you like somersaults and backflips, you need to check out Lomanu LuaLua, who played for Newcastle United, he often celebrated a goal by performing up to 10 consecutive flips!

Where do football nicknames come from?

Football nicknames are usually based on the colour of the home strip e.g. Liverpool - The Reds; local industry Stoke City - The Potters; or a version of their official name e.g. The Villans - Aston Villa. West Brom's nickname, The Baggies, is more interesting, and nobody is 100% sure where it came from. One story is that it was Aston Villa fans (West Brom's local rivals) who gave them their nickname. In the 1900s, many West Brom fans worked in factories and foundries in the local area and wore big, baggy trousers to protect themselves from the hot iron and fire that caused many injuries at that time. The West Brom fans would come to the match straight after work, in these trousers, and Villa fans called them The Baggies!

What did you understand?

Did you know......?

• Brown Ideye was in the Nigeria team that won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2013. 
• Ideye is a little superstitious - he always puts his left boot on first.
• If he wasn't a footballer, Ideye would like to be a musician.
• Ideye's ideal five-a-side team would be Lionel Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Neymar, Jon Obi Mikel and Brown Ideye!
• Ideye never leaves the house without his phone.