With star turns in Rennes, Lens and Montpellier, John Utaka is among the Nigerian players to have had the biggest impact in Ligue 1. To help celebrate his birthday this past Sunday, we look at the role he played in an unlikely title for La Paillade and more!
Ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations kicking off this weekend, we’re continuing our series on the African players who have had the biggest impact in Ligue 1, and few Nigerians have been as key to their club teams’ success in France as John Utaka. The well-traveled striker also had spells in England, Egypt, and Turkey,but there’s no doubt that his time in France was what defined his career.
Utaka first came to France with Racing Club de Lens in the summer of 2002. With the northern club, he was used both on the right wing and centrally, and scored 33 goals in all competitions, including playing for Le Sang et Or in the Champions League. His final season was comfortably his most successful as he netted a dozen goals in Ligue 1 in 2004-5, helping the team to a seventh-place finish.
✨ Le but tout en finesse de John Utaka 🇳🇬...et la victoire pour le @staderennais !#FCNSRFC | #Ligue1Legends pic.twitter.com/knncBeGSTt
— Ligue 1 Uber Eats (@Ligue1UberEats) February 25, 2023
His skillful play earned him a move to Stade Rennais, where the team just missed out on Europe in his first season, but he memorably scored back-to-back hat tricks in wins over Lens and Lyon. He would hit double figures for the third season running in 2006-7, helping Rennes to a fourth-place finish before decamping to the Premier League, where joined an ambitious Portsmouth side.
He would help the English side win the FA Cup in 2008, setting up countryman Nwankwo Kanu in the final, but the team’s financial issues would see him back in France, joining Montpellier in the winter of 2011. While he didn’t score as many goals as he had in his time at Rennes and Lens, with Olivier Giroud the team’s focal point in attack, he would prove decisive in the team’s title bid, scoring a brace against Auxerre in a final-day win, ensuring that he remains a legendary figure in the history of Ligue 1.
