Ikechukwu Uche began his humble football career with local team, Amanze United FC from Aba, before teaming up with top division side, 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 round leather game from a young age and a passion for soccer drew him from the Nigerian coast in 2001, when he signed his first professional soccer contract with the Spanish second division. set-Racing for Ferrol at the tender age of 17 years.
His dribbling and his clinical shot in front of the goal earned him the move from the modest Racing de Ferrol to Recreativo de Huelva. He played some of his best soccer at Recreativo during the 2003-2007 soccer 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 used mainly as a substitute during his spell at Getafe.
His tenure at Getafe soon ended in 2009 when Real Zaragoza offered the small striker a mouth-watering four-year deal that made him one of their star forwards. 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 match against Sevilla FC.
He ended up sidelined for 8 months recovering and undergoing rehabilitation before suffering 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 before his injury problems formed a deadly attacking 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 spell, 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 forwards in the current Super Eagles fold with good dribbling skills, ball control and great passing power. He can use both legs when he goes on offense, an added advantage considering the fact that some forwards are one-footed.
As Nigeria faces the Ethiopian national team in a crucial Africa Cup of Nations match scheduled for the Abuja National Stadium on March 27, 2011, there is already agitation from soccer-loving Nigerian fans for coach Samson Siasia to include the dynamic forward in the team to face the Ethiopians, since little by little he has been recovering his physical form.