Onyekachi Apam

Onyekachi Apam plays in the defender role for Stade Rennais FC. He was born on 30 December 1986 in Aba (Nigeria).

The player’s youth career started at local Pepsi Football Academy where he starred until 2003. In 2004 the defender moved to Enugu Rangers youth team where he accumulated enough experience. He decided to try his hand at tryouts to one of the European clubs. In the summer of 2005 Apam was on try-out at OGC Nice. After an exhibition friendly match the player received an offer of transfer to the club’s academy.

Onyekachi finished his youth career in 2006 when he received a call-up to Nice major squad and was offered to sign a professional contract. For a young player it was the first contract in his career which he agreed to sign without hesitation. In 2006 he officially joined Nice major team.

The defender represented the club over a period of four seasons from 2006 till 2010. The manager entrusted to him the place in the first team and the player practically always appeared in the starting lineup. In 4 years spent in the club he starred in 105 matches and netted 1 goal.

In 2010 Apam received calls-up from numerous French clubs. One of them was French club Rennes from Ligue 1 that made the best offer. In the summer of 2010 the player signed a lasting contract with the club. The head coach rarely places the defender in the starting lineup because of strong competition and a surplus of more experienced players. However Onyekachi does not give up and continue to train hard thus proving his relevance for the team. During the recent season Apam has appeared on the pitch more frequently as he honed his skills at training.

In 2005 the defender 6 times played for the Nigeria national U-20 football team. He also represented his country at 2008 Summer Olympics. Since 2007 the player has starred in 7 matches for the Nigeria national team.