Victor Chinedu Anichebe is a Nigerian football player born on April 23, 1988, in Lagos. His family moved to Liverpool, England when he was 1 year old, and they initially lived in Toxeth before settling down in Crosby. A center forward striker and a product of the Everton Youth Academy, ”The Pharaoh”, as he is usually called, is considered to be a fast and powerful player.
Victor Anichebe came into international limelight on March 26, 2008 in the Olympic qualifying match against South Africa as a substitute, and he scored the final goal in the 3-0 win. His first-start was in a friendly match against Austria on May 27, 2008 along with Abdulrasaq Yakubu Aiyegbeni, a fellow Evertonian. In the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games, Victor Anichebe was part of the Nigeria national team that won a silver medal after facing Argentina in the finals. He will also be remembered for the second goal he scored for the team against Japan on August 10, 2008.
Victor Anichebe made his reserve team debut for Everton as a 15-year old and appeared in the senior team for the first time on January 28, 2006, as a substitute in the 89th minute of the Football Association (FA) Cup match against Chelsea which ended in a draw. He scored the first goal for Everton in a tie against West Brom, coming in as a late substitute. Victor Anichebe signed his first professional contract with the club in April 2006. In May 2006, he was chosen for the Reserve Player of the season Award for the 2005-06 season. On May 7, 2006, Victor Anichebe dodged and shot his first Premiership goal against West Bromwich Albion. Topping the 2006-07 pre-season scoring charts with four goals in six appearances, Victor Anichebe became a fan favorite at Everton. He started the 2006-07 season with two Premiership goals in a 3-0 win against Newcastle United on December 30, 2006. The season of 2007-08 has been very eventful for Victor Anichebe, as he scored four goals in the United European Football Association (UEFA) Cup, one each against Metalist Kharkiv, Greek’s Larissa, Germany's 1.FC Nürnberg and Norway’s SK Brann, in spite of coming off the bench in the late second half of many games. The commendable performance of Victor Anichebe in the UEFA is attributed to the inability of the European defenders to deal with his pace and strength, earning him Everton’s European “Secret Weapon” title from his fans and the media. On May 2, 2007, he extended his contract with Everton until the summer of 2011. Also Victor Anichebe was voted as the young player of the 2007-08 season by the Everton fans on May 7, 2008.
