UEFA Europa League: Nwankwo Kanu, 5 Other Nigerians to Have Won the European Club Competition

• UEFA Europa League is one of the elite club competitions in the world
• The tournament has been graced with top football talents past and present
• Sports Brief has listed the Nigerians who have won the competition

Nigeria is one of the African countries to have successful players in the history of the UEFA Europa League and has outstanding winners of Europe's second-tier club competition.

The competition was previously known as UEFA Cup since 1971 but was rebranded into the UEFA Europa League in 2009

Spanish side Sevilla is the most successful team in the competition, winning seven titles, and are the current holders.

The likes of Victor Boniface, Ademola Lookman, and Cyril Dessers are all competing in this season's edition, but none of them have tasted glory before in the competition.

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Sports Brief takes a look at the six Nigerians who have won the Europa League in history.

Six Nigerians to have won Europa League

1. Nwankwo Kanu

The Arsenal legend was one of the two players to be the first Nigerians to win the competition in 1998 while playing for Inter Milan.

The Super Eagles legend's triumph came three years after winning the UEFA Champions League with Eredivisie giants Ajax.

2. Taribo West

The Nigerian defender enjoyed Inter Milan's 1998 success alongside Kanu and was in the starting lineup in the final against Lazio.

The former AC Milan star was sent off in the 82nd minute but that didn't stop Inter from lifting the trophy.

3. Chidi Odiah

The former Super Eagles full-back is the third Nigerian to win the competition in history. He was part of the CSKA Moscow team that defeated Sporting Lisbon 3-1 in the final in 2005.

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4. Victor Moses

The AFCON 2013 winner is fourth on the list after winning his first Europa League title with Chelsea in 2013.

The former Liverpool forward is the Nigerian with the most Europa League medals, as he won the competition again with the Blues in 2019.

He could have added the third in 2020 while playing for Inter Milan, the Italian side lost to Sevilla in the final.

5. John Obi Mikel

Like Taribo West and Nwankwo Kanu, Mikel Obi enjoyed Europa League success alongside Moses in 2013.

Mikel featured in the final as Chelsea defeated Benfica 2-1 at the Amsterdam Arena.

6. Samuel Chukwueze

The AC Milan winger is the last Nigerian to win the Europa League as at the time of this publication. The Super Eagles forward lifted the title in 2021 with Villarreal.

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Despite UCL being a European club competition, Nigerians also made their mark in the tournament by etching their names in the history books.