Celebrate Patrick Ogunsoto on His birthday

Patrick Ogunsoto (born 19 April 1983) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a striker for amateur Greek club Moudania. He spent the majority of his career in Greece and is best known for his tenure at Greek side Ergotelis, for which he still remains the all-time top scorer.

Career

Early career

Ogunsoto started his career with local clubs in Lagos, eventually signing with local side Julius Berger at 17. He then made his first European move by signing with Paniliakos in Greece, but wouldn't be eligible to play for the club. He returned to Nigeria and Julius Berger for one year. At age 19, he was tried out by Greek clubs Aris Thessaloniki and Ergotelis but eventually signed with Cypriot First Division club APOEL. As he was deemed too young to be included among his manager's Eugene Gerards' plans, he returned to Greece in 2002 and signed for Cretan club Ergotelis, which played in the Greek Gamma Ethnikiat the time.

Ergotelis

Ogunsoto built up his reputation in Greece during his spell at Ergotelis, in which he scored a total of 71 goals in 114 appearances, celebrating consecutive promotions in a steady run from the Gamma Ethniki to Greece's top tier football division, the Superleague.

In his first season at Ergotelis, Ogunsoto scored 30 goals in 32 games and the team was promoted to the Beta Ethniki. He followed up with another 9 goals in his second season, helping the club gain another promotion, this time in the Alpha Ethniki, Greece's top tier football division. He continued being the club's top scorer for a third year in a row, scoring 11 goals in 29 games during the club's first season in the Alpha Ethniki, but the team was eventually relegated. 

Then Ogunsoto became instrumental in the club's second promotion and winning of the division title, by being declared top-scorer once again with a total of 21 goals at the end of the 2005−06 season. His performances did not go unnoticed though, and after brief flirts with Greek giants Panathinaikos and AEK, he subsequently moved to Belgium and K.V.C. Westerlo, thus ending a remarkable 4-year run with Ergotelis in Crete.

Westerlo

In his first season with Westerlo, Ogunsoto became second top scorer in the Jupiler Pro League, scoring 20 goals in 34 games. Despite reported interest from Dutch Eredivisie and Russian Premier League clubs, Ogunsoto remained for a second season with Westerlo, making 10 appearances and scoring no goals. In January 2008, he would return to his former club Ergotelis, expressing a desire to return to the club where he made his name.

Return to Ergotelis

On January 18, 2008, Ogunsoto returned to Ergotelis signing a 3-year contract. He scored 6 goals in 13 matches, helping the club avoid relegation at the end of the season. He made another 29 appearances in the 2008-09 season, scoring 8 goals.

 However, tensions rose between the player and manager Nikos Karageorgiou, which led to an eventual fallout with the club's board of directors. Next season saw Ogunsoto making a total of 6 appearances for the club, mostly as a substitute. On the winter transfer window of 2009, Ogunsoto was loaned to local rival OFI, playing in the Beta Ethniki on a six-month deal. He featured in 22 matches total, scoring 6 goals for the club.

Finally, on August 2010, the 27-year-old Nigerian striker, terminated his contract with Ergotelis on mutual consent. For his achievements with Ergotelis since his original tenure, he was honoured by club president Apostolos Papoutsakis with a golden emblem of the club. In a total of 162 official matches, he had scored 85 goals, making him the club's all-time top scorer.