Gift Orban

Gift Emmanuel Orban (born 17 July 2002) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Belgian club Gent.

Gift Orban
Personal information
Full name Gift Emmanuel Orban
Date of birth (2002-07-17) 17 July 2002
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Striker
Club information
Current team
 Gent
Number 20
Youth career
0000–2021 Bison FC
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2021–2022 Bison FC 0 (0)
2022–2023 Stabæk 22 (16)
2023– Gent 11 (14)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11:10, 06 April 2023 (UTC)

Career

Stabæk

Orban grew up in Togo as well as Nigeria, and speaks French. In November 2021, he was scouted by Stabæk's Torgeir Bjarmann and Thomas Finstad in Nigeria during a showcase tournament arranged by agent Atta Aneke. He trained with Stabæk during the winter of 2022 before returning after his visa expired.[1] Returning to Norway, he signed for Stabæk in late May 2022. The transfer from Nigerian club Bison FC was a loan with an option to buy.[2]

He scored his first goals in cup matches against semi-professional teams Notodden and Gjøvik-Lyn (twice).[3] After this he became a starting player for Stabæk. His goal against SK Brann was compared to Alanzinho's time at Stabæk.[4] VG also called him a "striker jewel".[5]

When Stabæk sold Oliver Valaker Edvardsen in July, the club announced they would spend the money on Orban's buyout option.[6] The contract tying Orban to Stabæk until the end of 2026 was announced on 3 August.[7] He became the top scorer in the 2022 Norwegian First Division with 16 goals, alongside Bård Finne.[8] Helping Stabæk win promotion to 2023 Eliteserien, Orban was also named Young Player of the Year in the First Division.[9]

Gent

On 31 January 2023, Orban joined Belgian Pro League side Gent on a permanent deal.[10] On 11 February, Orban scored two goals on his Pro League debut in a 3–3 draw with Westerlo.[11] On 12 March, Orban managed to score four goals in a 6–2 away win over Zulte Waregem, which made him the first player of Gent to do so in the 21st century.[12][13] On 15 March, he scored a hat-trick in 4–1 away win over İstanbul Başakşehir in the UEFA Europa Conference League round 16. The hat-trick was scored within three minutes and 25 seconds, setting a new record for the fastest hat-trick in UEFA club competitions, breaking the previous record of six minutes and 12 seconds held by Mohammed Salah in the Champions League.[14][15][16]

Personal life

Born in Nigeria, Orban is of Togolese descent through his mother.[17]

Career statistics
As of matches played 15 March 2023[18]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[lower-alpha 1] Europe Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Stabæk 2022 Norwegian First Division 221612–2318
Gent 2022–23 Belgian Pro League 69–4[lower-alpha 2]51014
Career total 282512453332
  1. Includes Norwegian Cup
  2. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

Honours

Individual

References
  1. "Stabæk-spiller Gift (19): – Fotballen er min mulighet". Budstikka (in Norwegian). 7 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  2. Stormoen, Stein-Erik (20 May 2022). "Stabæks spissgave til fansen: Gift på plass" (in Norwegian). Eurosport. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  3. Strømnes, André (29 June 2022). "Denne spissen bøtter innpå med mål". Budstikka (in Norwegian). Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  4. Korsnes, Oscar (10 July 2022). "Stabæks nye juvel scoret igjen: – Han er en gave" (in Norwegian). Eurosport. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  5. Brandsnes, Håkon (10 July 2022). "Stabæks nye spissjuvel stjal showet da Branns rekordrekke ble brutt". VG (in Norwegian). Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  6. Aspelund, Anders Rødaas (17 July 2022). "Selger Edvardsen – erstatteren er allerede i klubben". Budstikka (in Norwegian). Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  7. Boge-Fredriksen, Hans Christian (3 August 2022). "Gift Orban forlenger med Stabæk". VG (in Norwegian). Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  8. "OBOS-ligaen 2022 - Toppscorer, gule og røde kort" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Football Federation. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
  9. Steien, Vegard Kjøllmoen (29 October 2022). "Toppscoreren kåret til årets unge spiller: – Han har vært redningen" (in Norwegian). Eurosport. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  10. "WELCOMEGIFT!" (in Dutch). K.A.A. Gent. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  11. "VIDEO: Gift Orban scores two on his debut including an iconic goal to help Gent draw at Westerlo". SportsRation. 11 February 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  12. ""Een killer die uit het niets kan scoren": Gift Orban kent strafste start in België sinds eeuwwisseling". sporza.be (in Dutch). 13 March 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  13. "Gift Orban scores Four as Gent record 6-2 win over Zulte Waregem". brila.net. 13 March 2023.
  14. @europacnfleague (15 March 2023). "3 minutes & 25 seconds. Gift Orban has scored the fastest hat-trick in UEFA club competitions" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  15. "Nigerian Striker Orban Delivers Gift For Grateful Gent". Nigeria Sports News. 15 March 2023.
  16. UEFA.com (16 March 2023). "Orban scores fastest ever UEFA club competition hat-trick | UEFA Europa Conference League". UEFA.com. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  17. "Olympic Eagles coach insists it's not the end of the world, reacts to Gift Orban no-show:: All Nigeria Soccer - The Complete Nigerian Football Portal". www.allnigeriasoccer.com.
  18. "Gift Orban". Soccerway. Retrieved 16 March 2023.

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