Agu Casmir

{{Short description|Footballer (born 1984)}} {{BLP sources|date=December 2022}} {{EngvarB|date=March 2024}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}} {{Infobox football biography | name = Agu Casmir | image = 1 agu casmir 2012.jpg | full_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1984|03|23}} | birth_place = [[Lagos]], Nigeria | height = 1.80 m | position = [[Striker (association football)|Striker]] | youthyears1 = | youthclubs1 = | years1 = 2002–2003 | clubs1 = [[Woodlands Wellington FC|Woodlands Wellington]] | caps1 = 53 | goals1 = 41 | years2 = 2004–2005 | clubs2 = [[Young Lions (Singapore football team)|Young Lions]] | caps2 = 34 | goals2 = 31 | years3 = 2006 | clubs3 = [[Woodlands Wellington FC|Woodlands Wellington]] | caps3 = 30 | goals3 = 14 | years4 = 2007 | clubs4 = [[Gombak United FC|Gombak United]] | caps4 = 26 | goals4 = 11 | years5 = 2008 | clubs5 = [[PDRM FA|PDRM]] | caps5 = 3 | goals5 = 1 | years6 = 2008–2010 | clubs6 = [[Gombak United FC|Gombak United]] | caps6 = 57 | goals6 = 23 | years7 = 2010–2011 | clubs7 = [[Persija Jakarta]] | caps7 = 21 | goals7 = 9 | years8 = 2012 | clubs8 = [[LionsXII]] | caps8 = 14 | goals8 = 5 | years9 = 2013 | clubs9 = [[Bhayangkara F.C.]] | caps9 = 6 | goals9 = 2 | years10 = 2014–2015 | clubs10 = [[Warriors FC]] | caps10 = 12 | goals10 = 5 | totalcaps = 256 | totalgoals = 142 | nationalyears1 = 2003–2007 | nationalteam1 = [[Singapore national under-23 football team|Singapore U23]] | nationalcaps1 = | nationalgoals1 = | nationalyears2 = 2004–2012 | nationalteam2 = [[Singapore national football team|Singapore]] | nationalcaps2 = 37 | nationalgoals2 = 13 | caption = Casmir playing for [[LionsXII]] in 2013 }}

'''Agu Casmir''' {{Audio|LL-Q33578 (ibo)-Vivian Amalachukwu-Agu Casmir.wav|Listen|help=no}} (born 23 March 1984<ref>{{Cite web |title=Agu Casmir Stats, News, Bio |url=https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/115658/agu-casmir |access-date=15 December 2022 |website=ESPN |language=en}}</ref>) is a former professional [[association football|footballer]] who played as a [[striker (association football)|striker]] or [[attacking midfielder]]. Born in Nigeria, he played for the [[Singapore national football team|Singapore national team]].

He currently holds the record for the all-time goal scorer for [[Woodlands Wellington FC|Woodlands Wellington]] with 55 goals.

==Club career== Casmir previously played for S.League clubs [[Young Lions (Singapore football team)|Young Lions]] and [[Woodlands Wellington FC|Woodlands Wellington]] in Singapore's [[S.League]].

=== Woodlands Wellington === Casmir burst onto the football scene with [[Woodlands Wellington FC|Woodlands Wellington]] in 2002, scoring a remarkable 27 goals as an 18-year-old. He followed that up with another 15 goals the next year.

=== Young Lions === In 2004 and 2005, Casmir played for [[Young Lions FC|Young Lions]] where he scored a total of 31 goals.

=== Return to Woodlands Wellington === Casmir returned to Woodlands Wellington in 2006 and scored 17 goals.

=== Gombak United === Casmir then joined [[Gombak United FC|Gombak United]] at the start of the current [[2007 S.League]] season.

On 19 September 2007, Casmir's 86th-minute goal for the Gombak United, which cancelled out [[Home United FC]] [[Kone Hamed]]'s 18th-minute opener, was his 100th in the S.League.

At the end of 2007, Gombak United decided not to renew Casmir's contract. Nevertheless, when the [[2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)|2010 FIFA World Cup qualification]] match against [[Lebanon national football team|Lebanon]] loomed, he trained with one of his former clubs, Young Lions, to keep his fitness at peak condition to be eligible for a call-up to the national team.

=== PDRM FA === Casmir did not play for most of 2008 due to being clubless, but in August 2008, Malaysian club [[PDRM FA]] signed him together with [[Noh Alam Shah]]. Controversially, he was released after just 3 games, without any goals to his name.

=== Return to Gombak United === Gombak United again re-signed him in 2009 following his release from PDRM FA.

=== Persija Jakarta === In October 2010, Casmir joined [[Persija Jakarta]] in the [[Indonesian Super League]] where he spent the 2011 season playing for the club.

=== LionsXII === On 5 December 2011, it was announced that Casmir would be joining the [[LionsXII]] team that would be making their debut in the [[Malaysian Super League]] for the [[2012 Malaysia Super League|2012 season]].

=== Bhayangkara F.C.=== Not retained on the LionsXII squad for 2013, Casmir was left without a club for a year until he signed with Indonesian club [[Bhayangkara F.C.]] in January 2013.<ref>{{cite web|title=11 Pemain Singapura di Kompetisi Indonesia Sejak Era Galatama|url=https://www.libero.id/detail/44238/11-pemain-singapura-di-kompetisi-indonesia-sejak-era-galatama-1.html/|accessdate=11 December 2014|language=Indonesian}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | access-date=13 February 2014 | archive-date=28 March 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160328155901/http://www.goal.com/en-sg/news/3880/singapore/2014/02/12/4613561/agu-casmirs-indonesia-stint-comes-to-early-end?ICID=AR_RS_1 | df=dmy-all | url=http://www.goal.com/en-sg/news/3880/singapore/2014/02/12/4613561/agu-casmirs-indonesia-stint-comes-to-early-end?ICID=AR_RS_1 | title=Agu Casmir's Indonesia stint comes to early end}}</ref>

=== Warriors FC === In June 2014, Casmir returned to Singapore to sign with S.League club [[Warriors FC]], taking jersey number 22. He retired at the end of the [[2015 S.League|2015 season]].

==International career== Born in Nigeria, Casmir was offered [[Singapore citizenship]] via the [[Foreign Sports Talent Scheme]] in 2004.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.fourfourtwo.com/sg/features/imports-singapore-called-upon-under-foreign-talent-scheme?page=0%2C1 | title=The imports Singapore called upon under the Foreign Talent Scheme | publisher=[[FourFourTwo]] | access-date=1 June 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180917090839/https://www.fourfourtwo.com/sg/features/imports-singapore-called-upon-under-foreign-talent-scheme?page=0%2C1 | archive-date=17 September 2018 | url-status=dead }}</ref> He was a member of the [[Singapore national football team|Singapore national team]], which won the [[2004 AFF Championship]] title.

Casmir was part of the national football team for the [[2005 Southeast Asian Games]] (SEA Games) held at the Philippines. Singapore failed to advance beyond the group stage, with Casmir failing to score a goal.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |date=19 February 2006 |title=Agu calls - and he wants to quit soccer |work=[[The Straits Times]] |pages=41}}</ref> He was also part of the team for the [[2007 Southeast Asian Games|2007 SEA Games]] where Singapore won the bronze medal.

Casmir's impressive displays in the tail-end of 2008 earned him a national call-up for the [[2008 AFF Championship]]. He scored a last-minute goal for Singapore against [[Myanmar national football team|Myanmar]] to allow Singapore to earn three points at the [[2010 AFF Championship]], but they were still unable to progress to the next round.

== Persija Jakarta Controversy == In 2006, it was reported that Casmir signed a contract with Indonesian football club [[Persija Jakarta]] and that he took a signing-on fee of US$20,000.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Fang |first=Nicholas |date=20 January 2006 |title=Where in the world is Agu Casmir? |work=[[The Straits Times]] |publisher=[[Singapore Press Holdings]] |pages=H21}}</ref> However, he did not sign with Persija Jakarta on 17 January, claiming to be attending football trials with a Russian club and the club subsequently sought repayment of the fee from his agent, ex-footballer [[Jules Onana]].<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Fang |first=Nicholas |date=21 January 2006 |title=Casmir contacts Singapore, Indonesia |work=[[The Straits Times]] |publisher=[[Singapore Press Holdings]] |pages=S22}}</ref> It was subsequently reported that Casmir had left his residence in [[Toa Payoh]] with his belongings on 19 January.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Fang |first1=Nicholas |last2=Foo |first2=Alvin |date=2 February 2006 |title=Casmir left in the dead of night |work=[[The Straits Times]] |pages=H8}}</ref>

It was consequently reported on 19 February 2006 in [[The Straits Times]] that Casmir had purportedly been in Canada and had no intention of further pursuing a career in football. The report quoted Casmir's ex-manager, [[R. Vengadasalam]], as saying that Casmir was disillusioned with football and had no intention of returning to Singapore. He had taken the contract to prove that he could still command a large annual fee (reported at US$80,000).<ref name=":1" />

After a few weeks, reports emerged that Casmir wanted to return to play football in Singapore. Several football clubs including Gombak United had expressed interest in inviting him to play for their team, before he re-signed for former club Woodlands Wellington on a one-year contract, under a deal in which the club would re-pay Persija Jakarta his signing-on fee. The [[Football Association of Singapore]] suspended Casmir from the national squad for a year and fined him S$20,000 for his actions involving Persija Jakarta.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Power of Words |date=11 March 2006 |url=http://singaporelifetimes.blogspot.com/2006/03/power-of-words.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817093349/http://singaporelifetimes.blogspot.com/2006/03/power-of-words.html |archive-date=17 August 2016 |access-date=9 September 2007}}</ref>

==Career statistics== {| class="wikitable" ! # !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition |- | 1. || 13 December 2004 || [[Hanoi]], [[Vietnam]] || {{fb|LAO}} || 3–1 || 6–2 (Won) || [[2004 Tiger Cup]] |- | 2. || 13 December 2004 || Hanoi, Vietnam || {{fb|Laos}} || 6–2 || 6–2 (Won) || 2004 Tiger Cup |- | 3. || 29 December 2004 || [[Kuala Lumpur]], [[Malaysia]] || {{fb|MYA|1974}} || 2–1 || 4–3 (Won) || 2004 Tiger Cup |- | 4. || 2 January 2005 || Singapore || {{fb|MYA|1974}} || 4–2 || 4–2 (Won) || 2004 Tiger Cup |- | 5. || 8 January 2005 || [[Jakarta]], [[Indonesia]] || {{fb|IDN}} || 3–0 || 3–1 (Won) || 2004 Tiger Cup |- | 6. || 16 January 2005 || Singapore || {{fb|IDN}} || 2–0 || 2–1 (Won) || 2004 Tiger Cup |- | 7. || 4 October 2007 || [[Manama]], [[Bahrain]] || {{fb|BHR}} || 1–0 || 1–0 (Lost) || [[Exhibition match|Friendly]] |- | 8. || 5 December 2008 || Jakarta, Indonesia || {{fb|CAM}} || 1–0 || 5–0 (Won) || [[2008 AFF Suzuki Cup]] |- | 9. || 5 December 2008 || Jakarta, Indonesia || {{fb|CAM}} || 4–0 || 5–0 (Won) || 2008 AFF Suzuki Cup |- | 10. || 7 December 2008 || Jakarta, Indonesia || {{fb|MYA|1974}} || 2–0 || 3–1 (Won) || 2008 AFF Suzuki Cup |- | 11. || 7 December 2008 || Jakarta, Indonesia || {{fb|MYA|1974}} || 3–1 || 3–1 (Won) || 2008 AFF Suzuki Cup |- | 12. || 26 November 2010 || Jurong, Singapore || {{fb|LAO}} || 2–0 || 4–0 (Won) || Friendly |- | 13. || 26 November 2010 || Jurong, Singapore || {{fb|LAO}} || 4–0 || 4–0 (Won) || Friendly |- | 14. || 5 December 2010 || Hanoi, Vietnam || {{fb|MYA}} || 2–1 || 2–1 (Won) || [[2010 AFF Suzuki Cup]] |}

==Honours==

=== Club === '''Gombak United''' *[[Singapore League Cup]]: 2008

=== International === '''Singapore''' *[[ASEAN Football Championship]]: 2004 *[[Southeast Asian Games]]: Bronze Medal – 2007

=== Individual === *100 S.League Goals: 2007

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * {{NFT player|5951}}

{{AFF Cup top scorers}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Casmir, Agu}} [[Category:1984 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Footballers from Lagos]] [[Category:Singaporean men's footballers]] [[Category:Singapore men's international footballers]] [[Category:Nigerian men's footballers]] [[Category:Naturalised association football players]] [[Category:Nigerian emigrants to Singapore]] [[Category:Naturalised citizens of Singapore]] [[Category:Gombak United FC players]] [[Category:Woodlands Wellington FC players]] [[Category:Warriors FC players]] [[Category:Singapore Premier League players]] [[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Indonesia]] [[Category:Singaporean expatriate men's footballers]] [[Category:Singaporean expatriate sportspeople in Indonesia]] [[Category:Persija Jakarta players]] [[Category:Bhayangkara Presisi Lampung F.C. players]] [[Category:Liga 1 (Indonesia) players]] [[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Malaysia]] [[Category:Singaporean expatriate sportspeople in Malaysia]] [[Category:Polis Diraja Malaysia FC players]] [[Category:LionsXII players]] [[Category:Malaysia Super League players]] [[Category:Men's association football forwards]] [[Category:Young Lions FC players]] [[Category:SEA Games bronze medalists for Singapore]] [[Category:SEA Games medalists in football]] [[Category:Footballers at the 2007 SEA Games]] [[Category:Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Indonesia]] [[Category:Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Malaysia]] [[Category:Nigerian expatriate men's footballers]] [[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Singapore]] [[Category:Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Singapore]] [[Category:21st-century Nigerian sportsmen]]