Godwin Mensha

Nigerian professional footballer

Godwin Mensha

Mensha in 2018

Personal information
Date of birth|  (1989-09-02) 2 September 1989 (age 35)
Place of birth|  Lagos, Nigeria
Height|  1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)|  Forward
Senior career*
Years|  Team|  Apps|  (Gls)
2008–2009|  Pedroñeras|  18|  (6)
2010–2011|  Madridejos|  31|  (20)
2011–2012|  Talavera de la Reina|  26|  (17)
2012–2014|  Socuéllamos|  71|  (41)
2014–2015|  Compostela|  29|  (4)
2015–2016|  Balzan|  15|  (3)
2016|  Mosta|  16|  (10)
2016–2017|  Paykan|  27|  (15)
2017–2019|  Persepolis|  63|  (14)
2019|  Esteghlal|  14|  (1)
2019|  Ajman|  1|  (0)
2020–2021|  Gol Gohar|  42|  (16)
2021–2023|  Mes Rafsanjan|  48|  (17)
2023–2024|  Foolad|  13|  (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 February 2024

Godwin Mensha (born 2 September 1989) is Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Foolad.

## Club career

[edit]

### Malta

[edit]

On 30 June 2000, Mensha joined Maltese Premier League side Balzan.[1] However in the next January, his contract was terminated and he moved to fellow league team Mosta.[2]

### Paykan

[edit]

On 27 July 2016, Mensha signed for Iranian club Paykan on a one-year contract.[3][4] On 7 August, he made his debut in a 3–1 defeat against Tractor Sazi.[5] On 20 September, Coming on as a substitute, he scored his first goals for Paykan, a brace in a 3–2 away win over defending champions Esteghlal Khuzestan.[6] With 15 league goals, Mensha was the third highest scorer in the Premier League for the 2016–17 season, three goals behind Golden Boot winner Mehdi Taremi.[7]

### Persepolis

[edit]

In May 2017, Mensha signed a contract with Pro League champions Persepolis.[8] Mensha scored his first goal for the club on 3 August 2017, in a 2–1 victory against Tractor Sazi. On 22 August 2017, Mensha scored a crucial equalizer in Persepolis' 2–2 draw against Al Ahli in the first leg of the quarter-finals of the 2017 AFC Champions League. He scored his second goal for Persepolis from the penalty spot in an away match against Al Ahli.

Mensha scored seven goals in the AFC Champions League for Persepolis, making him fourth highest goalscorer for Persepolis in Asian competitions.[9]

### Esteghlal

[edit]

Mensha in his first game for Esteghlal against Paykan

In January 2019, Mensha and Persepolis came to a mutual agreement to terminate his contract with the club.[10] He was then signed by cross-town rivals Esteghlal on an 18-month-long on 5 February 2019,[11] making him the twentieth player to play for both clubs.[12] After signing with the club, Mensha said: "I want to prove that I'm not wrong about joining Esteghlal." He was given the number 90 shirt, just as he was at Persepolis.[13]

Mensha made his debut for the club on 7 February, in a 4–0 win against Paykan, as a 72nd-minute substitute for Dariush Shojaeian, assisting the third goal by Esmaël Gonçalves.[14] On 28 February, in an away match against Foolad, he attacked an opponent fan after the fan pulled his hair while he was entering the stadium.[15] During the match, he scored his first goal for his new club as well as providing an assist for the winner in the 3–1 away victory against Foolad. His goal came from Farshid Bagheri's pass from behind the halfway line, which he volleyed the ball past the keeper.[16] Two days later, he was banned from all domestic football activities until further notice, due to the incident he had before the match.[17] However, the ban was lifted a few days later after clarifying the incident for the FFIRI.[18] On 5 May, with the arrival of new coach Farhad Majidi, he was excluded from training with the first-team due to his bad behaviour after he realised he is not a starter in the previous game against Padideh.[19]

### Ajman

[edit]

On 11 July 2019, Mensha signed with UAE team Ajman on a two-year contract.[20]

### Gol Gohar

[edit]

On 29 January 2020, Mensha returned to Iran signing with Gol Gohar Sirjan.[21] He made his debut for the club on 1 February, coming on as a substitute for Mehrdad Bayrami in the 58th minute of a 1–1 draw against Pars Jonoubi Jam.[22] Six days later he scored his first goal for the club in the 1–1 draw against Tractor.[23]

## Career statistics

[edit]

As of match played 3 February 2022
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition  Club  | Season  | League  | National cup  | Continental[a] | Total

|
|
|
|
|

Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals
Madridejos | 2010–11 | Tercera División | 31 | 20 | 0 | 0 | — | 31 | 20
Talavera | 2011–12 | Tercera División  | 26 | 17 | 0 | 0 | — | 26 | 17
Socuéllamos | 2012–13 | Tercera División  | 33 | 20 | 0 | 0 | — | 33 | 20
2013–14 | 38 | 21 | 0 | 0 | — | 38 | 21
Total  | 71 | 41 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 61 | 41
Compostela | 2014–15 | Segunda División B | 29 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | 29 | 4
Balzan | 2015–16 | Maltese Premier League | 15 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | 15 | 4
Mosta | 2015–16 | Maltese Premier League  | 16 | 10 | 0 | 0 | — | 16 | 10
Paykan | 2016–17 | Persian Gulf Pro League | 28 | 15 | 1 | 1 | – | 29 | 16
Persepolis | 2017–18 | Persian Gulf Pro League  | 27 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 6 | 41 | 12
2018–19 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 22 | 2
Total  | 42 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 17 | 7 | 63 | 14
Esteghlal | 2018–19 | Persian Gulf Pro League  | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 1
Gol Gohar | 2020–21 | Persian Gulf Pro League  | 28 | 14 | 2 | 1 | – | 30 | 15
Mes Rafsanjan | 2021–22 | Persian Gulf Pro League  | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | – | 11 | 11
Career total  | 280 | 128 | 7 | 4 | 20 | 7 | 335 | 153

1. ^ Includes AFC Champions League.

## Honours

[edit]

Mensha celebrates championship with Persepolis.

Persepolis

* Persian Gulf Pro League: 2017–18
* Iranian Super Cup: 2017, 2018
* AFC Champions League runner-up: 2018

Individual

* AFC Champions League Player of the Week: 2017 semi-finals 2nd leg.[24]
* Persian Gulf Pro League top scorer: 2021–22

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Official : Ex Compostela Striker Godwin Mensha Joins Balzan". 30 June 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
2. ^ Azzopardi, Kevin (14 January 2016). "Birkirkara sign defender, keen on Alex Muscat". Times of Malta. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
3. ^ "گادوين منشا مهاجم نيجريه اي به تيم فوتبال پيكان پيوست" [Nigerian striker Godwin Mensha signed with Paykan]. YJC. 27 July 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
4. ^ "گادوین منشا امروز با پیکان قرارداد بست" [Godwin Mensha signed with Paykan today]. Paykan F.C. 27 July 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
5. ^ "تراکتور 3- پیکان 1؛ رقص لزگی در زمین اختصاصی" [Tractor 3 - Paykan 1]. Varzesh3. 7 August 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
6. ^ "استقلال خوزستان 2 -3 پیکان؛ رستگاری با گل ثانیه های آخر" [Esteghlal Khuzestan 2 - Paykan 3]. Tarafdari. 20 September 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
7. ^ "سرخابی‌ها در صدر بهترین‌های لیگ شانزدهم" [Red and blues on top of leagues best]. Varzesh3. 8 May 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
8. ^ "Persepolis Reaches Agreement with Mensha, Khalilzadeh". Tasnim News Agency. 19 April 2017.
9. ^ "Godvin menshah, the third highest-scoring goalscorer in acl". Iranian Students' News Agency. 6 September 2018.
10. ^ "Croatian striker Budimir joins Iran's Persepolis". Xinhua. 29 January 2019. Archived from the original on 4 February 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
11. ^ "Persepolis forward Godwin Mensha drops bombshell by moving to Esteghlal". Tehran Times. 5 February 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
12. ^ "گزارش؛ گادوین سومین یاغی خارجی استقلال" [Godwin the third foreign rebel of Esteghlal.] (in Persian). ILNA. 5 February 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
13. ^ "منشا: ثابت می‌کنم که اشتباه نکردم / استقلال باشگاه بزرگی است و شفر به من اعتقاد دارد" [Mensha: I want to prove that I'm not wrong. Schäfer believes in me.] (in Persian). ILNA. 5 February 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
14. ^ "پیکان 0 - استقلال 4؛ آماده باش تیم پرستاره به لیگ" [Paykan 0 - Esteghlal 4]. Varzesh3. 7 February 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
15. ^ "رفتار عجیب گادوین منشا با یک هوادار خوزستانی +فیلم" [Mensha's strange behaviour with a fan]. YJC. 28 February 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
16. ^ "فولاد 1-3 استقلال؛ پیروزی 6 امتیازی استقلال با سه تفنگدار خارجی شفر" [Paykan 0 - Esteghlal 4]. Tarafdari. 28 February 2019. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
17. ^ "مرتضی تورک: گادوین منشا و علیرضا حقیقی از امروز نمی‌توانند هیچ فعالیت فوتبالی انجام دهند". Tarafdari. 2 March 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
18. ^ "حکم محرومیت کمیته اخلاق در مورد گادوین منشا لغو شد؛ مهاجم آبی‌ها آماده دیدار با نفت مسجد سلیمان". Tarafdari. 7 March 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
19. ^ مهاجم نیجریه‌ای استقلال تهران در اختیار باشگاه قرار گرفت.. Tarafdari. 5 May 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2019.
20. ^ عجمان يكمل ملف الأجانب بالتعاقد مع المهاجم النيجيري جودوين مينشا [Ajman completes foreigners' file by signing Nigerian striker Godwin Mensha] (in Arabic). Ajman Club. 11 July 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
21. ^ گادوین منشا دوباره در فوتبال ایران (عکس). Varzesh 3. 29 January 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
22. ^ پارس جنوبی 1- گل‌گهر 1؛ بی‌فایده‌تر از این نمی‌شد!. Varzesh 3. 1 February 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
23. ^ "گل گهر سیرجان 1-1 تراکتور؛ با سوپرگل اکبر ایمانی، تراکتور ده نفره از شکست گریخت". Tarafdari. 7 February 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
24. ^ "ACL 2017 Semi-final 2nd leg Toyota Player of the Week: Godwin Mensha". AFC. 19 October 2017. Archived from the original on 29 November 2017.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Godwin Mensha.

* Godwin Mensha at MSN Sports
* Godwin Mensha at PersianLeague
* Godwin Mensha at Soccerway
* Godwin Mensha at EuroSport
* Godwin Mensha at ESPN FC

* v
* t
* e

Iran Pro League top scorers

* 2001–02: Enayati
* 2002–03: Bezik
* 2003–04: Daei
* 2004–05: Enayati
* 2005–06: Enayati
* 2006–07: Olerum / Rajabzadeh
* 2007–08: Asghari / Khalili
* 2008–09: Borhani
* 2009–10: Emad
* 2010–11: Norouzi
* 2011–12: Ansarifard
* 2012–13: Rafkhaei
* 2013–14: Ansarifard
* 2014–15: Edinho
* 2015–16: Taremi
* 2016–17: Taremi
* 2017–18: Alipour
* 2018–19: Chimba / Kiros
* 2019–20: Diabaté
* 2020–21: Shahbazzadeh
* 2021–22: Mensha
* 2022–23: Moghanlou

*[Apps]: League appearances
*[Gls]: League goals
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template