Peter Odemwingie still smiling and scoring with West Bromwich Albion

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<div class="track"><img alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.24.1.1/97047?ns=guardian&pageName=Peter+Odemwingie+still+smiling+and+scoring+with+West+Bromwich+Albion%3AArticle%3A1734371&ch=Football&c3=Obs&c4=West+Bromwich+Albion+%28Football%29%2CFootball%2CSport&c5=&c6=Stuart+James&c7=12-Apr-21&c8=1734371&c9=Article&c10=Interview%2CFeature&c11=Football&c13=&c25=&c30=content&c42=Sport&h2=GU%2FSport%2FFootball%2FWest+Bromwich+Albion" width="1" height="1" /></div><p class="standfirst">The genial West Brom striker insists he has plenty to look forward to, not least his imminent wedding</p><p>Peter Odemwingie popped to London this week to look for a suit ahead of his wedding next month. As ever with footballers, the big day has to take place in the short break at the end of the season, although in Odemwingie's case it is amusing to learn that the date when he will tie the knot with his fiancee Sarah owes more to her father's passion for Manchester City than the striker's commitments with West Bromwich Albion.</p><p>"We wanted to get married the week after the season ends but when we fixed the date, Manchester City were still in the Champions League and Sarah's dad, Mike, who is a big fan, said he's never coming if they're in the final, which is on that Saturday," Odemwingie says, smiling. "When he was saying it, we were laughing at the table. And then Sarah looked at me and said: 'He's not joking.' I was still laughing and she said: 'I'm serious.' So because of him we had to have it two weeks later. It was too late to change when Manchester City went out of the Champions League. And Sarah has something in her head that once a date is fixed, it has to be done then. So we left it."</p><p>Odemwingie finds the whole episode hilarious and breaks into more laughter when he recalls Albion's meeting with City at The Hawthorns on Boxing Day. "Sarah's family are all Man City fans and they had to sit with the West Brom supporters but her dad couldn't help but sing the City songs. His wife was hitting him, saying: 'Will you stop that!' They were looking forward to winning the game but it was <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/dec/26/west-bromwich-albion-manchester-city-premier-league" title="">a 0-0 draw</a> so I changed my shirt with Vincent Kompany and gave it to [Mike] as a consolation. I said: 'Here you are, don't cry [about the result].'"</p><p>Aside from the fact that Odemwingie plays for Albion rather than City, it is easy to imagine his fiancee's family could not be happier with their daughter's choice. As well as being a talented footballer, Odemwingie is a polite and intelligent man with a fantastic sense of humour and a strong Christian faith. He also has a fascinating background.</p><p>Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in 1981 to a Russian mother and Nigerian father who are both doctors, Odemwingie has led a nomadic life. He spent much of his early childhood in Nigeria but the family moved back to Uzbekistan when he was seven before settling in Moscow after the collapse of the Soviet Union. After completing his secondary education in Russia, Odemwingie returned to Nigeria, where his career in football took off. He made his debut for Nigeria in 2002 and went on to play for La Louvière in Belgium, the French club Lille and Lokomotiv Moscow before <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/aug/20/nigeria-forward-peter-odemwingie-west-brom" title="">joining Albion in 2010</a>.</p><p>Although football has been Odemwingie's passion since the communist days, when he created his own Soviet Union kit by sewing stripes and letters on to a T-shirt, he believes another career path could easily have opened up. "I have a sister and she's totally different to me – she would never have been a doctor. But I think I had that in me from the beginning," he says. "I was more into what we called the humanitarian subjects in Russia, things like biology and history. And when we are at the training ground, the doctor laughs when I walk in and he's examining someone. He says: 'Doctor Odemwingie is here,' because I'm always interested to learn. I want to listen when he's explaining the medical terms ... so I have my own opinion!"</p><p>Odemwingie chuckles as he makes the last comment, which is delivered tongue-in-cheek. He does, though, have an inquisitive mind and a thirst for knowledge outside of football. "After football comes to an end, I will study something. But I try to keep my brain working now. I like languages, I speak French, English and Russian. I'm still working on my English and if I want to understand everything on TV, like the political debates, I need to keep working daily on it. I have a thesaurus and dictionary. I think when you go to another country, you should learn the language. It will help you and it's good to show people that you are happy there."</p><p></p><p>West Brom supporters are certainly pleased with Odemwingie. He was the fifth highest Premier League scorer last term with 15 goals and although he is frustrated that ankle, knee and hamstring injuries disrupted a second season that he describes as "a little strange", he has still managed to score nine times in the top flight at a rate of one every three appearances. Five of those goals came in February, including a hat-trick in <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/feb/12/wolverhampton-wanderers-west-bromwich-albion-premier-league" title="">the 5-1 victory over Wolves</a> that has left an indelible mark on one fan.</p><p>"There was a guy who came to the training ground, he looked so bright and it was maybe two months after the game," says Odemwingie. "He showed me a tattoo on his leg with my face and me holding up three fingers. I couldn't say anything. I was shocked, positively shocked that it meant so much that he could go and do that. I said to [Youssouf] Mulumbu: 'Youss, do you know what I just saw? I saw a tattoo of my face on someone's leg because of that Wolves game!' So, yes, that day was the highlight of the season; it was my first hat-trick in England and it was in a derby."</p><p>The low point came in November, when Roy Hodgson, the Albion manager, said: <a href="http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11698/7330237/Odemwingie-frustrates-Hodgson" title="">"We've got nothing out of [Peter] this year"</a> and questioned Odemwingie's willingness to play through the pain barrier. Odemwingie was upset at the time but Hodgson told him that he was just desperate to play him. "We spoke about it because [Hodgson] himself said to me that I shouldn't mistake his anger with frustration, because he said he wants his best players available for games.</p><p>"No player chooses to be injured. I was there being frustrated, he was frustrated and then he said he lost his temper at the time because I was almost ready and then, at the last minute, he was told I was not ready yet. It wasn't an easy moment to go through because I enjoy the Premier League so much that I can never miss games for no special reason. This is the season where I have been injured most in my life, and I think if that wasn't the case I would be on 15 goals by now."</p><p>He can still add to his tally, starting with Sunday's trip to Liverpool, where Hodgson returns for the first time since being sacked in January last year. Albion have beaten Norwich, Aston Villa, Blackburn, Newcastle, Stoke and Wolves on their travels and another win would strengthen their hopes of finishing in the top 10, which Odemwingie felt was a realistic target at the start of the season. His fiancee's father had grander ambitions but looks likely to have to settle for a free Manchester City shirt and a Premier League striker for a son-in-law.</p><div class="related" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><ul><li><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/westbrom">West Bromwich Albion</a></li></ul></div><div class="author"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/stuartjames">Stuart James</a></div><br/><div class="terms"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">guardian.co.uk</a> &copy; 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our <a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html">Terms & Conditions</a> | <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/feeds">More Feeds</a></div><p style="clear:both" />
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