1980 – 1989

In Goal there  were several goalkeepers throughout that decade. After Best Ogedegbe left the scene a whole array of goalkeepers struggled to replace him.  For many years none could dominate that space even as the national team could not find its feet. It was so ‘bad’ that even Peter Fregene long ‘retired’ from international football was drafted back to the team for the 1982 African Cup of Nations. It was a monumental disaster. Thats why, with respect to all of them, no one could claim to be the dominant figure in the Nigerian goal.  There were Peter Fregene, Wilfred Agbonibare, Alloy Agu, Patrick Okala, Etta Egbe, David Ngodiga, Peter Rufai and possibly a few others I can’t recall. By the end of that decade, however, Peter Rufai had started to establish a hold.

In Defence there were several great players – Yisa Sofoluwe, Bright Omokaro, Stephen Keshi, Sunny Eboigbe, Franklin Howard and so on. But Stephen Keshi became the Big Boss because of his outstanding leadership role as a central defender in all the teams that he played for. He had excellent passes, tackled with great intelligence, he had one of the longest throws in the game, and packed shots so powerful and accurate that he may have scored more goals as a defender than any other player in Nigeria’s history. Stephen was a player in the mould of Franz Berkenbaur, marshalling his players from defence and drilling his passes or shots from long distances. Even when he went abroad, to Cote D’Ivoire and started what eventually became a steady migration of players abroad, he kept playing that enviable role. In the national team he paired off with  Sunday Eboigbe, one of the most ruthless defenders in our football history, for some years. Also in defence were Bright Omokaro on the left and Yisa Sofoluwe mostly on the right. Both players were so versatile that they could switch positions and no one would notice the difference. They were both that good. Yisa in particular was a delight to watch, so graceful and intelligent in his overlapping play. Bright was hard, as hard as steel, and ruthless like Eboigbe, One needed a protection helmet to enter Nigeria’s defence at that time particularly when Sunday and Bright were playing together.

In Midfield, this was the era I referred to last week as dominated by the duo of Henry Nwosu and Sylvanus Okpala.  Both captained the junior national team, rose up quickly to the senior team and were joined in that decade by Samuel Okwaraji, Demola Adesina, Paul Okoku, Segun and Femi Olukanmi, Chibuzor Ehilegu, Friday Ekpo and a few others. From 1984 they started to introduce a touch of class to Nigeria’s midfield. This was the era that Nigeria overtook Ghana as a result of this generation of midfielders. The three that stood out clearly for me from the rest were Henry ‘Youngest Millionaire’ Nwosu, Sylvanus ‘Quick Silver’ Okpala and the mercurial Samuel Okwaraji, whose exploits would have been longer but for his sudden death on the field of play. Chibuzor Ehilegu was absolutely amazing for the brief period he played. And Friday Ekpo was in a class of his own,  ahead of many others in terms of his intelligent and graceful play, but not fancied for some reason by some national team coaches as their first choice.

In Attack were the super-brats, Etim Esin and Tarilla Okorowanta, both very heady and both very talented. Others were Emmanuel Okocha, Samson Ozogula, Clement Temile, Humphrey Edobor, Thompson Oliha, Wole Odegbami, an-emerging Rashidi Yekini, Daniel Amokachi, and Samson Siaisia. They emerged on the scene in a torrent. Picking a front line for the national team was a great challenge for the coaches of that era. The one that stood out the most even though his social life outside the field cut it short, was Etim Esin. He was so good and popular for the few short years that he played that he was snatched abroad by one of the big teams in Belgium, and was compared rather prematurely as the Pele of that era. All the other players spent that decade maturing. By the turn of the  decade, they were ripe and ready to take on the world. On the left side of Nigeria’s attack James Etokebe stood tall.  On the right were the army of great right wingers – Emmanuel Okocha, Wole Odegbami, Clement Temile.

1990 – 1999

This is the  Golden era of Nigerian football.

In Goal, Peter Rufai dominated the first half and Ike Sorounmu, after spending years in the shadow of Rufai, had his opportunity after the disaster of the 1998 World Cup to take over from Dodo, and to round off the decade.  But Dodo Mayana’s dominance was total and without question. He was in goal for the dual historic occasions of winning the African Cup of Nations for the first time outside Nigeria and qualifying for the World Cup. He was in goal for Nigeria throughout the championships. No contest and no dispute about who was the best in the decade.

In Defence, Nigeria had a group led by the gentle giant, Uche Okechukwu, perhaps the most underestimated but definitely one of the greatest central defenders Nigeria has ever had. He was so effective, by being so cool and collected, that there was no forward he did not ‘master’ through most of the period he played. He has never been adequately acknowledged. When Keshi was injured and faded out of reckoning going to the 1994 World Cup his absence was never felt because Uche did an even more effective job in the centre of Nigeria’s defence. He did not have a great pass, but somehow, his towering frame and his timing of tackles were ultimate weapons. His presence made Eguavoen to move over to the right back position that was never really his best position and thus removes him from the list of the greatest defenders of that generation. Ben Iroha was very effective at left back, and as an integral part of that 1993/1994 generation, he must enjoy the honours like others as best of the decade.  Taribo West came in from the middle of the decade. When he was in Nigeria he was very rough and unpolished, but a few years in Europe transformed him into one of the great defenders of that decade. He became both a beauty to watch and a defender to dread.

In Midfield the greatest development in Nigerian football in that decade came with the emergence of the ball artists in Nigeria’s midfield – Jay Jay Okocha, Papillo Kanu Nwankwo and Sunday Oliseh. From the World Cup qualifiers in 1993 to the Olympic Games in 1996, these three midfield maestros captured the imagination of the world. They were defined by their sublime skills on the ball. Complementing them was versatile and hardworking Garba Lawal, whose endless running reminded everyone of Mudashiru Babatunde Lawal.  Jay Jay, Kanu and Oliseh could do virtually anything with the ball. They also had hardworking headmaster Mutiu Adepoju whose maturity was a calming influence in the midfield of that era.   In Jay Jay Nigeria had one of the most comfortable players on the ball the world has ever seen. He was a ball artist, an entertainer extraordinaire, and a fantastic dribbler. Between himself and Haruna Ilerika, there will be an everlasting debate about who is the better dribbler. Many coaches appreciated Jay Jay‘s talent but would rather he played more with the team than for himself and his teeming admirers on the terraces! Perhaps this is the element that denied him a place as Africa’s best during the decade. There is no disputing Kanu’s place in Nigerian football. He has served the country well playing at different levels for 17 years at a stretch. His greatest achievements were in Europe where made a mark in all the teams that he played for. Whilst wearing the colours of the senior national team of Nigeria, though, his records do not come near that of many other players. In 5 or 6 African Cup of Nations, and three World Cup finals, the greatest theatres of football, he neither scored a single goal nor make an appreciable impact.

In Attack Nigeria was blessed also with arguably the best assembly in our history, defined clearly by their individual achievements. In that decade Nigerians won the African Footballer of the Year award 5 times, with Kanu winning it twice.  Others are Victor Ikpeba, Emmanuel Amuneke, and Rashidi Yekini. (It is still baffling why Jay Jay Okocha never won it).  Add to these forwards the supporting group of Tijani Babangida and Finidi George, two right wingers who continued in the well-established tradition of some of the best wingers in Africa coming from Nigeria. In Finidi George Nigeria had perhaps the best crosser of the ball the country has ever had. Rashidi, in that decade, surpassed my previous humble record of being the highest goalscorer in the history of Nigerian football.

2000 – 2009

In this decade the less said about Nigerian players the better.

There have been only a few players that deserve to join the elite list of Nigeria’s best players in the last 50 years.

Vincent Enyeama has been dominant in goal. Mikel Obi, a great defensive midfielder by any yardstick, has not done enough yet to deserve a place. The next decade may be his for the taking if he does for the country what he has been doing for his English Premiership team this season. Osaze Odewingie has played consistently well for Nigeria and may indeed be one of the outstanding players of the out-going decade. Coming closely in his heels is Victor Nsofor. But compared to the giants of Nigerian football between 1960 and 2000, none of the present generation of players enters my list.  Some of them definitely would play a major part in the football of the next decade and hopefully their performance and contribution may earn them a place in history!

The weird genius!

One player I must mention is one that never even played for the country at senior level. His eccentric nature must have cost him a place as one of the greatest players I ever set my eyes upon in all my experience. He never loved to train. He would come last to the training ground and be the last at everything. He never applied himself to anything. In all the years I knew him I can count on one hand the total number of times I heard him say anything. He never spoke to anybody, not the players, not the coach. The smirky look on his face was a mask. he carried out instructions of coaches at his own pace and in his own time, never disagreeing or disobeying. He played at junior and academicals level for Nigeria and would definitely have graduated to the senior level if he had remained in the country. In the early 1980s when his colleagues moved up to the Green eagles he disappeared into America, never to be heard of again. And so ‘evaporated’ one the most prodigious talents the country has ever produced and who, in my humble estimation, was one of the best footballers I have ever set my eyes upon, and that includes all the worldwide greats! I never saw his father play but stories abound about his father’s talent that are unmatched up to this day. Tunde Balogun, first son, of legendary ‘Thunder’ Tesilimi Balogun, was simply a genius on the ball. His acceleration, his touches on the ball, his ball control, his dribbling skills, his ability to score goals, were only in the realm of imagination. But I saw him play! He is one genius that most Nigerians never got to see well enough!

Finally who are my final choice of 50 best players of the last 50 years of Nigerian football? Well, thats why this is really an academic exercise only. Sift from the players that have graced our fields most of whom I have mentioned and make up your own list!