US-based former Super Eagles striker, Ekigho Ehiosun, tells JOHNNY EDWARD about his Eagles debut, playing in the NPFL, his initial challenges in Europe and more, in this interview
Now that you are retired, can you recall how you started playing football?
I really can’t remember how my football career started, but all I know is that I started at a very tender age and showed my quality to my young coaches, who mentored me and registered me for football tournaments in Warri, Delta State. It was from there I got into my school team and the rest is history.
What was it like playing in the Nigerian league with Warri Wolves?
I was happy that I played for Warri Wolves because I grew up there. It was a special feeling for me because for every home game, I had my family in the stands to watch me play. My coursemates and people who lived around our house would always come to the stadium to cheer me and the team to victory back then. My adrenalin was always pumped up each time I knew they were in the stands to watch me play. That is one feeling I will never forget in my lifetime. I cherish those moments. At Warri Wolves, I played with some of the best players in the NPFL at that time. We were so united and special. The management, led by Amaju Pinnick, made our time there awesome. We were nicknamed the Man City of the NPFL but it is so sad we didn’t win the league during our time with the club.
Do you think the current NPFL can produce players of your calibre?
Of course, they can and I think they have been doing that since inception. It’s just for the coaches to believe in these players from the local league. The likes of Samson Siasia, Stephen Keshi and Sunday Oliseh all believed in the players from the NPFL, they gave them chances in the Eagles because they saw qualities in them. So, I believe we still have them in abundance. I was a product of the league. The NPFL can produce better players for the Eagles. I feel it’s just time and chance.
Do you think the poor state of the domestic league has weakened the national team?
To be honest, has there ever been a time that the Nigerian league hasn’t been in a poor state? So, at the moment I can tell you for free that the NPFL is much better than when we used to play there. It depends on two sides. The weakness of the senior national team has nothing to do with the Nigerian league. Let’s start with this: how many local players are there in the Eagles’ provisional list for the AFCON? It’s a sensitive issue. During my time, I broke into the Eagles as a home-based player and the league was regarded as a poor one, let alone now when things are much better, why are we not having more players in the national team?
What were your challenges in terms of language, weather, and food while trying to settle down abroad as a professional footballer?
It was not easy settling in Europe when I signed for Samsunspor in Turkey in 2011. We just returned from an away game and I was told I had a visa appointment to Turkey the following day. I only had my luggage, so, I told my manager I needed some rest to prepare well for the journey, but he said the club were waiting for me and they wanted to see me. He wanted me to travel down and sign and return to Nigeria and rest well. So, I agreed. We left for Turkey and the deal was completed. I signed a one-year contract, with the option of two more years and my manager told me that my new coach wanted to see me and introduce me to the team and I replied that was not the agreement. I obliged him and behold, I got to the team’s camp and I learned that the team was having a game that day and the coach wanted me to play. I had not eaten a good meal for over a day and a good rest but my manager said I must play. You won’t believe that I suffered cramps in my first game, which was my first problem.The food was another problem. It was a disaster. The language was another problem. It was difficult to cope. I had no clue about the winter in Turkey, but luckily I scored on my debut. Afterwards, I could not cope with the food and the language. The club president invited me to his office at a time when the team was not doing well and he brought out a pistol and pointed it at my feet and said, ‘I know you’re a good player and we are having a problem, so, if you can’t help the team I will shoot your leg’, and we laughed over it.
When winter came I ran out of the field when I could not feel my feet, but I started scoring and getting used to the weather and that was my turning point.
How did you feel when you made your Eagles debut in a friendly against Sierra Leone in Lagos in 2011?
The feeling was out of this world. For every footballer, the dream is always to represent your country. It’s a day I’d never forget in my career. I can recall when I got my invitation to the Eagles, I didn’t believe it. I had to ask the journalists and the coach if it was true.
What was going through your mind before you were called up to the main Eagles squad?
I was invited to the team because Victor Anichebe picked up an injury. I didn’t believe I would get to play at all because of the caliber of players invited for the match. I just had it at the back of my mind that I was going to enjoy myself and meet with these big players I have always watched on tv, and learn from them as well. Also, the match bonus at that time was very attractive to me because while I was at the Eagles B camp, Chibuzor Okonkwo, who was always on the team, told me how much players received after games. So, as a local boy, I hoped to get into camp and get my bonus because I had that thought that I was not going to play. But things changed when Emmanuel Emenike sustained an injury during the game against Sierra Leone and Chibuzor tapped me and said, ‘top scorer it’s your time to shine’ and moments later, I was beckoned on by coach Samson Siasia to start warming up. At that point, I froze out on the bench. There were so many things running through my mind, and I was so confused. But as soon as I started warming up, the local fans started cheering me up. It was as if they knew I had cold feet, but I told God that if it was truly Him that got me this far, He should stand by me and the fear vanished. I became confident, the heavens opened and I scored a few minutes after I came on for Emenike.
What was it like playing alongside Osaze Odemwingie and Emenike in the Eagles?
It was a dream come true for me to play alongside these players. I’m thankful to God for the opportunity to play alongside these players you mentioned and the likes of Joseph Yobo, Mikel Obi and Vincent Enyeama.
What kind of competition and rivalry existed between you and the other strikers in the Eagles back then?
Trust me, I had no rival in the Eagles and I didn’t see anyone in that light. During my time with the Eagles, the team had big game strikers that I was not at their level. I came in from the NPFL, so, I saw all of the strikers in the team as big players. The only thing I can share with you is that something happened in the dressing room in one of the AFCON qualifiers against Ethiopia away in Adisa Abba. We were in the changing room and the coach was about to announce his starting list for the game and when they do that they call the players jersey number as well. The old players in the team already knew their numbers. So I was handed the number of one of the famous strikers in the team, I won’t mention his name. You don’t want to know how he looked at me. It was as if the ground should open up for me to get in. I was very scared. Aside, that, I had a fantastic time with the Eagles.
Do you regret not playing at the AFCON?
I won’t say I regret not playing at the Africa Cup of Nations. I feel I was just unlucky not to make the squad for the 2013 AFCON and 2014 World Cup tournament. For me, no hard feelings because I feel that there are so many players better than me who never got the chance to play for the Eagles like I did. I was part of the players invited to camp for the 2013 AFCON but I reported to camp with an injury. I thought I could shrug it off, but I couldn’t. It was difficult for me to walk, let alone run, so, I met the late (coach) Stephen Keshi and told him about my injury and that I wanted to leave. He told me that the coaching crew had been observing me but wanted me to come to them and explain what was going on with me. Keshi told me he was proud of my sincerity and that I should leave camp to take care of myself but I should ensure I joined the team before they left for South Africa. But my recovery was slow and that was how I missed out on the team that won the title in 2013, but I have no regrets at all.
How would you rate the current strikers in the Eagles?
Looking at the current crop of strikers in the team, we should not be having a problem scoring. These players are some of the best in the world. I used to believe I was an ‘Iron Man’ when I played, but the likes of Victor Osimhen, Victor Boniface, Sadiq Umar, Terem Moffi are ‘Iron Men’ pro max. It is our prayer that they all lead Nigeria to a fourth title in Ivory Coast.
Why did you quit active football in your early 30s?
I got advice from my doctor before I went to play in Israel. I was having problems with my tendon. Each time I played, I was always having pains. The pain was unbearable and I used to feel heat under my feet while I played on the synthetic pitch. After games and training sessions, I needed an ice bath for my feet to ease the excruciating pains I had. God willing, I was able to end the season and after an MRI scan with my doctors in Turkey, they recommended that I undergo surgery on my tendons as they were damaged. They said they would cut a part of my tendons and I might not be able to play professionally again. I had used most of my muscle tissues to mend part of my tendons. I was advised to take a step back and I spoke with my family and that was the best decision I ever made since then. Injury has taken the best players out of the game, but I’m happy I made my mark in football and I’m happy that I’m healthy without problems on my tendons again.
What would you have been if you were not a footballer?
Growing up I wanted to become an Electrical Engineer. Whenever we had an issue with electricity at home, I was quick to get the screwdriver to lose out screws to see what the problem was in some wired sockets. But after doing that, I could not screw them back in and my father would scold me in our local dialect that I was destroying appliances at home. Along the line, I switched to Computer Engineering and I gained admission to the Petroleum Training Institute, Warri, where I graduated with distinction and that’s what I’m doing now here in the US.
Will you allow your children to play football?
Of course, why not? Currently, I’m the coach of my kids and I would love them to experience the kind of feeling I had as a footballer as well, but it’s going to be whatever career they eventually choose in the long run. As a father, my job is just to support them and ensure they are successful in their fields. I’m just taking them through the rudiments of football at the moment. It runs in my family even if I was the only child that became a professional. My late dad played football and was also a referee, as well as my elder brothers.
