Welcome, Guest: Register On Nairaland / LOGIN! / Trending / Recent / NewStats: 3,150,583 members, 7,809,114 topics. Date: Thursday, 25 April 2024 at 11:37 PM |
Nairaland Forum / Entertainment / Sports / Just In: Evil Befalls Super Eagles Player (798 Views)
Super Eagles Player Ahmed Musa Visits IDP Camp (photo) / Gernot Rohr: Victor Moses Is The Most Reliable Super Eagles Player / List Of Invited Super Eagles Player For South Africa Match (2) (3) (4)
(1) (Reply)
Just In: Evil Befalls Super Eagles Player by Ayire(m): 4:39pm On Mar 27, 2016 |
It is a tale of grace to grass for the once promising
Nigerian footballer
– Opabunmi’s eye affected him and he was forced to
up hang his boots in his prime
– The ex footballer is unemployed and seeking help
from the NFF and well-meaning Nigerians When
Femi Opabunmi started his footballing career in the
ancient city of Ibadan, he was hopeful and dreamt
of becoming the best in the world.
True to his dream, within a short period of time he
was playing for the national team and represented
Nigeria at the FIFA World Cup.
He was the youngest footballer ever to play at the
FIFA U-20 World Cup, where he also played against
David Beckham.
Growing up in those years and from a humble
background, he idolised Roberto Baggio. He looked
up to him with the hope of surpassing the Italian
football superstar. Little did he know that his woes
were just around the corner.
“I want to be like Roberto Baggio, I love his style of
play and of course he inspired me. Baggio was my
role model growing up and also when I became a
professional footballer,” he told NAIJ.com.
Career
The now 31-year-old started playing in the ancient
city of Ibadan, where he played for Shooting Stars
Football Club before luck shone on him and he found
himself in Europe:
“I played for Shooting Stars FC before heading to
Europe to play,” he said.
The player had a stint with Grasshoppers
Zürich, Switzerland, and Hapoel Be’er Sheva in
Israel after which he came back to Shooting Stars to
play when the eye problem got worse.
“I played Shooting Stars then after that I played
Grasshoppers of Switzerland. I played Hapoel Be’er
Sheva in Israel, then FC Lyon in France, a second
division club, before I encountered my problems.
“Those were interesting times of my life and my
career as a footballer.”
National team career
Opabunmi was the third youngest player to play at
the FIFA senior World Cup. He was the player who
scored the winning goal when Nigeria finished second
at the U-17 championship in 2001.
He scored a hat-trick in 2001 at the U-17 FIFA
World Cup. Amongst his honours were the Silver Shoe
and Bronze awarded to him at the same
tournament as the second highest goal scorer in the
tournament. “In every footballer life you want to be
great and the highest level to play football is to go
for World Cup, so but it’s a privilege; it’s not by my
power its by His Grace,” he told NAIJ.com.
He scored a goal for the Super Eagles in 2002, and
he was a FIFA 2002 senior World Cup player in which
he later played against England. Unfortunately, he
was overlooked after the World Cup.
Eye problem
Opabunmi never anticipated any problems during his
blossoming career: his eyes did not give him any hint
of blindness. Everything was working well and he
seemed to have a perfect life.
All he knew was football and how to get better. Then
he woke up one morning to a sharp pain in his left
eye. He ignored it and continued training thinking it
was a one-off thing. Instead it was the beginning of
the end of a great career.
“I just noticed the sharp pain and never saw it as a
big deal. I started suspecting all was not well when
the pain won’t go away.
“I couldn’t take care of myself in France, I
operated my eyes twice in Paris and the doctor said
my case is complicated.”
After a two unsuccessful attempts at surgery in
Europe, he left for Ibadan to seek spiritual help
from pastors and imams, as he suspected that he
had been bewitched.
“I was in France when I have encounter with my
eyes and the doctor there said my case is
complicated so I have to come down to Nigeria to
find solution.
“When oyibo (foreign) doctor said your case is
complicated what would you do? I was going from
one prayer house to another to find solution and at
the end it is life.” |
(1) (Reply)
Sure 3+ Odds Posted For Today For FREE! Click Here To See D Games. / C Ronaldo Wears Pink Wig For Playful Snap With His Son (photo) / King Of Tactics: Chelsea 3-4-3 Formation
(Go Up)
Sections: politics (1) business autos (1) jobs (1) career education (1) romance computers phones travel sports fashion health religion celebs tv-movies music-radio literature webmasters programming techmarket Links: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) Nairaland - Copyright © 2005 - 2024 Oluwaseun Osewa. All rights reserved. See How To Advertise. 15 |