Overseas clubs ‘don’t trust’ Black African goal keepers. It seems like a joke but it might be true. History can teach us that Africa has produced a lot of great goalkeeps and also Africa currently has a bunch of them the likes of Itumeleng Khune , Daniel Akpeyi , Dennis Onyango and the list goes one.
“It’s not as easy as people think, because I tried leaving Israel but faced the usual problem about lack of trust,” Aiyenugba, who is now back in Nigeria with Kwara United, told BBC Sport Africa.
“The big challenge is that European clubs don’t believe in African goalkeepers.
“We are blessed with great positioning and reflexes, but they often say we don’t have great technique. Back then things were difficult because you pack power in your legs but lack the required technique to excel.
“You also had to be playing in the national team to earn some attention or respect but now it’s much better.
“You can play a youth tournament and catch the eye but the lack of trust was obviously a big challenge.
“You often have to work extra hard to make it to European football then you find out on getting there that it’s not so easy to convince top European clubs.”
“I think now things are changing. You can see African goalkeepers making waves in other top European league unlike in the past,” he added.
“It’s a positive sign that things are beginning to look up for African goalkeepers. Now a lot of academies are springing up in Africa and emulating Cameroon who have always produced top goalkeepers.
“You just need to keep pushing yourself and show what you’re capable of doing to earn trust and confidence.”
“Two things made me return. The first is my family, I’ve missed them and I have a 14 year old son, Daniel, who is one of the finest youth goalkeepers in the country right now.” he said.
“I returned home to pass my knowledge to him.
“The other reason is because I want to help my hometown club return to better days. They’ve been trying to stay in the top league and I want to help them.”
“It’s not about money all the time, sometimes it’s about honour and giving back to where you started from,” he explained.
“I just want to give back to the city that groomed and supported me and gave me a start in football. I want to speak to others about this profession.
“Young people are in a rush. I want to teach them to start from somewhere because you can’t build a house in a day.
“I started from the streets, youth clubs, youth leagues, state league but many upcoming players don’t want to go through all that.
“I just want to speak to them about what to expect and how to go about it. We lack so many things. Nowadays people are distracted with the social media and other stuff. I just try to speak to them about the paths to follow to success.
“It’s also important to share my experience with the young players. I know it’s not easy because many people don’t want to start from the scratch, all they care about is just leaving the country for anything that is abroad.”
“I feel blessed with all I have achieved,” he added.
“It is what it is. We had top two goalkeepers in Ejide and Enyeama and pushed each other. We knew Enyeama was number but we kept him on his toes.
“Nowadays people can try out different goalkeepers. Imagine the last Nations Cup Nigeria made use of all three keepers.”
“It all depends on my body and God’s grace to keep playing. I can’t decide when to stop because I want to put myself through training,” he insisted.
“In Israel I had a goalkeeper trainer who retired at 40 then return to win the championship at 43, so it depends on your mind and how you take care of yourself.
“I just want to try to give back to the club. Try to help them earn a ticket to play in the Caf competitions.
“The state government is putting everything into it and the coaching crew is highly experienced and ready.”
Do you think it is true ?
