‘Adi deserves another Eagles’ call up’

Adi on duty for Portland Timbers during a game in the MLS.

Nigerian-born striker Fanendo Adi is looking forward to getting another call up where he hopes to finally make debut for the Super Eagles.
The 27-year-old Portland Timbers forward who has been making waves in the Major League Soccer, was invited last year’s March by the Samson Siasia-led crew for the 2018 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers against the Pharaohs of Egypt, but was not listed for both encounters in Kaduna and Cairo.
Adi, who joined Timbers from FC Copenhagen of Demark on loan, holds the enviable record of being his team’s all-time highest goal scorer and former BCC Lions of Gboko goalkeeper, Sam Aindigh believes the player deserves another chance to fight for a shirt in the 2018 World Cup-bound squad.
“If invited to the Super Eagles, Gernot Rohr will have more options in his attack with the inclusion of Adi. He has also broken records and set new ones within this period for his club and in the MLS. He was the first player to score a brace in four consecutive MLS league games last season and also became Timbers’ all-time highest goal scorer in MLS with 50 goals. Adi is the only Nigerian player who has made FIFA Ultimate team of the month for three consecutive months,” Aindigh, a member of Lobi Stars’ management team said.
“Having followed Adi for some time now I believe that he would be of great value to the Super Eagles. Initially it took me a long time to establish his true nationality going by his first name which gives him out easily as an American, this quest took me to Gboko, his home town where I met his dad who is also a football coach to unravel his true nationality and since then Adi has always shown great enthusiasm to play for his father land,” Aindigh, a member of the 1990 African Winners Cup BCC Lions winning squad stated.
Adi, a former AS Trencin striker had lamented his exclusion from the Eagles squad in Kaduna last year.
“To be able to represent your country is always good. To get invited is a good thing. The bad thing is to fly all the way from America, 32 hours to go there and back and not even be on the bench or on the 18/19 (list).
“It’s not a good moment or not a good thing, so for me, that was very disappointing. I knew I could contribute, but you just have to respect the coaches and do what they want to do, go with the flow. But also it looks bad that I flew all the way for 32 hours without being on the 19-man list. It was a sweet and sour moment,” he told Kwese ESPN.