FORMER Super Eagles player, Victor Ikpeba has explained why Nigerian players have not been able to win the Glo/CAF African Footballer of the Year award in recent years.
The ‘Prince of Monaco’, as he was fondly called by fans in his playing days, told Tribunesport that many players nowadays are not committed to playing for the country while at the same time, they are not commanding first team shirt in their respective clubs.
According to Ikpeba, winner of the 1997 African Footballer of the Year award, “for any player to win the award, he must be playing regularly for his club. He cannot be a bench warmer or even if not playing all the time, at least he must be seen playing in and out and at the same time, he must be a regular in the national team. That’s the only time such player could be considered, but when you don’t play regularly for your club and for the national team, it won’t work that way.”
The former AS Monaco of France player further informed that it was commitment and the determination to excel that gave him and past Nigerian winners of the award then because they were not only playing regularly for their clubs; they were also active in the national team, coupled with fact that they played for big clubs where laziness was not condoned.
“You would have to fight for your shirt. In a situation where there were many players fighting for a position, how could you be lazy?
“So we were competing and were more determined, these really helped us win the award then, but these days, there is nothing like that. So how do you expect our players to win?,” Ikpeba added.
The former Golden Eaglets player, however, believes that with the rate at which the likes of Kelechi Iheanacho and Alex Iwobi are going, the chances of Nigeria winning the diadem again sometime in the future are bright, saying that the young lads are doing very well for their clubs and country.
No Nigerian footballer has won the Glo-CAF African Footballer of the Year award in the new millennium. In fact the last Nigerian to win the diadem was Kanu Nwankwo. That was in 1999.
The hope that a Nigerian might win the 2016 award was dashed last week after the three Nigerians named in the original 30-man shortlist – John Obi Mikel, Ahmed Musa and Kelechi Iheanacho – failed to make the five-man list released by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
The winner for 2016 will be announced on January 5, 2017 in Abuja.
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