By Saka Bashir Adegboyega (SIWES student, Kwara State University)
Former Super Eagles goalkeeper Ndubuisi Egbo is worried about the decreasing number of Nigerian footballers securing high-profile transfers to European clubs.
Despite exceptions like Victor Osimhen, Samuel Chukwueze, Victor Boniface, and Ademola Lookman playing for renowned clubs, a significant portion of Nigerian players now finds themselves at mid-table or lower division teams, and some even in obscure leagues like Cyprus.
Egbo, who led Albanian club KF Tirana to their first league title in a decade in 2020, acknowledges the challenge of identifying more than a handful of Nigerian players capable of competing for Europe’s top clubs.
He stated, In contrast to the past, you can now mention only a few Nigerian players like Victor Osimhen or Victor Boniface, with the others not playing for strong teams. In my time, we had players at clubs like Arsenal, PSG, Chelsea, and more.
This also affects the performance of our national team, as we have only two players like Osimhen and Boniface who are playing regularly and excelling with Napoli and Bayer Leverkusen.
Egbo, the sole coach from Africa to have won a title in Europe’s topflight league, achieved this milestone with FK Tirana, securing Albania’s 2019/20 Super Lig championship and leading the club into the Champions League qualifiers.
Despite his surprise upon learning of this record, he remarked, Even for me, I was surprised at the time to learn that I was the first Nigerian coach or manager to win a title in Europe because I was focused on doing my job and winning for my team.
However, it was well-received in Nigeria, and I knew it could motivate other Nigerian coaches to work hard and break into Europe. I received numerous congratulatory messages at that time.
