One-cap Super Eagles striker Ade Akinbiyi was included in Leicester City’s worst eleven of the Premier League era.
The list which is in a 4-4-2 formation was compiled by www.90min.com.
Akinbiyi joined Leicester from Wolverhampton Wanderers for £5.5 million in 2000 before departing in 2002.
Also Read: Olympiacos Prepare Bid For Onyekuru
He was brought in as a replacement for
Emile Heskey who left for Liverpool for £11 million but failed to live up to expectations, scoring only 11 goals in 58 league appearances.
His time at Leicester hit rock bottom in a 4–1 defeat at home to Liverpool after he missed four easy chances, including a miss from six yards in the last minute.
This led to boos by Leicester fans whose patience with Akinbiyi had run out.
He was called up on three separate occasions for the Super Eagles, earning just one cap in 1999 in a friendly game against Greece in Kilkis, Central Macedonia.
Leicester City’s Worst Eleven of Premier the League era:
Goalkeeper
Ricardo
Defenders
Hossein Kaebi
Moreno
Matt Mills
Ryan McGivern
Midfielders
Josh Low
Junior Lewis
Andy Johnson
Joe Hamill
Forwards
Ade Akinbiyi
Elvis Hammond
4 Comments
_Failed British Expeditions (1)_
The reward was always going to be breathtaking in the enormity of its prestige: be signed by either an English or Scottish Premier League club; display your football skills at the biggest club stage on earth to a global audience; earn handsomely and become a legend at home and abroad.
A lofty dream; but one that is not unattainable. After all, Okocha, Nwankwo Kanu, John Obi Mikel, Obafemi Martins and Yakubu – all Nigerians – all reached the promise land that is the English Premier League, leaving their mark, making their dough and making sure that they went, saw and conquered. Not to forget the exploits of the effervescent Efe Ambrose who found remarkable success in the Scottish Premier League.
However, along with those success stories are some Nigerian players who managed to find themselves in Great Britain only for their football expedition to end in great disappointment.
The article above got me thinking about notable Nigerian footballers who set foot on British pitch with nothing but heartache to show for their efforts. I present below 5 of these:
1) Ahmed Musa: Arguably the highest profile Nigerian player to be a monumental flop in the English Premier League. By the time Musa signed for Leicester City 8 July 2016, he was a 1 goal in 3 games winger who was already a World Cup star, Afcon winner and multiple league winner in the Russian Premier league hence he boasts of a mouth-wateringly fantastic CV.
Coupled with the fact that he is a speedster – a highly prized asset for any English premier league player – Musa was destined for the stars.
No greater indication need be sought of how bad things would eventually get Musa than the fact that by December 2017, he had been banished to the club’s Under 23 team before eventually being loaned out the next month. Musa only managed 2 goals in 21 games in a wretched stay in England, one neither him nor any Super Eagles fan would look back with any fondness.
It remains my position that Ahmed Musa wasn’t given enough time to prove himself. I believe the way he was deployed earlier on did not bring out the best in him.
2) Julius Aghahowa: Another big name Super Eagles player whose entry into the English Premier League coincided with his exit out of the Nigeria national team (I thought it was meant to the other way around).
Aghahowa signed for Wigan Athletic in January 2007 with a lot expected of him. By the time he stepped on English soil, the Nigeria International was a regular UEFA Champions League participant with Shakhtar Donetsk. He was a 1 goal per 3 games centre forward with speed, dribbling abilities and purposeful play as key attributes.
Having played 20 games in the English Premier League, the fans would never come to see Aghahowa perform his signature summersault moves as the triggers for the summersaults (goals) never came; not a single goal to his name. Having had enough, he was hurled to Turkey in 2008 after spending a barren season and a half in England.
I think the Aghahowa that graced the English Premier League was not the Aghahowa of 2000 – 2002. His best days were ebbing away and this was evident for club and country by 2007.
_Failed British Expeditions (2)_
3) Sadiq Umar: The 2016 Olympic Ace’s career was going through something of a purple patch immediately preceding his acquisition by Rangers in the Scottish Premier League in July 2018 – he had scored 5 goals in 12 games for NAC Breda on loan in Holland.
Having missed out on a place in the Super Eagles squad for the 2018 World Cup, this self-acclaimed future Super Eagles Number 9 would have been positive of his chances of using strong performances in the Scotland to claim his shirt and place for Nigeria.
It was not be.
Steven Gerrard (coach of Rangers) saw nothing good about Umar’s style of play. Having benched him for most part, he was excluded from match-day squads altogether before been shown the door inevitably. Sadiq would later claim that he was even excluded from using the club gym at some point.
I think Rangers made a huge mistake by not giving Sadiq Umar the chance to prove himself. The 23 year old now scores like ‘pure water’ in the Serbian league (and cup competitions) where he scores 1 goal per 2 games! Rangers’ loss!
4) Emmanuel Emenike: On 31 January 2016, Emenike signed for West Ham United on loan until the end of the season with an option to make it permanent. The move was never made permanent. He did score a brace in an FA cup competition in February but those would be the only highs in a stay that was filled more or less with lows characterised by underwhelming league performances.
Emenike joined West Ham at a time when his career was on a downward trajectory. He had done well in Spartak Moscow in the Russian Premier League with 21 goals in 42 matches between 2011-13. However, in more games for Fenerbache, he scored less goals – 19 goals in 69 games to be precise, between 2013 and 2017.
The version of Emenike that went to England was a faded forces who had lost his scoring edge (pity – Emenike remains one of my most favourite Super Eagles striker).
5) Juwon Oshaniwa: Perhaps many had expected Oshaniwa to flop in Scotland and so it turned so, no surprise here right? Well wrong.
To be objective, by the time Juwon Oshniwa signed for Heart of Midlothian in the Scottish Premier League on August 2015, he had already distinguished himself in the biggest stage of all (Fifa World Cup) against some highly illustrious oppositions in the way of Messi, Dzeko, Aguero, Benzema and Pogba. He was playing in the modest Isreal Premier League which the hugely successful Yakubu Aiyegbeni had gone through.
He was an Afcon winner, and in the eyes of many, an up and coming left fullback of repute. Whilst playing in Israel, he was at some point on the radar of might Celtic, hence a lot was expected of him when he signed for Hearts.
It was not to be.
It started well enough in the first season when he managed 24 appearances. However, he was to lose his place in the team in the second season and was ultimately released in 2017 (a year before his contract expired). Oshaniwa has been in football wilderness ever since.
@Deo; Nice piece you’ve got there, taking us down memory lane.
I remember Ifeanyi Udeze also had it tough in the premiership during his one season stint with West Bromwich Albion.
Same applies to Isaac Okoronkwo during his one season stint with Wolverhampton Wanderers in the English Premiership.
Isaac Success is another case in question. Since his £10million record move from Granada to Watford ,he has been a shadow of himself. Injuries have contributed largely to his misfortune, but I also think that he didn’t help himself in the area of self discipline at the early stages of his premiership sojourn.
The English premiership is such a tough league that entails a high level of self discipline to survive.
Thank you Omo Esan. There are others who dream of making it big in Britain went down like the Titanic.
They include:
Rabiu Ibrahim – he had a forgettable time at Celtic in Scotland. Many believe he never fulfilled anything close to his potential for the Super Eagles.
John Utaka – failed to light up the English Premer League when he was in Portsmouth (though he contributed to the FA Cup success with a decent performance in the final). He had a decent career with the Super Eagles.
Chidiere Nwakali: he tried his luck in Aberdeen in the Scottish Premier League but the nomadic midfielder failed to impress. He continues to struggle to gain a foothold in Club football after a successful under 17 career.
Blessing Kaku: the 42 year old former Super Eagles midfielder tried his luck with Bolton Wanderers in the English Premer League in 2004. After just one game, the club saw enough to conclude that he was no Okocha!
Reuben Gabriel: the Patrick Viera of Nigeria (I no go laff tire!! :)) went to Scotland to try his luck in Kilmarnock but actually requested to leave after just a handful of matches. The club gladly accepted his request.
Portsmouth’s FA triumph with Utaka (and King Kanu) making valuable contributions.
https://youtu.be/HeERJez7nmk