Diminutive former Nigeria defender, Mobi Oparaku, has revealed, with deep regret, that playing for only 70 minutes during the Super Eagles’ campaign at the France ’98 World Cup was the worst moment of his career, Completesports.com reports.
Oparaku was part of Nigeria’s victorious 1993 FIFA U-17 World Cup squad in Japan, coached by Fanny Amun. He also played a key role in the Nigeria U-23 team that won the men’s football gold medal at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games, defeating global powerhouse Argentina 3-2 in the final.
His career soared as he played in all the qualifying matches for the France 1998 World Cup. However, during the Super Eagles’ famous 3-2 win over Spain in their Group D opener, Serbian coach Bora Milutinovic replaced Oparaku with Rashidi Yekini in the 70th minute.
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Oparaku was subsequently left out of Nigeria’s remaining matches – a 1-0 win over Bulgaria and a 3-1 defeat to Paraguay. The team later crashed out in the second round after a 4-1 loss to Denmark.
Twenty-seven years later, Oparaku, who has served as Team Manager of his boyhood club, Heartland FC, reflected on his career, lamenting that his limited game time in his first senior World Cup was his biggest disappointment.
“I played in all the qualifying matches for the France 1998 FIFA World Cup finals,” Oparaku recalled in Onitsha.
“That was after our triumph at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. When we qualified for the World Cup, I looked forward to a great tournament, as it was my first senior World Cup.
“But in our opening match against Spain, which we won 3-2 against all expectations, the coach, Bora Milutinovic, substituted me in the second half (in the 70th minute), and I was never given another chance to play for the rest of the tournament. That was the worst moment of my career, and I still feel bad about it to this day.”
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When asked about his most memorable career moment, Oparaku said it was when Sunday Oliseh scored the winning goal against Spain at the ’98 World Cup.
“The feeling was indescribable. It was unimaginable – Nigeria beating Spain in a World Cup match! If it were a story, nobody would have believed it. I was overjoyed to be part of that moment,” Oparaku said.
Asked to name his all-time best Super Eagles XI, Oparaku selected Vincent Enyeama, Mobi Oparaku, Celestine Babayaro, Sunday Oliseh, Uche Okechukwu, Taribo West, Victor Ikpeba, Emmanuel Amuneke, Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha, Daniel ‘Da Bull’ Amokachi, and Kanu Nwankwo.
By Sab Osuji
