Udinese defender Destiny Udogie has opted to represent Italy on the international stage at the expense of Nigeria, reports Completesports.com.
Udogie was born in Italy, but he is of Nigerian descent.
“I was born in Italy, so I feel more Italian. I grew up playing with the young players in Italy, so I want to continue with Italy,” Udogie told the Italian Football Podcast.
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“I hope to reach the first team and play as many matches as possible.”
Despite his young age, Udogie believes he will soon break into the Italian national team.
“Of course, it is my ambition to make it to the senior team,” Udogie responded when asked if his age will hinder his target to play for Italy.
“I just have to do my best in every game so I can show him [Roberto Mancini] my qualities and it is a big ambition I hope to be able to reach.”
42 Comments
Good Luck
YOU ARE RIGHT BUT IN OTHER WAYS YOU ARE A BIG FOOL DO YOU THINK THAT ITALIAN FOOTBALL FAVOUR YOU MORE THAN NIGERIA???
THEY WILL ONLY USE YOU TO PLAY FRIENDLY MATCHES AND DUMP YOU THAT WILL BE THE END OF YOUR NATIONAL TEAM FOOTBALL CAREER
I wrote about him last year that we should invite him. He’s a good tackler. I think he made the right choice. Good luck to him.
…yea! Nice son… Go get your 5 friendly matches cap and make your history. Hahaha… Where is Stefano Okaka and Angelo Obinna?
Angelo was mad that he did well for EPL last season but still did not get a look-in for the EUROs. Africans selling out since Mungo Park credited himself with part of our history after the locals spared his boat for sailing on the Niger River without VISA.
Completesports has a house fool of crappy people with misplaced priorities. This is not news. If the young man was a doctor and worked in an Italian hospital, the news not going to be featured on thisday or other Nigerian journals about him choosing to work with Italian hospital instead of Nigerian hospital.
The young man made his choice and that should be respected by everyone. We have quite a number of players born Abroad who chose to represent Nigeria ahead of their country of birth, those players are now being made the scapegoat and all sorts of xenophobic attacks are directed towards them, first by the Minister of sport and now by a former player Daniel Amokachi and completesports is trying to make this young man the next target for some ignorant idiot to aim at which has already started in the comment section.
This is how domb these people are, you claim the problem of the Super Eagles is too many foreign born players, then this young man decided to not add to the Eagles problem and you are still not satisfied, you get mad, curse him out, call him names and remind him of others who had few invites by Italy and never got a look in afterwards when you should have been happy he did you a favor by not being part of your problem.
You see, double standards, shameless, hypocrisy and selfhate are problems in Nigeria however the biggest problem is that most Nigerians think those are normal way of life and thereby proudly indulge in those kind of behaviors.
Anyone saying anything negative about this young man over his decision should take a good look at himself because I know that any normal individual would not attack someone/have a negative comment or curse someone out for making a decision for his own future that does involve anyone else but himself. Whoever has anything negative to say about this young man is an ignorant fool. I thought you guys already came out with a plan to limit players born Abroad so why are you mad he chose Italy?
DeTruth you killed it there. If people makes their choice stop posting them. Stop it stop it it doesn’t make any sense, other discipline does not post about people who choose to work at another country except football. That is why the people back home loose their self esteem. Home based are not challenging themselves waiting until they get foreign deals before they can give solid performance, although Pinnick has a share of this Blame but las las we are the once that hardly get to CAF champions league semi final talkless of winning CAF cups. NFF will not see that one as an emergency for our league but they see only the Main Eagles as a disaster after Afcon shit and WQ ouster. Wrong way of thinking all over the air in the country. Pinnick just has to go now by resigning same way he has sacked all the coaches, and hiring clowns like Bosso despite his dismal performance the last time out.
CS this is not the news we need at this point of our sports, Nigeria dailies are partly the problem engulfing us. How can you be marketing this newbie talking about dissing Nigeria for another failed World Cup ouster team. You’re creating audience for him and thinking this news is of any benefit to Nigeria. I don’t believe this foreign teams will send any juvenile Nigerian player and put them on their dailies at the detriment of their national interest. Lazy journalism that can not source for Nigeria grassroot talents instead you’re here spreading trash news. Is Udogie better than Nwobodo or Tijani or Alhassan? Continue deceiving yourselves when you should be giving us updates on development of our past eaglets and flying eagles since you’re too broke to delve into grassroot football.
@Chima… Good talk. I don’t know what CSN want is to do with a news like this which is of no interest to Nigeria ball fans…
Our local league is there. CS won’t write anything about the stars among the players.
News about the stars in Nigeria local leagues is one of the ways to promote our league.
Not stupid news like this.
Godsate, we are all part of the problems in this country. How many of us will pay couple of hundreds of naira to watch Liverpool, Man City, Man Utd play? How many of us will pay even #5 to go watch Lobi Stars play? I know our league and infrastructure were derelicts, but we can do more. We need more private individuals and companies to setup. Government cannot exist in a vacuum with the private investment and vice versa.
When complete sport starts talking about the players and creating competitions like they always do about other league players, our league will have awareness. Even South Africa you see how to talk about their local players with passion but how many players can name in our league that complete sports has brought to light? The league that use to have big publicity during the times of Shooting Stars or just last decade Eyimba. But now No because complete sports will not even go to local match venues except super eagles matches that other media also covers. CS can do better, even Amaju Pinnick doesn’t attend local matches or know any local star. Is that one not a taboo??? CS and NFF are one!!!
Chima E Samuel, you are right. We are both seeing this from the same angle. There need to be more coverage of our local league and players as well. It is lazy journalism that they don’t visit any of these venues. However, news media only care about rating and consumption. Are we interested in our matches in the first place? Don’t get me started on those people in the glasshouse. They are so incompetent. They are short of ideas. They should be primary ones promoting our leagues. Choose one venue everywhere to see, inspect matches and officiating. All those Dangote paying our players money for winning certain matches should be donated for the development of our league. Maybe one day, people like myself and you could get into that position and make positive changes for the future of unborn children.
Well said Brodaman Chima. We have to pay more attention to local content.
For real CS should talk more about local talents, and every other good players from every part of the world that wants to play for Nigeria. The goal should be for our interest wether home or abroad anyone that is good and wants to play for us should be given the audience. Instead of marketing all this players for their agents to another country. How we lost Fikayo and Saka still remains a major disaster! Complete Sports can not organise talent hunt to help give platform to talented players. CS is not taking advantage of their publicity!
Bingo player
He felt more Italian lol? Failed parental and national systems. Inferiority-complexed people. You don’t even need to give us the reason to opt to play for Italy but don’t say you felt more like Italian. It is a common phenomenon among Nigerians born outside the shore of the country and it’s very sad for our people. Nigerians in Nigeria cannot even speak out local dialects. Nigerians outside don’t instill the pride of coming from Nigeria and neither do they speak the language to them. Anyway, I wish him the best of luck with Italy.
@Adeyemi you are not making any sense. You just said that some Nigerians in can’t speak their local dialect but you blame Nigerians Abroad for their children feeding more of where they were born and raised than Nigeria!!!
You need to check yourself.
I’m blaming the Nigerians here and abroad for our sorry state. The ones we have here on ground expects the government to perform miracles and the ones abroad do not want to associate with the country. Pretty much, no future for the country unless something drastic is done
If Nigeria was as successful as the united states or France in terms of Economic Power all this players and people will feel more Nigerian. Nobody wants to associate with failure that is why they choose the better of the two countries and this dailies are helping them to fuel it by also roaming abroad meeting these players instead of developing home. Nigerians who love Nigeria are the ones who can make Nigeria great such that there’ll be home coming in Nigeria someday, and we have to start demanding this from those at the helm of connecting the world which is the media to start by giving us information of what we have because it is what the media shows that sells and progress. For me whatever makes Nigeria Great is the Goal. Nobody loves Nigeria more than us because I have witnessed what Nigerians go through outside Nigeria and you can’t blame anyone to love themselves than US even when we are Right.
No country is successful without her people. If you remember the great depression of United States in the 1930s, they came out of the mess strongly. There were black histories in the many years of her existence. The patriotism and the eagerness to succeed as a country after severing ties with UK push them to where they are today. We severe ties with UK in 1960 but nothing to show for it. We lack patriotism. Inferiority complex is also a problem. My cousins were born in United States but ask them where they are from, they will tell you straight up, we are Nigerians. I hope one day, Nigerians in the diaspora will come home regardless of the state of our country. Up to 70% of black doctors in United States are Nigerians and yet we have no good hospital back home. Can’t the doctors here contribute to build one? Nigerians are the most educated migrants here but guess what, we can’t translate it back home. Many Nigerians want to leave the country and I don’t blame them. I don’t know the way forward. Burn everything down and let’s start afresh, I guess. Cos as it stands, old politicians are corrupt, younger ones are crooks themselves. Corruption in every facade of our society. We are all guilty! Let’s unite in one faith which is called Nigeria and not religion. Religion is one of the biggest problems we have in Nigeria. Happy Easter
I beg..news about worthy home base players please. Since we don’t want foreign born players anymore oya give us names of some of our league’s bests and whom they can dethrone from our current players… Lol.
WAEC.
U feel more Italian with a black skin lmao . ..Gooduck
Very very Black guy the thing weak me let him ask Balotelli how it’s going. Only a few like Alaba with exceptional talent that will escape the torture. Most of this guys abroad in Italy don’t take education seriously, they give it all to sports and when it comes to now applying logic to lifestyle they tend to make quack decisions. Their Career doesn’t go any further. This guy after reading comment section will not grant CS the right or pay them for this s..t again. Infact many of them like Eze and Olise should read and know that Nigerians are not Cowards anymore. So their agency trying to fast track at the detriment of national interest should think twice!
We have one useless Paul Bassey complaining about the numbers of foreign born players playing for Nigeria. And this man is a member of NFF technical committee you guys wonder why our soccer is falling. Some of us knew why this man is whining we going to expose them soon. This are the people that axed Awoniyi for Ighalo and Sadiq, same people kept Amoo on the bench.
What good has all these foreign born Nigerian done to our football that we clamour for them everyday…and news that I hate to hear these days is one Nigeria player or the other doing very well for his club in Europe and fail to qualify Nigeria for world cup what is the essense?
We are not against foreign Borns. We are against the propaganda surrounding everything. Please let’s be guided because hating foreign talents who commit to Nigeria is wizardry neither do we hate the ones who don’t want to play for us. All we are saying is don’t talk down Nigeria in other to raise your career because a lot of Nigerians abroad suffer from all sort of discrimination because of the disrespect we give our Nation.
Like Odemwingie, Danny Shittu, Victor Moses etc abi?
May be I should remind you and u answer your question yourself
@Niyi what good you say???. Who qualified us for last AFCON tell me need i remind you that our best Foreign exports came from the Academies not the league my friend most of our top Nigerian born players in Top leagues in Europe today did not kick a ball in our mumu NPFL league they came from the academies and straight to youth teams of top Clubs in Europe you people are fooling yourself if you think the NPFL can produce some top star lol LMAFO I laugh in Pigeon Looooool!!! NIGERIA in a nutshell. Shoot ourselves in to foot derail everything and when all fails. Shoot ourselves some more and make things completely calamitous keep dulling yourself while Ghana strengthens with Top dual Nationality players. When the Nigerian mentality is done with SE we will be lucky to even beat Swaziland. Calvin Bassey has now deleted every memory of his experience in SE all the pictures he took on Abuja and Kumasi has been deleted from his Instagram. Because if that Crook Amokachi and that devil Paul Bassey. You people should carry on don’t worry Nigeria will be on the level Of Sudan in football very soon
Our last World Cup I mean to say. Who?? Was it not Victor Moses?? and Alex Iwobi???? Coupled with Mikel Obi did these players??..
Again Nigerias best export I football for almost 15 years now are from the academies and youth set up mixed with foreign born. What is killing Nigeria ball is Quota system and team selection Intefreance and not knowing which experience players to invite I.e leaving the player that qualified you for last World Cup who importantly is still in Devastating form Vic Moses and taking dead legs I.e Ahmed Musa because he was imposed by the government that is Nigeria problem
You this BIGOT @UGO IWUNZE you are here again.
I don’t know whether AHMED MUSA IMPREGNATED your SISTER and then REJECTED it, which now form the reason for all your HATE on HIM.
Why don’t you SUE AHMED MUSA or Something rather than HATING on HIM..
You must present the DNA test thou..
If there are FORUMITES I hate reading their COMMENT, NO 1 is you.
You talk of the PEOPLE that QUALIFIED for the W/C.
What about AHMED MUSA who’s 2 GOALS save NIGERIA’S BLUSHES against ICELAND???
SHM….
*QUALIFIED us*
*SMH*
And MIND you AHMED MUSA is a PURE LOCAL NIGERIAN LEAGUE BREED o..
And I can count how many times HE has done us PROUD..
Not all these your AVERAGE INCONSISTENT IWOBI who’s RED CARD cost us the TUNISIAN GAME..
Even the VICTOR MOSES that you mentioned was BORN and RAISED in KD untill about the AGE of 11 or so before HE left the COUNTRY..
So you see we have every reason to side with AMOKACHI..
Check it their OSAZE, MIKEL, EMENIKE are all products of our LEAGUE..
So WTF are you not saying???
I dont know why some guys are very abusive in here. Nigeria is a failed country, these guys Laboured hard to get to where they are today, it is up to them if they decide to play for that corrupt country, what has the country done for them.
The right to choose is given to each an everyone of us by God but our people claim to be so religious but would senselessly attack someone for exercising his or her God given right to choose.
Remember this phrase (“God is a Nigerian”),
It’s a shame that CSN did not write about NWOBODO sealing a $3.5m deal from TURKEY to USA (won’t blame his choice. Knowing that corruption and nepotism won’t get him a merited SE call up, he decided to secure his future financially)
Also Arokodare slowly finding his feet in French League 2 by scoring his 8th league goal goes unreported
The exploits of our players …atleast those ones willing and ready to play for SE are not reported. Busy body kind of journalism
Instead of consistently reporting about players that will help our course, CSN is creating a traffic of negative energies
I recall before Ghana announced it’s squad for the double header, someone here pointed out how their FA was scouring the entire globe for players of it’s origin. At the end we saw players a lot of us knew nothing about knocking us out of the WC
Instead of the xenophobic attacks why not invite all our best legs and give them very good tacticians to manage them.
Afeez Aremu is a Nigerian who plays regularly for ST Pauli same as that GHANAIAN guy. He’s a decent DM. Instead our FA went for a CYPRUD based DM and a second division Saudi based player on standby list
I don’t know if anyone has watched DELE BASHIRU lately. What about ODUBAJO? He will give even AINA a good run for his money. Dude is a beast for QPR
Solanke is hanging the goals regularly for promotion chasing Bournemouth. No one cares to hype and NFF won’t move now. They instead will invite an IGHALO they won’t feature. Who does that? Why waste that slot?
He Goat might I add.. in no way am I referring to Amokachi as Greatest of All Time. Na He Goat I mean.
I think of you read what asmokachi actually said, you won’t need to insult him like this. I will suggest you do that… He just said we should not be overdependent on foreign borns…
But JUMMY, until we develop our league and make it competitive and attractive like the 80s and early 2000s, we will honestly continue to need dual nationality players. Is it local league players who struggle agsint Sudanese teams that we will invite? Lack of right and proper emoluments mean we keep losing decent players from our local league will sign for obscure foreign clubsides
If our FA is proactive, we should attract good foreign Borns like TOMORI who we lost out on
But @Jimmy go and look at it all our best players plying thier trade in Europe even the ones born in Europe have not kicked a ball in Nigeria league. And when they do it is of no longer than a season before they are scouted and rush out for a better standard of life. Even one of your Favs Tony Nwakaeme he has not played in Nigeria before, our league is not up to scratch period bro. We will be doing ourselves an injustice.
Our best exports are from the academies and Youth national teams period because most of those players in youth team it is from the academies they are scouted. I.e. Dennis, Chukwueze, Osimhen I can go on and on
So there is nothing wrong with our development structure it is on the right track that is separate from the NPFL the NPFL should sort the NPFL out not clueless individuals imposing below average players from a below average league on the national team thinking it will solve something. It won’t. It is racists mentality period and evil people shifting blame form them to poor young talented boys of Nigerian decent trying to help our ball out I mean singling out a world class player like Calvin Bassey who is destined for greatness for blame that Buhari and pinnick and people like Odegbami caused?? SHAMEFUL
Why won’t SE call
Obinna Nwobodo.
Odubajo
Dom. Solanke, e.t.c?
These are players with great characters all they need is a good tactician to make them formidable to The Nigeria SE.
Isaac Success who gas regained firm now we will not call him for next qualifiers we will instead have guaranteed spot for finished players whilst trying to fit in Promising talents around them lol smh!!!. Why would a country with thus mentality succeed?
If you ask me good teams build around quality not finished legs. Period!!