The Man Who Saw Red In Morocco
Nigeria has participated in many Africa Cup of Nations but that of 1988 in Morocco was unique for many reasons. Apart from being one of the most competitive in the history of the biennial competition, it left lingering memories in the heart of many Nigeri
Ademola Adesina was a tough player whose presence in the midfield often gave opponents jitters. Now, there are those telltale signs of age. He still eagerly rekindled memories of his heydays as he made out several precise passes to teammates and deflected shots aimed at his goal in several of the warm-up matches he partakes in.
Adesina started football an early age against the wish of his parents. Driven by the passion he had for the game, he persisted and went on to play for his secondary school after which he got invitation to play for Igbalaye FC of Oshogbo and later NEPA FC, also of Oshogbo.
“In those days, my parents never wanted me to have anything to do with football; all they were interested in was for me to face my studies. I even had a brother then, Olatunji Adesina, who did everything to discourage me from football, but all was to no avail. Sometimes I will return home with injuries for which I’ll get flogged before being treated.
“Yet, all that did little to kill my passion for the round leather game, as I carried on up to secondary school where I went on to play for the school team. Before I knew it, invitation started coming from clubs within Oshogbo which made my parents and brother to give up and allowed me take to my passion, which is football,” he said.
The former international, however, admonished youths to give attention to formal education. “It is now that I appreciate why my parents were hammering it on me to concentrate on my studies then. And I have been telling the generation after me to concentrate on their studies even while in sport,” the technical adviser of Prime FC of Oshogbo said. Adesina got his national team call-up when he was discovered by one of the coaches of the then Green Eagles, Eto Amaechina, during the 1981 National Sports Festival in the old Bendel State. “I was in the contingent as a sprinter but Coach Adegboye Onigbinde said since I played football for Osogbo NEPA, I would be useful to the football team. I was on the reserve bench in a match involving Oyo State and Niger State and we were trailing Niger by 3-1 and I was called upon and I scored three goals and we eventually won the match 4-3. After the festival, I was invited to the national camp and after the screening I made the grade and was selected to play in the 1982 Nations Cup. I was playing as a striker then but the late technical adviser, Otto Gloria, said because I was so strong I would be more useful in the midfield than upfront. That was how I became a midfielder,” he said.
On whether any of his children had taken after him, the ex-Nigerian player said: “My first boy is currently playing for an amateur club in London while the second one that is very tall is playing basketball. I did a lot in encouraging them to take to sports because I know sport is one of the quickest ways to make it in life just as I equally insist that education must be a priority.”
The former international deplored the state of the local league especially the near absence of fans at stadia.
“Fans play a big role in making football grow and where there are no fans to cheer the players what will they be playing for? It is the crowd that makes the players do some exceptional things on the field. So in their absence, whom do you want to impress? But you don’t get to blame the people for not coming to the stadium because there are no players that will attract them to the stadium. There are no players in our league that can attract people to the stadium unlike in our days when you will want to see Christian Chukwu, Emmanuel Okala, Segun Odegbami, Muda Lawal and the rest. I feel saddened each time I watch matches and the stadium is empty. I don’t think such situation gives anyone pleasure.
“But kudos must go to the League Management Company (LMC) for its effort at improving the league. The fact that the winner of the league in the just ended season only emerged on the last day is a pointer that the league is improving and the large fans that trooped out to watch Enugu Rangers win the league for the first time in 32 years was encouraging,” he noted.
“One of the banes of the league is that players are in too much a hurry to play in Europe and they end up being sold below their worth. They should rather be patient and make their name in the local scene before traveling abroad to play professional football. There are still plenty of talents in the Nigerian league waiting to be harnessed and that is why some of us are still very hopeful about the future of Nigerian football," Adesina said.
The former Shooting Stars of Ibadan midfielder admonished the Nigeria Football Federation and national team coaches to concentrate on home-grown footballers rather than seeking for Nigerian born footballers outside the country.
“I support the total use of homebased players in the national team. There is nothing strange about it and if we continue judging the boys by the standard of our own league, we are making a great mistake. The players in Europe started from here but it is just unfortunate that once a player travels to play abroad, our coaches start running after them,” he said.