Dreaming Africa Footballer of the Year Award
Last season, Vincent Enyeama became the first goalkeeper to be named French Ligue 1 African Player of the Season after playing all 37 league games for Lille and conceding only 25 goals. He narrowly missed out in the French Ligue 1 Goalkeeper of the Year A
After making his debut for the national team against Kenya in May 2002, Enyeama was selected for the 2002 FIFA World Cup jointly hosted by Japan and South Korea as a cover for the more experienced Ike Shorunmu. He made his competitive debut in that tournament, keeping a clean sheet against England in Nigeria's last group match. Since the retirement of Shorunmu, he has been the first-choice goalkeeper for the national team, helping the Super Eagles to third place finishes in the 2004, 2006 and 2010 Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, and as stand-in captain, he led the Super Eagles to victory of in the 2013 edition. He also participated in the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, and the 2013 Confederations Cup.
Enyeama's performances for both club and national team did not go unnoticed as he was named French Ligue 1 African Player of the 2013/14 season, becoming the first Nigerian and indeed the first goalkeeper to achieve such feat. The Super Eagle goal tender played all 37 league games for his club Lille last season, conceding only 25 goals. He also kept 11 consecutive clean sheets in Ligue 1 matches during the first half of the 2013-14 Season.
He was voted top ahead of Toulouse's Ivorian defender Serge Aurier and Lyon's Cameroon defender Henri Bedimo.
"It's amazing, a great honour and I deeply appreciate it. I must first give glory to God, my team-mates, family and our beautiful fans for their remarkable support.
"It's a reward for team effort and having great people in front of me. Together we've endured a tough but interesting season. It's not easy for goalkeepers to win among outfield players, so this one is special. It will hopefully encourage and open the doors for other players between the sticks. Outfield players easily get all the plaudits, but those preventing them from grabbing the headlines don't get similar accolades," Enyeama told BBC Sport then.
And at one point of last season Enyeama went 1,062 minutes without conceding a goal in the French top flight. He put up a standout performance for Lille, keeping 21 clean sheets, but he was overlooked by his fellow professionals during the French Ligue 1 goalkeeper of the year award.
"Obviously, it would have been nice to win it, but I won't let that worry me. You win some and you lose some. It's not something that is going to affect me. We secured a Champions League spot, but we also need to finish the season on a high, I'm proud of what we've done."