Why I rejected Arsenal and Spurs offers

They call Nigerian goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama “Enyeamagnet” because of his incredible ability to acrobatically fling himself in the air and simply plug the ball out of reach from the heads of charging forwards. Enyeama won respect for fearlessly and without hesitation diving at the feet of onrushing forwards and it did not matter whether it was Diego Forlan, Edinson Cavani, Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto’o or the best of them all, Lionel Messi, the Super Eagle goalkeeper has always stood his ground and came out of any scuffle against the best strikers in the world unscathed. In this interview, he reveals to Soccer Laduma’s Thomas Kwenaite what Messi told him after he had frustrated the Argentinean and five-time FIFA World Footballer of the Year with the kind of world-class saves that bordered on miraculous. He also reveals that he would be interested in coming down to South Africa. He further reveals what he thinks about Kaizer Chiefs goalkeepers Itumeleng Khune and compatriot Daniel Akpeyi, and much more.

Thomas Kwenaite: Hello, Vincent. How is the situation in France with the lockdown and how are you and the family surviving?

Vincent Enyeama: I’m very good under the circumstances. But it’s plain crazy here in France, which is one of the flashpoints like Spain, the UK, Italy, the United States and China. We are not allowed to get out of our homes or to take a walk in the street. Inter-state travel is banned. You are neither allowed to move from one region to another. This is a completely new world that we are living in. If you need anything, you have to fill in forms online. And so, we are living one day at a time and pray that this Coronavirus shall be flattened or a vaccine is discovered.

TK: Is it why the French Ligue 1 has been scrapped?

VE: I think it was the best decision under the circumstances, with Paris St Germain declared champions. Lorient have been declared Ligue 2 champions and will be promoted to the elite division. However, Toulouse and Bongani Zungu’s Amiens have both been relegated to Ligue 2, although the latter have indicated that they would challenge the decision through the highest court in the land. They feel there were still enough matches left to complete the championship.

TK: There were frightening reports coming out of Nigeria regarding a spike in infections. How is your family coping in the most populated country in Africa?

VE: I am in daily contact with my family in Nigeria and I can safely say they are doing well. I do encourage them to stay indoors and follow instructions from health authorities. But, at the same time, there are far too many conflicting reports floating around that sometimes you don’t know whether it’s the truth or fake news. I trust the situation is also satisfactory in your country, South Africa.

TK: In South Africa, we are under Level 4 lockdown. Are you involved in any Social Responsibility projects back home in Nigeria?

VE: ( Bristling) I’m sorry, but I’m not the type of person that would go to social media platforms or assemble journalists and then tell the whole world that “I have donated food to poor and needy people” just to make pictures and stand in front of television cameras. I find that demeaning. I believe if you help humanity, you don’t have to make a noise about it. I have done my part for my community and personally pay scholarships for students in Nigeria every year. I don’t have to talk about it. I have paid two-month salaries for more than 150 families due to the COVID- 19 challenges and will not talk about it. I don’t need to talk about it. I believe it’s your actions that count and you don’t have to boast in front of cameras about what you do for others less fortunate than yourself.

TK: Point taken. Now let’s get right down to it. There are reports in the South African media that you are interested in playing for Orlando Pirates or Kaizer Chiefs.

VE: Sincerely speaking, those are the clubs that I respect a lot. In fact, I admire Johannesburg clubs a lot, including Mamelodi Sundowns. I equally admire the country and the kind of facilities that you have. At one stage, I had a discussion with Jomo Cosmos and it was great. He (Jomo Sono) tried to get me to play for his team. I do not have a problem to play in South Africa. I mean, Pirates, Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs, I wouldn’t mind playing for any of those teams. Johannesburg is a wonderful city and if the conditions and the details of their offer are acceptable, then why not?

TK: When you say the details and conditions…

VE: (Cuts in) Look, you and Idah Peterside (former Tembisa Classic and Moroka Swallows goalkeeper turned preacher) can be my agents. (Laughing) But on a serious note, I am indeed interested in playing in South Africa and, contrary to reports that I have retired, let me point out that I have only retired from the national team. But I still have a couple more years in my legs.

TK: It had been widely reported that you have retired?

VE: I officially retired from the Nigerian national team. Then I got injured during April 2017 and was out for three months. It took me an additional three months to recover and underwent corrective surgery. In December, I played for the Lille reserve team. But some people were skeptical to give me a contract at age 37 and others offered what I considered peanuts. Although money should not be the criteria, I’ve sacrificed hard enough to afford a comfortable life when I retire and so I rejected the offers.

TK: Talking about rejecting offers, we understand you also rejected offers from Arsenal, West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur?

VE: To my knowledge and according to my then agent, Pini Zahavi, who had strong connections with English teams in general, West Ham tabled an acceptable offer. There were additional offers from FC Porto, Arsenal, Lille and Spurs. Truth is Spurs and Arsenal tabled offers whose terms I did not agree with. It was soon after my performance at the 2010 FIFA World Cup and I really wanted to play in England. Daniel Levy (Spurs chairman) told us that we either take their offer or leave.

TK: Why the ultimatum?

VE: I don’t know, but truth is I didn’t consider myself second best. The details of the Arsenal and Spurs offers was that I would be second choice. There is a difference if the goalkeeping position is open and you are told that you would be an understudy. But if they make the position open, meaning the position is up for grabs and whoever works harder at training and convinces the technical team that he should start, then so would it be, that’s what I wanted to hear. I was not afraid of competition. But accepting the Arsenal or Spurs offers would have meant that I accepted to be second best. I chose the Lille offer and came to France.

TK: Do you have any regrets?

VE: I’ve had an amazing career. I do not have regrets of what I do not have. I’m leading a healthy and contented life. I’m satisfied and if I was supposed to have billions of dollars, I don’t have regrets because they were not meant for me. I certainly do not have regrets about the decisions I have taken. I can breathe and have food on the table, so there are no regrets!

TK: Talking about the 2010 World Cup, you faced some of the world’s greatest strikers and proved your worth in the tournament, especially against Argentina whom you denied at least six clear- cut goalscoring chances, particularly Lionel Messi.

VE: Modern football dictates that we do analysis, and we had studied our opponents. So, somehow you try to anticipate what your opponent would do. But you simply cannot plan against Messi, it just cannot be done. And sincerely speaking, everybody knows Messi and admires the man. When you play against him, you find that he doesn’t talk much, but what he does with the ball to help and inspire his team is admirable. It is simply a marvel to watch him effortlessly move the ball around. I don’t know what happened that day but, somehow, I seemed to read his mind and everything that he tried to do, you can say I out-guessed him.

TK: At the end of that match, he sought you out and the two of you laughed and hugged. What did you say to him?

VE: We naturally congratulated each other but, although I understand French, he spoke in Spanish and I could comprehend very little of what he was saying. However, later I discovered that he actually went beyond congratulating me and said that he had never come across a goalkeeper like me. I’m told he further described me as phenomenal and all kinds of superlatives. That really made me feel good and confident about myself.

TK: You have also faced the feared Diego Forlan.

VE: I came across Forlan’s Uruguay

at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. We lost the match 2-1 but, in truth, it was not the best period for Nigerian football. The tournament was characterized by arguments, fights and conflicts with the federation over bonuses and preparations were not up to scratch. But, in truth, he (Forlan) scored a brilliant goal against me. Nigeria didn’t do well, but take nothing away from his strike, it was worldclass from a world-class player.

TK: Prior to the 2013 Afcon in South Africa, the captain’s armband was taken from you and handed to Ahmed Musa. Were you consulted?

VE: No! Not at all. Now, that’s a story I’m telling in the book I’m writing. I would really love to explain what happened. The book will tell everything from the day I left Akwa Ibom on this wonderful journey that has taken me across the world and to where I am. I was certainly not consulted about the captaincy issue and no one said anything to me. It will all be revealed in the upcoming book.

TK: Which coach have enjoyed working with?

VE: I enjoyed my time with everyone I worked with. All the coaches I played under had their own styles and their different ways of doing things. I would like to think that I learned something different from each of them.

TK: How would you rate South Africa’s Itumeleng Khune and do you think he could make it in Europe?

VE: Of course, if I succeeded in Europe, then he could, too. Everyone could succeed – it all depends on your state of mind. Are you ready to put in the hard work? Are you prepared to adapt in an environment where the temperature is minus 14 degrees and you have left Mother Africa where the lowest can only be 16 degrees? Your state of mind and the ability to work hard are the keys to success in Europe. Your last game qualifies you to play the next game. You cannot afford to put a foot wrong, not for a single day! You must be consistent every day and take your game that little notch higher. If you slack just one little bit, you are out, no matter how good you are or how big the name that you carry in your country. It counts for nothing in Europe. It’s tough, but if you are prepared to work hard, you can make it.

TK: What advice can you give compatriot Daniel Akpeyi at Kaizer Chiefs?

VE: I know him personally. I have been in the same national camp with him. I expect Idah Peterside and the media in general to hype up the players, not just Akpeyi. Often the media focuses on your faults, but they need to hype up the players, encourage and assist them to grow. You have the power to build players in a responsible way. I read reports that he (Akpeyi) has had an exceptional season with Kaizer Chiefs. Akpeyi can succeed at the highest level. The same applies to (Itumeleng) Khune. I wish them both luck and if they can look at me and consider that I succeeded in Europe, then what stops them from succeeding as well?

TK: How is the standard of football in Israel where you played for two clubs before venturing to France?

VE: Football in Israel is slightly on the high side compared to most countries in Africa. They are very organized and, although they might not be ranked alongside Spain, Germany, England, Italy or Netherlands, their standard is a level higher than in Africa. They get to play against very good teams from Europe and most European clubs send their players on loan to Israeli clubs. When players have recuperated from injuries in Europe, they get sent to Israel to build their match fitness. When I was playing in Israel, we played a lot of Europa matches and this tends to improve the standard of the game. I must also acknowledge that the state of their pitches makes a difference as they are in excellent condition.

TK: Before you transferred to Israel, you played in the African Champions League for Enyimba against Esperance and, in that final, some of us knew you were destined for bigger things in football.

VE: I was very good and never stopped working hard. I remember one year before going to Israel, I conceded only 13 goals throughout the season. That said a lot about my abilities. That was the season the national team selectors discovered me. I remember legendary Augustine Eguavoen, after watching me in one game, told me that I was so good I was national team material. In fact, he added that if I was not selected for national assignment, then something would have been drastically wrong with Nigerian football.

TK: Which goalkeeper inspired you?

VE: Sincerely speaking, I have led my life to inspire myself. I draw inspiration from being better than yesterday. I love football and love to play the ball with my legs as well. I do not like kicking the ball away or taking an aimless goal kick. But let me acknowledge that, growing up, I watched a lot of Real Madrid matches and Iker Casillas was an inspiration. And I admired him so much that I aspired to play like him.

TK: At the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan and Korea, you and Ike Shoromwu were the Super Eagles’ goalkeepers. What did you learn from him?

VE: Shoromwu was top class, a great custodian and first-choice goalkeeper for Nigeria. He has always been a great goalkeeper if truth be told. He was always calm! If you play with Ike, you know he is a very calm goalkeeper, so calm that you would be forced to ask yourself: “Is he still in the match?” The calmness levels are unbelievable. So, I learned that if he can be so calm at national level, I also gotta be calm right from training and during the match it would be a piece of cake. Training with him I learned quite a lot and I respect him. You will be surprised to know that at the 2002 World Cup, I was third-choice goalkeeper.

TK: If you were third-choice goalkeeper at the World Cup, how did you get to play against England?

VE: There was no time to be scared. It was an opportunity that anyone would dream about and I had to grab it with both hands. I kept a clean sheet, but thank God I was told by coach Festus Onigbinde in the changing room 10 minutes before the match that I would be starting. That is the truth. I didn’t feel any pressure. It is too late to feel pressure if you are told 10 minutes before kickoff that you are in the starting XI.

TK: When you arrived at Lille before you went to keep 11 clean sheets, you were thrown in against Inter Milan in the Champions League.

VE: It wasn’t my first Champions League game. It was crazy because I had just arrived at Lille and was not supposed to have started. The goalkeeper that was supposed to play failed a late fitness test a few minutes before the start of the game and I was thrown in against Auxerre. Then the following match was against Inter Milan and I kept my place. Milan did not have such a great squad at that time, they were not as strong as they had been in the past, but still, it was a great experience for me.

TK: Do you remember your first international match for Nigeria?

VE: It was against Kenya during 2002 at the Lagos International Stadium and I kept a clean sheet. It was the first and only time I have ever played at that iconic stadium and, later that year, I was included in the World Cup squad.

TK: Have you considered establishing an academy for goalkeepers when you retire?

VE: I have indeed though long and hard about it. But it will not just be your normal goalkeeping academy. I want to sit down with some of the top goalkeepers from across Africa, men like Joseph Antoine-Bell, Thomas Nkono, Shoromwu and set up an academy for Africa. People do not realize that the problem with African players arriving in Europe is mostly adaptation. The European system is different, the methodology is different, mentality… everything is different to what we are accustomed to back home. Goalkeepers in Europe are taught crucial elements from an early age, which leg to put out first to enable you to stop a shot even though mostly it’s instinct. A lot of goalkeepers don’t know these elements and only discover when we arrive in Europe. So, I will discuss my idea with guys like Peter Rufai and many other top goalkeepers and let us see if we cannot make a change.

TK: Thank you very much, Vincent. VE: You are most welcome. ❐

“I admire Johannesburg clubs a lot.”

“The problem with African players arriving in Europe is…”