Nigeria has that special kind of love reserved for the beautiful game of football. For years now, top European teams have at least one Nigerian player on their rosters. We all know about Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman, Alex Iwobi and co. This time around we’re not talking about them. These lands have more than enough time to elevate their careers even further and to play major roles for the Super Eagles.
Instead, we’re going to focus on some of Nigeria’s top superstars of times past. If you’ve been following football even remotely in the past couple of decades, you’re more than aware of the quality of men Nigeria has produced to represent them on the global level. What you’ll find below is our modest list of footballers we deem as belonging to the top 10 in the history of Nigerian football for everything they achieved for both the club and country.
Victor Osimhen
Osimhen is the best Nigerian footballer at the moment. He’s also the only active player on this list, and that speaks volumes about the quality of players Nigeria has had in the past. Yet, at the moment, Osimhen is writing history for both his national team and for the clubs he plays for. While he left Napoli on a wrong foot, there’s no arguing that he will be forever written in their history books. After all, he was the leading scorer for the team with 26 league goals on their route to 2022/23 Serie A title. Furthermore, he’s been more than prolific for his home nation. At only 27 years of age, Victor has represented Nigeria 51 times already, scoring an impressive haul of 35 goals. It is only a matter of time before he is the nation’s top scorer.
Vincent Enyeama
From attack to the last line of defence. As far as goalkeepers go, Nigeria has never had anyone better than Vincent Enyeama. From attack to the last line of defence. As far as goalkeepers go, Nigeria has never had anyone better than Vincent Enyeama. Vincent represented his home country for 101 times, and every time he put on the Super Eagles shirt he demonstrated superb leadership, reflexes, and above all else consistency necessary to go out and play for your home nation on that many occasions. The pinnacle of his career came during the two year span between 2013 and 2014 where he captained Nigeria to an AFCON title and also played superbly at the World Cup. As far as club career goes he left the best impression at Enyimba, Hapoel Tel Aviv and Lille.
Finidi George
For fans of the Super Eagles growing up in the 90s, Finidi George is the main association to Nigerian football. As far as Nigerian wingers go, Lookman and Iwobi still have plenty of work to do to achieve the stardom George has had during his heyday in the 90s. Not to exaggerate his presence on the field, but as far as his status in Nigeria goes, the 1995 Champions League winner with Ajax was closer to Beckham than any of the current Nigerian players are to Europe’s top wingers. He was also a part of Nigeria’s team that won the 1994 AFCON and featured in multiple World Cups. As far as his club career goes, Finidi made a name for himself playing for Ajax, Betis, Mallorca, and Ipswich.
John Obi Mikel
Now, here’s a name that will ring a bell to the younger audience. John Obi Mikel was one of the best Premier League midfielders during the 2010s, and his name will forever be echoed in the PL circles. For youngsters in Nigeria, the path Obi had had to the top of the game is a bright example of how everything is possible through hard work. Often praised for his work rate, intelligence, composure on the ball, and reading of the game, Obi Mikel has always remained an integral part of Chelsea’s squad despite their habit of changing managers often.
During his stint in London he won everything there is to be won, notching up a couple of PL titles, a Champions League and an Europa League trophy. When you know that Obi Mikel is one of the favourites of Jose Mourinho, then you know that as far as midfield goes, he was one of the best players during his time in England. If you follow English football and Chelsea even after Obi Mikel retired, you need to check out this Stake Soccer Offer. He represented Nigeria on 91 occasions, scoring six goals and contributing to the team winning 2013 AFCON and a bronze at 2016 Olympics.
Sunday Oliseh
There’s something in the water in Nigeria that helps the nation to produce top midfielders. Sunday Oliseh was not revered as some of his contemporaries due to the lack of flair, but as far as his Nigeria national team career goes, everyone knows that he was the powertrain behind every success the team has had during his tenure. A tactical genius and unparalleled leader, Oliseh was the key cog in Nigeria’s route to 1994 AFCON, 1996 Olympic gold, and the team’s appearances at multiple consecutive World Cups. During his club career, Sunday has represented some of Europe’s top teams including 1. FC Köln, Juventus, Ajax, and BVB. For Nigeria he has amassed 55 caps. As far as his status in the home nation goes, he will never be forgotten, and it is all due to his impressive career, but also for his 1998 long range goal against Spain which is talked about in Nigeria to this day, some three decades later.
Segun Odegbami
While modern Nigerian footballers are all more well known than Mr. Segun Odegbami, thanks to the development of media, before social media platforms, and even widespread use of television, there was Segun Odegbami. One could argue that he was the first global Nigerian superstar. As far as African football of the 70s and 80s goes, this pacy and dynamic winger was named on everyone’s lips. He came to prominence during 1980 AFCON, the first ever for Nigeria, where he managed to be one of the team’s top performers. In years after his career was over, he was a long inspiration for the next generation of Nigerian footballers. During his stint with the Nigerian national team he scored 22 goals in 47 appearances which was more than enough for him to be one of the nation’s best players in years after his retirement.
Stephen Keshi
As far as football legends go, Stephen Keshi has written his name with golden letters in the history books. Back in 1994, he was the captain of the Nigeria national team that lifted AFCON. In 2013 he did again, but this time as the team’s manager. There aren’t many people who have managed to do that feat, making Keshi a truly one of a kind man in Nigerian and African football alike. During his playing days, Stephen was known as a tactical defender, whose presence at the back put fears to the striker’s bones. A strong and commanding centre back, he has had an impressive career playing in Europe, and representing his national team on the highest level. During his best years, Stephen Keshi played in Belgium for their top teams in Lokeren and Anderlecht, before moving to Strasbourg in France. For the national team, he was the centrepiece of the Super Eagles golden generation, and was able to bring his leadership to the managerial position. It was Keshi who rebuilt the foundation of the national team and enabled them to once again become a winning nation.
Nwankwo Kanu
As far as Nigerian footballers go, Nwankwo Kanu definitely has a legendary status all over the world. At the end of the day he was crowned the African Footballer of the Year on two occasions. His career saw him lay his hands on the silverware early on, as he was a part of Nigeria team that took home Olympic gold in 1996, while also conquering Europe with Ajax. After moving to London, he also won a couple of Premier league titles adding to his legacy before even turning 30. There’s no arguing that Nwankwo Kanu is one of the greatest African footballers of all time, standing up there with the likes of Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto’o and Geroge Weah.
The most interesting part of Kanu’s career is that he was never a prolific scorer later in his career. Yet, he was an integral part of all teams he has played for, due to his ability to wear down the defenders, open up spaces for teammates, and to be a key player in the team’s build up play. His career saw him play for the likes of Ajax, Inter Milan, Arsenal, WBA, and Portsmouth. For Nigeria, he appeared in 86 games and scored 12 goals. A career that started in 1992 with Iwuanyanwu Nationale lasted a full two decades, and after all was said and done, Kanu was more than deservedly crowned as one of Africa’s and Nigeria’s best ever.
Jay-Jay Okocha
So good that they had to name him twice. All jokes aside, as far as technical ability goes, Jay-Jay Okocha was not only one of the best Nigeria has ever produced, but one of the best the world has ever seen. Despite going to the Premier League during the latter stages of his career, Okocha remained remembered as one of the faces of the Barclays era of the PL. For Jay-Jay Okocha, flair, dribbling and creativity all came naturally. He was Ronaldinho before Ronaldinho and the two have even shared a locker room in Paris while playing for PSG.
Unlike many of the players from this list, Augustine Azuka Okocha didn’t start his career in Nigeria. Instead, his roots are tied to Germany and Borussia Neunkirchen where he was signed after going through youth ranks at Enugu Rangers. His career soon kicked off, and he was signed by Eintracht Frankfurt, where after four impressive years, Turkish giants Fenerbahce came calling. After two years and 30 league goals in 62 appearances, Jay-Jay moved to Paris where he was instrumental in all of their successes from 1992 until 2002.
While at the time, his move from PSG to Bolton was seen as taking a step down in his career, what followed were four years of Premier League magic. During his stint with Bolton, Okocha has become one of the best PL footballers of his era. If not the best, at least one of the most recognisable ones. His dribbling skills, free kick goals, and plays filled with flair went all over the world during the early 2000s. Okocha was never about winning trophies and signing big contracts. Instead, his focus was always on the field, delivering football in its natural form. For Nigeria, he played 73 times from 1993 to 2006, appearing in 73 matches and scoring 14 goals. Just like a couple of other players on this list, Okocha was a member of the Nigerian golden generation of players who were all crowned AFCON champions in 1994 and won the Olympic gold in 1996 and played at both the 1994 and 1998 World Cups.
Rashidi Yekini
Before the game went global, it was Rashidi Yekini whom the kids have looked up to in Nigeria. He had a long and fruitful career in Europe, where he played for the likes of Zurich, Sporting Gijon, and Olympiacos. He left the biggest mark on the game during his tenure in Portugal where he played for Vitoria Setubal in two separate stints scoring 91 goals in 114 appearances during the first one, and 3 more during 14 appearances in his second stint. What makes him Nigeria’s best, is not what he did at the club level. He is the nation’s top goalscorer with 37 goals in 58 appearances. Also, he will be eternally remembered as the man who scored the first ever goal for Nigeria at the World Cup in 1994 with his emotional celebration being remembered to this day. Also, he was the team’s top scorer at the 1994 AFCON. While it is only a matter of time before Osimhen breaks his record, it will take some time before anyone gets close to this legend as far as his contributions to Nigerian football goes.
Credit: thenationonlineng.net
