Collins Nonso Ogbodo recently swelled the number of Nigerian youngsters in the Portuguese ProLiga with his arrival at Associação Desportiva Oliveirense or AD Oliveirense as the club is known far and wide.
Ogbodo, who would be 21 on 17th April, said he was excited playing abroad after learning the tricks of the game on the streets of Kaduna, adding joining AD Oliveirense has been a real blessing to his career.
“I play in the defensive midfield position,” Ogbodo who originated from Enugu said in an interview with The Nation. “I grew up in Kaduna and as you know, Kaduna is a home of football and that was where my football career started.”
Before arriving at AD Oliveirense, the lad was scouted by officials of Gil Vicente but he was not offered a contract despite initial interest by the Portuguese Primeira Liga. But his talent was not in doubt and would soon be on his way to modest Freamunde before arriving at AD Oliveirense during the January transfer window. Now I represent AD Oliveirense in the championship of Portugal and I came to Oliveirense in January from Freamunde which was a lower division side and I’m really happy that I’m here now,” he affirmed.
“AD Oliveirense play in the championship of Portugal and this is a good environment for me to learn. I’m grateful to be here.”
AD Oliveirense may be a modest side but it has a rich sporting history and culture that any club can be proud of.
The club was reportedly founded on 25th October 1922 with its home ground at Estádio Carlos Osório with a seating capacity of 4,000. Apart from football, AD Oliveirense is also famous for its foray teams in rink hockey and basketball. Its rink hockey team has won the Taça de Portugal on three occasions whilst its basketball team has won the Portuguese Basketball Super Cup and the Portuguese Basketball Cup.
The football team has equally won some laurels in the past years including titles in the Portuguese Second and Third Division and Ogbodo said he want to be part of the club’s success story in the new order.
“Since my arrival in Portugal, I h I have played some 12 good games and seven during my stay with Freamunde and I have played five matches for AD Oliveirense,” he explained. “I have scored just one goal but we still have about seven more games before the end of the season and hopefully I would be able to score more goals.
“ The good thing is that everybody is impressed with my quality and this has really boosted my confidence and I’m really enjoying my time here.”
As a defensive midfielder, Ogbodo said he modelled his game after some great players: “When I was growing up, I watched Patrick Viera, Claude Makelele, Gennaro Gattuso and these are some of the players that I like right from when I was young.
“ I still have a long way to go but I want to conquer the first division of Portugal with AD Oliveirense and I pray one day, I would realise my dreams of playing for either Manchester United in England or Juventus in Italy.”
Ogbodo is a youngster that believes in his own abilities and reckons he has what it takes to compete at any club if given such opportunity.
“I am a product of Brighter Tomorrow FC and I would forever be grateful for the opportunity of coming through from this club,” he said.
“I want to say a big thank you to Mr. Emeka Darlington Ariwa who is the president and founder of Brighter Tomorrow’ He has been so supportive of my career. I am very strong on the ball and as a midfielder, I am very good at circulating the ball” he noted.
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