Category: SOS

Former Super Falconets’ star striker, Chiwendu Ihezuo, shares her love for music, Messi and mum with MORAKINYO ABODUNRIN. 

She plays with gusto, but make no mistake about it, Chiwendu Ihezuo, the fleet-footed former Super Falconets’ striker, is a connoisseur of good music.

“I love football the same way I love music,” 20-year-old Ihezuo, one of the stars at BIIK Kazygurt in Kazakhstan’s women football league, told The Nation in an electronic conversation. “If not for football, I would have been a banker and my hobbies include music and chilling out with reasonable, positive people.

“My favourite Nigeria music star is Flavour N’abania (Chinedu Okoli). I like Flavour so much because he sings with his brain. I like Most High (one of the tracks in his latest album) because the song touches the soul and I love praising God too.”

Ihezuo is equally passionate about her mum, multi-Grand Slam winning tennis star, Serena Williams, as well as other notable soccer celebrities.

She continued: “My family is my pride because they gave me the needed support when there was nothing.  I cannot forget  the role my mother played in my career by getting  jerseys for me and struggling to pay for my transportation when going for training in those difficult times when  I started my career. I will struggle for nobody but my mother.”

The impressive performance of tennis sensation, Serena Williams, who just gave birth to a baby girl, has been an inspiration for so many youngsters around the globe and Ihezuo too purred about her love for the American.

“Besides football, I love tennis and I think I would have been a good tennis player if I had devoted some time to practice it well,” she explained.  ”I love Serena Williams; she is a special player and she has a lot of passion for the sport. Despite being a winner, she (Serena) always wants to be the best and I draw so much inspiration from her. She is very good, and I really like her.

“Apart from her, I like both Messi and Ronaldo because they are the greatest talents in football and I always take time out to watch their video tapes. I have improved greatly because I can now do what I couldn’t do before after watching some of their video tapes,” she revealed.

Two years ago, Ihezuo shone like a star as her eight goals helped Nigeria secure the ticket to the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Papua New Guinea but the Super Falconets failed to go beyond the first round, losing on poor goal difference despite finishing on the same number of points with the other two teams that progressed.

The former Delta Queens star actually made her international debut for the Nigeria at the 2012 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Azerbaijan where she scooped the Silver Boot for the tournament after netting six goals including a record-setting five goals in a single match at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in the 11-0 defeat of the hosts Azerbaijan. She was also one of the stars when Nigeria lost to Germany at the2014 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada where she scored three goals. She also participated at the 206 4 FIFA  U-20 World Cup in Papua New Guinea.

Away from the national assignment, Ihezuo  moved abroad and joined BIIK Kazygurt last year and in her debut season, she scored an impressive 16 goals in 20 appearances.

In the on-going season, she has been firing on all cylinders for her Kazakh club which she helped  into the main draw for the Women’s UEFA Champions League, scoring the curtain raiser in the 3-0 thrashing of HTK Hungaria

“It has been a very good season for me,” volunteered an excited Ihezuo who plays  for BIIK Kazygurt with another Nigerian, Charity Adule. “I have experienced many good things despite competing against some  good and very strong oppositions.  I have scored ten goals in 15 matches so far in the league this season and two goals in the Champion League qualifiers and I’m still working hard to do more.”

She added: “I felt so happy scoring against HTK Hungaria in the UEFA Women’s Champions League because the victory took us into the main draw.

“I dedicated that goal against HTK Hungaria to God and my mother because she is my life and source of my happiness.

“Since I lost my dad in 2003, my mum has been there for us even when things were not moving well and I promised to make her very proud and God has been so wonderful to me in my career.

“My target is to keep working hard to be among the best.  It has been a long journey for me to be where I’m today, but playing for the Flamingoes (Nigeria’s Women U-17 team) and Super Falconets really helped my development.

On the flip side, Ihezuo said her love for monkeys stemmed for the fact that ‘they behave just exactly as human beings.’

“Things I don’t like about being a footballer?  Of course, I don’t like having injuries and getting cautioned by referees,” stated Ihezuo who was on the Nigerian U-20 team that won silver at the 2014 FIFA Women World Cup in Canada.

CHIWENDU IHEZUO: BLAST FROM THE PAST

Being shy

I’m not the shy type maybe under the camera, but I’m not shy in front of the goal post. I’m working hard so that I don’t consider myself special amongst my teammates but God has been helping me

Pre match rituals

I pray to God before I go for any match and he has never disappointed me because he always gives me the strength and wisdom to do very well. Of course, I have a certain way of putting on my boots and I usually put on my first leg because I’m a natural left footer. I also love gospel Christian music and I play them, especially those in my local language (Igbo) often before praying for matches. I love R&B too and I like artists such as Celine Dion, Beyoncé, Rihanna and Chris Brown.

Famous family’s last born

I was born on July 30 1997. We are from Imo state (in Eastern Nigeria) but my family is based in Lagos, in Ajegunle, where I learned to play football on the streets. My dad is late but my mum is alive.

We are eight children in number; five boys with three girls, and I’m the last born and the only one playing football in the family. Three of my brothers and my two sisters have gotten married; remaining only me. Marriage will come later for me because I’m very focussed on my football now.

The word team was suggested to be an acronym for: together everyone achieve more. no wonder, fanendo adi, the high flying portland timbers’ nigerian striker has reckoned that without the support of his team-mates, he won’t   have been one of the stars  during their recent  major league soccer (mls)  cup  glory.

Born  october  10, 1990adi was an unlikely hero at the start of the campaign  and only arrived the club on loan from f.c. copenhagen last year  . he  reportedly made his debut coming on as a substitute against columbus crew and got the game tying assist which earn him a start in the following match. he  scored his first and second goals, in the second half for the portland timbers on  may 28,  2014 against chivas usa in his first start for the club. on  june 7  he received his second start and scored two goals in the first half against real salt lake. he  was subsequently  signed permanently by portland timbers to become the club’s fourth ever designated player-  a player considered  in the mls franchise outside of the team’s salary cap  with either higher wages or by paying a transfer fee for the player.

Yet adi noted matter-of-factly  during a lively conversation with Morakinyo Abodunrin that he is not a ‘special one’ despite being  among the goals with 17 league goals  and  a total of 21 in 51 appearances   en route to  their historic win for  the portland timbers in the mls cup.

” I didn’t plan to score two or more goals at a time,”  said adi who tried out at dutch top side, ajax in 2011. “but my coach was always telling me to  work hard for the team and that  good things will happen,

” So,  i just go out there and do my best  on the pitch; try to help the team win and sometimes,  i get a goal and it could be two when i’m very  lucky which is all due to god’s favour and grace .

” Scoring goals was not always my priority rather,  i usually just go in there  with the mind set of helping the team win every time but my coach has been very helpful ;  pushing   me to work more,” he noted.

This was portland timbers’ first title after  coming close in  the 2013 mls season  when they finished first in the western conference, clinching both their first-ever playoff appearance and concacaf champions league berth. in the 2015 playoffs, portland won the western conference final and advanced to mls cup 2015, where they defeated columbus crew sc 21, winning their first mls cup trophy.

“ This has been a wonderful moment in my career, “ noted adi.“ i agree with you that  the mls cup was  reward for  our collective effort  throughout  the season; it was because we played better in every game and we played  to win for the club and the fans.

“Sincerely speaking, our hard work really paid off after winning the mls cup and on my own part, it   will motivate  me to put  in more effort in  fighting for success.

“  Our success in the season was not down to  my personal effort rather it was efforts of  team as a whole; my team mates were  very good to me and they helped  me in scoring  the goals all the time and so  it was collective victories all the way.

“ Besides, portland timbers  is a big club with good and talented players, and anybody can score because we play for ourselves; we lead as a team and we always take responsibility; those are the characters that eventually gave us the mls cup,” he noted  while  responding  to sundry questions.

In the middle of the season, you were applauded as one of the hottest striker in mls, was that also inspires your spirit?

It inspires me when i look back at my games and recognized i did well.  i always want to get better and i know that  being in good form always gives good recommendation,; so i always want to be  good at every point on the pitch. i feels so good to  have done  well for the team butt  the most important  thing is to improve on my performance for my team.

You have been to ukraine, denmark but it seems  playing in the mls has really brought  out the best in you so far…

Well, i can say  that (playing in the mls) it has helped me to show  my talent . and as a matter of fact,  i am enjoying myself in portland. in every league and team you play as a player, there is always some situations that makes you happy or sad but i’m  happy  with the situation in portland now. it is one place that suits and benefits me a lot; i’m  enjoying every bit of my time in portland.

Does it mean that playing in the mls  is your promise land?

I can’ t say this is my promised  land because the future is still wide open but this environment suit my career and playing style. that is why i was able to settle down  and justified  confidence of everybody in the club. it’s really a good place to be with wonderful atmosphere. so i won’t say it’s a  promised land but a league i have grown to know a lot about, i learn from myself, my teammates, coaches and o course, the opponents. this is a good  opportunity for me to develop myself ; so it’s a great pleasure of mine to have the opportunity to play here and for portland. i’m doing pretty  good here but i can get back to play  anywhere in the future.

How will you rate you r performance in the danish league?

I can’t change my past but my future is brighter…. so let’s forget the past and look into the future but i’m happy to have played for copenhagen fc in the danish league.

How will you rate the standard of the mls compared with other places and clubs you had played in the past?

A lot of good things are happening  in the major league soccer. as a player, i am proud to be here and see the standard of  facilities here. mls is a great league and at a very top level for both the young  and older players .the experience we have in the league is high so it’s a pleasure to be here and get the experience of playing in the mls. in the past, maybe it was not like this but now it’s an interesting league for young and old players. when you talk about experience, you can get it here with the calibres of players you meet every week, it gives you opportunity to learn and develop your game. some european top stars are here and players like me can learn from them.

Before now, it is the retiring old players that moves to the league but players like you have sent a big message to other promising stars that mls is another lucrative league; will you recommend the mls  to people of your age  or the european leagues?

Whoever says mls is not a top league should come and have a taste of it;  we have a lot of good  and talented young players here.  you can compare it to whatever you want but the mls have grown and is still growing at a very fast pace. at the moment there are games where the stadium is sold out;  for example our games with seattle sounders always sold out with about 62, 000 capacity stadium. that  is massive turn out to the games and here in portland, the stadium is filled up mostly  at every single game,  so its growing and sure it will be watched like the premiership someday soon.

What exactly is the secret of your hot-form?

Hard work. i have improved a lot since moving here, my teammates, coaches and staff are there  always  to help me  get better every day. their support gave us what we did this  year and we  are happy to have made such big history with the club, we proud of the moment.

before now, a lot of fans back here in nigeria are not familiar with you like other top stars in europe, can you please share some few things  for the benefit of our readers?

I was born in nigeria and i started my career playing on the streets of benue;  at a point my football dreams luckily took me to lagos for a trial which i was able to get right and a lot of people were happy to see me in action because of my skills and height. though it was a rough journey, i learned football from the scratch. this is the only thing i felt i can do successfully though my parents wanted me  to go to school and  there were several disagreement before i turned up to this level. while in benue, i  played football  on the streets ,  lied to my parents just because i wanted to fulfil my dreams. i was one of the player who played without boots and i think  you know what  that means. at a point, i reasoned with them but i thank god that i have never regretted my decision .

A lot of people have been calling for your inclusion into  the super eagles after  your wonderful performance in mls; can you solve  super eagles’ goal scoring problems?

I don’t think it is right to say  i can come and end the super eagles’ scoring problems but i know i can help the team to score goals. we  can only be there to help each other and move the team forward. it’s all about helping ourselves in every department, and by so doing,  i believe it’s a formula that can work well. this  is a team already  with top quality players, so i believe everything we get going of course they are getting results. i believe i can contribute to the success of the team. i have to just keep working hard and good things will happen.

Tell us about your wife, lifestyle….

I am lucky to have a wonderful and charming wife. she has brought more blessing and peace into my career. just like the way i started playing at the top level, it was a dream come true for me to have met and married her.

How did you meet you wife and how much has she been supportive of your career?

That’s a long topic but to make it short, i met her through my cousin. but i have been  so faithful to her since i set my sight on her and i think that’s what makes it work for marriage at the end.

She means a lot, she support me on and off the pitch, knowing that i have a backbone means a lot and in any situation,  she’s there to support me.

The best moment with her?

We haven’t had the opportunity to go on vacations or anything of that sort yet but seeing her every day by my side is most memorable ,we talk ,laugh and play together and that’s very memorable

She’s better than any other woman in the world to me, she understands me and knows how to handle me in every aspect of life.

As Gary and Phil Neville join forces again at Valencia, it seems more apt than ever that their powerful brotherly bond was forged on a barracks playing field in Bury.

The endless games of football and cricket that they played together as boys unfolded next to the Greater Manchester home of the Second Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.

And Gary was a drill sergeant from the start. He still is. Apparently, if Phil suggests that they meet up at 6pm, Gary will say ‘let’s make it 6.15′, for no reason other than to assert his authority.

Social media was abuzz not just with news of the older Neville’s appointment as Valencia’s head coach, but also with snide observations about his capacity always to upstage his younger brother, who is now his second-in-command.family.’

But the truth is that ever since those early days on the Barracks playing field, Gary has always taken charge and Phil, two years younger, has always been happy for him to do so. Theirs is not and has never been a relationship fuelled by powerful sibling rivalry, which in a way is surprising, given how intense Gary is about everything he tackles.

The key to understanding how they tick, both separately and in relation to each other, lies with their parents. Phil takes after their calm, easy-going mother, Jill. But Gary is much more like their late father, Neville Neville. Phil’s twin Tracey, now the coach of the England netball team, is temperamentally somewhere between the two, not as feisty and opinionated as Gary, nor as placid, as hard to pick a fight with, as Phil.

The boys’ football and cricket commitments did not sit easily with his job as a lorry driver, but for his regular journeys to Northamptonshire he would routinely leave the house at 4am, in order to be back in time to take them to training, or to watch them play. As Gary records in his 2012 autobiography, Red, his father’s determination to wring every ounce out of every day has rubbed off on him, too.

Their parents inculcated in them the overriding belief that family comes first. The two brothers would never drop the L-word, ‘love’, on one another, yet in Red, Gary also writes that when they were both making their way at Manchester United, if he had to give up his place in the team to anybody, ‘I’d always prefer it to go to Phil more than anyone in the world’.

On the other hand, Phil once told me a revealing story. When they first played against one another in the Premier League, in a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford shortly after Phil had joined Everton, the ball whizzed just past his head during a break in play.

‘When I looked round he was walking away pretending it wasn’t him. I said, “Gaz, what did you kick the ball at me for?” He said, “You’ve been there, Phil. You come to Old Trafford, you go over to your manager, you’re drinking your drink, swanning around. I thought, I’m not having that.” So he smacked the ball at me.’

In his book, Gary is generous about the way sporting excellence came easier to Phil than it did to him. But is there, in the following passage, just the teeniest hint of enduring bitterness? ‘I struggled to make the county team; he played for England Schoolboys at every level, going down to Wembley in his smart blazer, the cream of the crop.’

In cricket, the difference was even more marked. Gary was decent enough to play for North of England Schoolboys, batting at three with a lad called Michael Vaughan at four. But for Lancashire under-14s Phil was the stand-out player in a team that also included Andrew Flintoff. Revealingly, he refers to Flintoff even now not as Freddie, but ‘Flinty’ – the nickname that dates back to their teens.

For quite a while, cricket looked like the younger sibling’s destiny. At 15, Phil was playing with seasoned adults for Lancashire Seconds, and in Gary’s unwavering opinion, ‘if it hadn’t been for football he could have gone on to play cricket dozens of times for England at every level, there’s absolutely no doubt about that.’

The pair both has a stake in Salford City FC, which will surely be a regular talking point in the coming months

But Phil’s abundant promise as a teenager is clearly a sight easier for Gary to deal with now than it was then. ‘He was a class act with gifts that set him apart from me,’ he writes. ‘Like millions of young boys, I dreamt of being a footballer. In my imagination I was the next Bryan Robson. But I wasn’t even the best sportsman in my own

 

*Courtesy Daily Mail