Nigeria’s 24-year-old Micheal Esiobi who is plying his trade with Mongolia based Khoromkhon Football Club in what is regarded as the coldest capital city in the world shares his experiences with Yinka Adeniran
Just like every profession, Michael Esiobi’s sojourn into the world of football hasn’t been easy.
It has been a mixture of feelings both tough and wonderful as he described it.
He recounted how he started playing football when he was a kid and which led to his award as the best player in his primary school days.
Playing football and living football is his dream and he has adopted former Super Eagles star, Odion Ighalo as his role model because of their similar style of football.
Esiobi’s determination and relationship with peers saw him getting a referral to an agent who helped him secure the Mongolia platform.
Securing the deal didn’t come on a platter of gold as he recalled many difficult moments as an aspiring young star. He suffered a lot of rejections but never gave up on his dreams.
“I had a lot of difficult moments. I was rejected so many times but I never gave up on my dreams because I know I have what it takes to achieve my dream of playing football professionally,” the power striker said.
Despite pursuing his footballing career outside the shores of Nigeria, his views of what could be done to achieve a better result in grassroot football in the country cannot be wished away.
He continued: “In my own opinion, if we want grassroot football in Nigeria to grow, we need some top prominent people in the country to invest in young talents in Nigeria, for example build good stadia, provide standard facility that is conducive for upcoming footballers, creating an avenue or platform for the grassroots players to showcase themselves because we have tons of talented players in the grassroot level seeking who to motivate and help them to become a better footballer.
“ In Nigeria today we have raw talents that are hungry to achieve their goals and also want to make a name for themselves in Europe and other parts of the continents. So with the help of top prominent people investing in the grassroots level of Nigerian football, I think in years to come we will be one of the greatest football nations in the world.”
The Khoromkhon FC star believes that the government needs to create competitive platforms and opportunities to promote talented grassroots players in the country, in order for them to achieve their dreams.
Despite his current state, Esiobi has a big aspiration for himself with a hope of adorning the national colours someday.
“My aspiration is to break into Europe and set so many good records. And I also want to be one of the best players coming out of Nigeria.
“My view about the national colour is that we have quality players in the team and I think in years to come we might be one of the best national teams in the world. Hopefully by God’s grace I will wear the national colour too (smiles).”
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Despite being the only Nigerian footballer playing in far-away Mongolia, his passion was lured into the country by the way the league is being promoted through publicity.
“One thing that attracted me to this country is that they have good publicity. They promote the league in such a way that it attracts top agents all around the world to come and scout for players. So this is the main reason I chose Mongolia.
“This is my second season in the league, I came in second rounds last season playing for a Division 1 club (Khovd Western) of which we came 3rd in the league and I won a bronze medal. So after the league finished I got signed to a premier league team (Khoromkhon FC).”
Esiobi will not sleep without having his big dream of playing for top flight clubs in Europe and making a name for himself and his beloved country, Nigeria.
“My future dream is to play in one of the top five leagues in Europe. For the world to know my name”, he reiterated.
Ironically, what should have been his discouragement in the country of Mongolia had turned out to be his driving force, pushing him on to do better and achieve more by the day. He knew how many youngsters often miss their vision due to change in culture, weather and environment in their search for career fulfilment.
“I will say it’s not easy playing in a harsh weather like Mongolia, because the city I am playing (Ulaanbaatar) is the coldest capital city in the world. So it was difficult for me from the start but I later got used to the weather. And also their lifestyle here is so different from Nigeria, the food, the culture and all are so far different. All of these have only kept me more focused on my vision and mission.
“The major challenges I encountered were the language barrier, weather and food. It’s so different from what I am used to, but like I said I adapted to everything, because I am focused on achieving my goals.
“The advice I will give to the young aspiring footballers is never to give up on their dreams. The young players must always believe in themselves no matter the circumstances they find themselves in. They should always think positive,” he added.
He believes that if the Nigeria football authority partners with top clubs in Europe, many young and aspiring football stars and talents wasting untapped and unharnessed potential could be saved.