- Playing for Nigeria was my only option
Super Falcons bubbling player Michelle Alozie was among the outstanding players at the last Olympic Games in Paris. The Imo state native is no stranger to playing on the world’s biggest stage. Alozie, 27, was an integral part of Nigeria’s squad during the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Though born and raised in Apple Valley, California, Alozie, buoyed by his passion for his roots, said she never doubted her feelings for Nigeria and her passion to play for mother-land.
Between Nigeria and U.S
She said: “I think really just having the pride that I had to be Nigerian and finally breaking through with that in college. I have this funny photo actually, of me in the Super Eagles jersey from 2015. I told myself if I was not on the Nigerian National Team in four years something [went] wrong.
“I think a lot of people have that misconception that I wanted to [play] for the U.S. or I’m only on Nigeria’s [team] because I didn’t make it on the U.S. team. But [playing] for the U.S. was never the end goal for me. It was always to represent being from Nigeria, make my parents and my family back in Nigeria proud, and allow them to live vicariously through me and through this dream that we all had.
Identity crisis
Before she became quite assured of his Nigerian heritage, the first-generation Nigerian-American, said she had her childhood confusion about her race and culture.
“I remember discussing this in college with other first-generation Americans. I think it was kind of a state of confusion growing up. You kind of feel like you’re split between two cultures. I remember being almost embarrassed to be African or to be a Nigerian—to smell like the cuisine or to have my parents have the accent, which now I think is just so silly.
“But I remember it just being a little tough for me, trying to appeal to both cultures. Now, I feel so sad that I was ever embarrassed by my parents’ accents and smelling like Egusi soup when it’s really so good and everyone wants to try it now! But I remember it being tough and me not necessarily understanding why it was so hard to be a part of two cultures at the same time.
“I grew up in a pretty small town so I don’t know if people were just a little xenophobic at the time, but being different was just so not okay. I remember just having a baby identity crisis when I was younger, when people were like, ‘Oh, you’ve never like been to a barbecue or your family doesn’t have cookouts?’ And I would say ‘No, but once a month that Imo population in San Diego will get together and have this big party where we get all dressed up and meet new people. ‘And they’d be like ‘What are you doing? This doesn’t sound right.’
“But I think it was just the fact that I was just so different and it was a part of a culture that a lot of people weren’t exposed to, especially in my small town in California. It was just hard for them to understand that yes I am Black. I do live in America and have an American accent, but my actual culture is Nigerian. My upbringing and what we do in the home are completely different than what your Black American friends do. When we were younger, that was just a little bit difficult for people and me really to come to grasp.
“I don’t think it was until really college that I finally met friends who were also first-generation and they all kind of had the same experiences as me growing up, whether it was in New York, Florida, or Charlotte. I didn’t feel alone and it just made me feel a little bit at ease and not feel as bad for 10-year-old me being embarrassed about my parents because we all were. I think that was the turning point for me.”
Football & Heritage
Alozie said playing football helped her to finding lasting peace about her heritage.
“I definitely got into the sport because my family is Nigerian. I think soccer, or football as they would say, is everything to them. I’m the youngest of four and all my siblings played soccer so I just blindly went into it just because it was what they were doing and I just had to copy them because I’m the baby. But I don’t think it was until I was around 10, when I actually loved the sport itself instead of doing it because my siblings did it. I think that’s when I started to take it a little bit more seriously and wanted to see how far things could take me.”
“ At the time, I think the professional women’s leagues in America just kept folding so I wasn’t necessarily sure if there was going to be a professional league or if I would have to go overseas to play football. As I continued to grow, the league here also continued to grow and be a little bit more established. It wasn’t until around college that I realized I could play professionally here in the States.”
She quickly worked her way into the professional rank after playing University football. In 2019, she registered for the 2019 National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) College Draft but was not selected. In 2021, she got her contract with Houston Dash and this pivoted her to joining up with the Nigeria national team same year.
World Cup stage
Alozie said playing for Nigeria at the 2023 World Cup was awesome. She played every minute of the tournament for the Super Falcons eventually losing to England on penalties after a 0–0 draw in the Round of 16.
“Man! Playing in the World Cup was surreal, honestly! I think even leading up to it once the roster came out, like a month or so before we went out to Australia, it still just didn’t hit me. I remember so many people asking me how I felt or what I was feeling and I think it was just like a shock factor.
“The World Cup is something I’ve been watching since I was a kid—both the women’s and the men’s [tournaments]. So actually having an opportunity to be there just didn’t seem real, especially since I couldn’t get on a soccer team two years prior. So now to be at the World Cup with one of the best African teams in Africa I was like ‘What is going on?’ It just didn’t really hit me!
“But I’m just so proud of the group that we went with. I think that a lot of people counted us out, especially being in the “Group of Death”. I think we also grew a really big fan base from people who weren’t Nigerian, after beating Australia, tying with Canada and Ireland, and putting up such a good show versus England. I think no one really expected that from us. But it allowed us to grow a lot and show the growth of African soccer and [the growth] of Nigeria as well.”
The Nigeria spirit
If there is something that Alozie is proud about been a Nigerian, she said it is the never-give-up spirit.
“The worth ethic; that’s a really good stereotype that Nigerians have. They will work tirelessly and endlessly to get what they want. I think that I have done that throughout my scholastic career and also now in my professional career. I will put work into everything just to make sure that things come to fruition the way I see them. Regardless of my not sleeping or having to miss out on things. I will do what I have to do to make sure that something works out the way that I [envision] it.”
Alozie naturally identified with the ‘Naija no dey carry last’ parlance. “I love that about us. It means regardless of what we’re doing or what situation we’re in, we will not be trampled. You will never catch us slipping. Nigeria will always come prideful. We’ll come right. We’ll come with receipts.
“We will come with everything, prepared to be the best. We always think we’re the best which also helps but [Nigerians] will always come on top at the end of whatever situation that we’re in.”
