AT club and country, Leicester and Nigeria defensive midfielder Wilfred Ndidi has put in more game time than most of his teammates. In the Premier League, he has been nominated as the most successful tackler raking 138 successful tackles ahead of Idrissa Gueye and N’Golo Kante.
In 2018, he was Leicester’s best young player and in the whole of Europe ranked the best young central midfielder. The prestigious France Football further named him among Africa Team of the Year. The list has Mohamed Salah and Mane Sadio among the Top 11.
His consistency and toughness has earned him repeated invitations to the Super Eagles, and was part of every minute of the green and white World Cup campaign in Russia.
At Leicester, while coaches have come and gone, Ndidi has remained a standing force in the middle of the pack. He is only absent when carded or injured.
What Ndidi lacks in size and maturity (He is only 22), he has aplenty in inner strength and right attitude.
“I never knew I could be called upon to be the strongman of any team because I have always been a small guy. In my youth club, I used to play as a defender but I was tiny and felt I needed to build up muscle,” he said of his budding teenage years.
Two people, he said, influenced his career greatly and have made a difference in how he has turned out and what he has accomplished in about four years of professional football. He used to see himself as a lily-livered tiny footballer, but all that changed when he met ex-international and captain of Nigeria’s 1985 U16 team, Uduka Ugbade.
It was Ugbade who fired him up and remodelled him into a man of steel.
His childhood coach, who he affectionately called Coach Paulo throughout the online interview, he said, he owes his transformation and toughness to.
“Coach Paulo is solely responsible for my toughness. He used to coach my youth team in the Army Barracks in Lagos when I was a teenager. He was such a hard worker that if you are not tough, you will run away. But he used to tell us that we would thank him later. Many of my mates ran away, but he would take some of us aside and tell us that what we needed was to be mentally tough and that size does not matter.”
The skinny Ndidi almost quit. “At a point, I was tired and felt I could not go on given the tough training with him (Ugbade). It wasn’t normal training, he would push us beyond limit. He would ask us to keep running even when you were tired. ‘Just keep going’. There would be three sessions a day: morning, afternoon and evening. Most of the other players didn’t come because they were scared and couldn’t cope. But he kept pushing me and pushing me, saying that I should not worry about my age and that in football you could beat anybody.”
That work ethic, he added, has helped him tremendously. “I am not afraid of any training regimen. I find the hardest of training comfortable and push more than any other player and that has helped me tremendously. I find that managers also love those who work hard in training.”
The second man in his life he met at Leicester. N’Golo Kante. The diminutive strongman influenced Leicester’s English Premiership win and France’s World Cup victory in Russia.
“When I transferred to Leicester, I was to understudy Kante. I had never worked with a stronger player and he taught me many things about defensive midfield. I am a keen learner and he impacted the mental belief in me that I could better his performance if I keep my head down. Kante is the man.”
Ndidi returned to Nigeria last week for the Nations Cup final qualifying match against Seychelles and international friendly against Egypt and, again, he did not disappoint.
“It’s great to play for the country again. We have a youthful team that share similar sentiment. We all want to play out our hearts for fatherland. That is what we need to do well,” added Ndidi.
Meanwhile, Ndidi has spoken to TAIWO ALIMI on his humble beginning, his childhood team, Genk, English Premiership and playing for Nigeria.
GROWING UP
My father is a soldier, so I grew up in the military barracks. My father was always away on military mission and in his absence, I found football. Though he did not like me playing football whenever he was around; he was strict. He would tell me that football cannot take the place of education. I’m happy when he was away because I had ample time to play football. He never wanted me to play football. He wanted to make sure I was at school. Whenever he went anywhere I was, like: ‘Right, I’m going to play.’
Along the way, Coach Ugbade saw me and took interest in me and I became one of his favourite students. By the time Ugbade was through with me and I got into Nath Boys’ Academy, I was ready for the world. I played many games for Nath Boys and due to my upbringing I always put my all in every matches, be it friendly or competition.
Nath Boys also helped me grow into a team player. We knew ourselves from home, we grew up together; we had the opportunity to go to school together and we won the Academy league. It was amazing, and I keep in touch with my teammates and the chairman still. Most of the guys I played with are in the Nigerian league now. I always look out for what the fixtures are coming up for Nath Boys and their results. Unfortunately, I don’t get the chance to go back a lot now to see the new generation of kids coming through because of how busy our schedule is in England.
In one of those competitions, a foreign scout was around and that was how I was invited for trial with Genk in Belgium. I played well and from the back initiated a goal, which impressed the foreign scout.
Ugbade also took me to the Nigeria U17 team and that must have impressed Genk that offered me a contract when I was 17 and formalised it as soon as I turned 18.
GENK
Genk was a bit tough. I came to the club under a coach that wanted result from me quickly and he was not patient about it. I received the drill quite well, but sometimes I was under extreme pressure to deliver and that led to making mistakes.
But I had help from the trainers and I soon realised I didn’t have to become a new player because I was playing in a new position, I didn’t have to copy anyone else. That helped me realise I just needed to play my own way and how I feel comfortable.
But that soon passed and I began to show what I am capable of doing and Leicester came for me. All the while, I did not know that big clubs where monitoring my progress, and that was how Leicester came for me.
I was to understudy Kante. I had never worked with a stronger player and he taught me many things about defensive midfield. I am a keen learner and he impacted the mental belief in me that I could better his performance if I keep my head down. Kante is the man.
Claudio Ranieri had done great for the team and I was beginning to enjoy his great experience when he was sacked. That was a big shock to many of us. Then, Craig Shakespeare stepped in. He’s a great coach too. He has a way of calming players and at the same time getting the best out of them. He’s a great tactician too.
I also met country-mate Ahmed Musa here and that helped me to quickly settle down. Musa helped me a lot. He called me and advised me to come to England and helped me to settle in nicely when I eventually arrived in England. He made me feel at home. I remember when he was not making the team, he would offer to take me to the airport. He is such a great player and friend.
THE VAN VLIERDENS
The Van Vlierdens took me in when I first arrived Belgium and I won’t forget the impact they made in my life. They made the transition from Nigeria to Belgium so good that I did not feel that I was missing family life. In-fact it was difficult for me leaving Belgium because they were family and have remained my family even till date.
I have always enjoyed a family setting and that is one of the reasons that I play well. It keeps me stable and focused. At Nath Boys, we were family and real close to Genk and my new family in Belgium.
I had same mentality when I got to Leicester and that I had Ahmed helped me a lot. In no time, I had found another close-knit family and that helped me enjoy my game and life in England. They are always there for me and I love to do things for them too. It makes me to lock down my focus on football and what I need to do on the pitch knowing that this is my family. It is one of the things that keep me going.
SUPER EAGLES
It’s great to play for the country again. We have a youthful team and share similar sentiment to give our all for fatherland. That is what we need to do well. I can’t explain how proud I am to wear the colours of Nigeria. Every player wants to put on the shirt of their country, so many people look for this opportunity – the entire population in Nigeria would love to be able to do this. I couldn’t believe I would be at the World Cup for my nation. It’s amazing. The welcome we got in Russia was amazing. We were given a rousing welcome and that is special. We had a good tournament. And it’s not just about going to participate; it’s not about being happy that we are part of the World Cup. It is about showing that we can hold our shoulder high among other countries.
THE PREMIERSHIP HONOURS
I’m not playing for the hype, though it feels good to know that I am doing well for my club. I’ve always wanted to put up my best for team and country and so I ignore the hype and everything people say about me – that’s not important. Doing my job well is important. It’s a great thing that we’re doing well, because there are so many good European players, so as an African, you have to do extra. The English Premier League is one of the most competitive in the world and the destination of many soccer stars. In Africa, all youngsters want to play here and I’m happy that we are not doing badly. The continent is well represented and we have accomplished much. I love especially what Salah is doing here and it gives the rest of us the confidence to want to do more. It is all for the team. If the team is doing good, it means I’m doing a good job. I love to enjoy the game and play more for the team. I just flow with the tide and do not want to put too much pressure on myself.
