Guardian

Super Eagles former winger cum striker, Victor Nosa Ikpeba, belongs to the golden and nostalgic era of Nigerian football when the national teams were a force to reckon with in African football. Fondly called the ‘Prince of Monaco’ by his admirers, Ikpeba, who hails from Owhelogbo community in the present day Isoko North Council Area of Delta State, started his schoolboy playing career at Crowder Primary School in Sapele in the late 1970s and later went to Okpe Grammar School, also in Sapele, for his secondary education, where his soccer career took off. The young Ikpeba took after his late father, an Airforce military personnel, who played football for the Command team in his active days. At Okpe Grammar School, Ikpeba became a ‘warlord,’ leading the school to conquer all oppositions in the prestigious Principal’s Cup competition. He was also a household name in the U-13 football competition sponsored by the Okotie-Eboh family, where he became a tormentor to the likes of goalkeeper Andrew Aikomogbe, another great schoolboy player from Sapele region. While Ikpeba was a Commander-in-chief for Okpe Grammar School in Amukpe, goalkeeper Aikomogbe was the toast of the fans at St. Malachy’s school, also in Sapele. After secondary school, Ikpeba got admission into Yaba College of Technology in Lagos and from there, he was invited to the national under-17 team (Golden Eaglets) in 1988. He was part of Eaglets’ team to Scotland ’89 FIFA Cadet championship, where Nigeria lost out in the quarterfinal. Before taking his soccer trade abroad, Ikpeba had a spell with ACB Football Club in Lagos. That was after featuring for Eko Holiday Inn, an amateur club in the LAFA League. From one European club to another, Ikpeba hit the top of his football career at AS Monaco, a French side coached then by Arsene Wenger. His outstanding performance with Monaco, coupled with his contribution to the success of Nigeria’s Dream Team at the Atlanta ’96 Olympics, earned him the African Footballer of the Year award in 1997. Before then, Ikpeba had played a key role in Super Eagles’ success at Tunisia ’94 African Nations Cup, the second for Nigeria after the 1980 victory on home soil. Ikpeba, who is now a member of the Technical Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), was part of the organizing committee of the maiden Delta Governor’s Cup football competition, which was concluded on Tuesday in Warri. Among other things, the Ex-Eagles’ winger told GOWON AKPODONOR during the week in Lagos that his exploits as a schoolboy player in Sapele and his foray in the junior team shaped his sporting life, just as he counseled parents to always encourage their children to take to sports, especially at the early stage of their career, so as to cultivate self-discipline in them.

SUPER Eagles’ former winger, Victor Ikpeba, was barely four years old when he took to sports, with football as his specialty. Born on June 12, 1973, the young lad had his early romance with football on the streets of Benin City, where he carved a niche for himself in the game.

Ikpeba, the first of three boys in the family lost his father at a very tender age, so his paternal grandmother, who was living in Sapele, took up the task of bringing him up.

“I was not up to two years when I started staying with dad’s mother in Sapele,” Ikpeba revealed to The Guardian. “My mother is actually a Yoruba but not many people know this.”

The disadvantage of losing his father early not withstanding, Ikpeba was determined to equip himself academically. He started his elementary education at Crowder Primary School in Sapele under the guidance of his grandmother, although he normally visited his uncle, an Air Force officer, in Benin City.

He said: “Whenever I was on holidays, I visited my uncle, Rt. Col. James Ikpeba, in Benin City. What I am trying to say is that my childhood was spent in Sapele and Benin City.”

As a child destined for greatness, Ikpeba developed interest in the round leather game early in life. In fact, he was barely four years old when he commenced his soccer business.   “I was between the ages of four and five when I started playing rubber balls in the neigbourhood with my friends. Then, you had over 20 people staying in one compound and football was in me.

“I am sure I took after my late dad because I saw a lot of his pictures as a footballer. Also, my grand mother was always reminding me of the love my dad had for football till his death. She would always tell me: ‘Victor; you will achieve something in football.’ My early childhood was sports and education because I was really involved in school sports.”

The seed of his soccer career was actually planted at Crowder Primary School, but it was at Okpe Grammar School that watered and nurtured him to stardom.

Football development in Sapele had started in the 1950’s, when the game was just at its infancy in Nigeria.

The then Sapele township stadium was among the first stadia in the country and the desire to fully develop football at the grassroots level gave birth to the Sapele Amateur Football Association. Some notable teams such as Nova Luna FC (the first Youth club in Sapele) and Niger Pools FC had existed in the city way back in the 1960s, but the exploits of Ikpeba and the likes of Aikomogbe in school football in the late 70s opened a new chapter for the people.

Like some other Nigerian past football heroes, whose football career did not get the blessing of their parents at the initial stage, Ikpeba’s early romance with the game met a stiff resistance from his uncle.

He recalled: “It was difficult for my uncle to accept my interest in football because he was afraid that I might get injured in the process. He felt that I might not be 100 per cent fit in doing whatever I wanted to do in life if I sustained any form of injury in football.

“Apart from his fear of injury, there was really no money in football as at that time. So I won’t blame my uncle for nursing such fear at the initial stage. Our heroes who played the game in the 70s and 80s for Nigeria didn’t make money. They only had the passion for the game. I think that passion for the game drove me on.”

One school football contest Ikpeba would always remember was the Principal’s Cup football match between his school (Okpe Grammar School) and Okotie-Eboh at Sapele Stadium in mid 1980s.

With a feeling of nostalgia, Ikpeba recalls: “Playing in the Principal’s Cup competition at that time was like featuring in a World Cup competition. My school had conquered other schools, including St. Malachy’s in the zone and we were looking forward to picking the ticket to move on to Benin City, which was Bendel State capital at that time.

“To get the ticket to Benin City means we must beat Okotie-Eboh. We lost that match not because we didn’t play well but our opponent was just lucky. The huge crowd I witnessed at the Warri City Stadium during the final of the Delta Governor’s Cup last Tuesday was small compared to the turn out of spectators for that particular game between Okpe Grammar School and Okotie-Eboh in Sapele. Some of my schoolmates wept because it was their final year in the school. That is to tell you the passion and glamour school football attracted in our days. I am so glad the passion is coming back after a long time and I must thank Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan for championing the reviving school football in the state,” he stated.

The growth of the academicals, a synonym for ‘schoolboys’ football opened up a new generation of players for the country, especially from the old Bendel State. Then, regional inter-secondary school football was organized and at the end, players were picked from the different schools to constitute a more powerful regional team. Only the fittest and the best survived.

“Academicals football at that time complemented the domestic competitions, which was played between town-teams in the various regions. For instance, I played alongside Andrew Aikomogbe in the U-13 Football competition in Sapele. The Okotie-Eboh family sponsored it. It was from the Sapele region we were invited to the national U-17 team. Other players came from the zone and it was easy for us to play together as a team at the World level,” Ikpeba stated.

Ikpeba’s invitation to the Golden Eaglets’ camp in 1988 brought a lot of excitement to the family. Even his friends and fans at Okpe Grammar School celebrated it.

He said: “When I was invited to the Eaglets in 1988, I told myself there was no going back. It was a relief because my uncle and some other members of my family, who initially kicked against my choice of football, began to fall in love with the game. There were support and prayers from every corner. That is what football can do.

“In the camp, I met the quality required and I was selected for the final squad for the U-17 World Cup in Scotland out of hundreds of young kids. And it did change my life. We had a decent tournament and when the door opened for me to go abroad to continue my career, I felt my life was going to change and it did change,” he added.

At the FIFA U-17 Youth Championship in Scotland, Ikpeba proved his worth. His soccer artistry and dribbles from the wings were delights to behold. After watching the Nigerian team in one of the matches, Brazil legend, Edson Arantes de Nascimento, better known as Pele, predicted that Ikpeba would be a great player in the nearest future. It came to pass, though the Eaglets could not go beyond the quarterfinal stage, where Nigeria lost to Saudi Arabia.

The disappointment of missing the FIFA U-17 World Cup medal not withstanding, the Scotland ’89 championship opened the floodgate of success for the young Ikpeba, as officials of Belgian club, RFC Liege, came for his signature, thereby signaling the commencement of his club career outside the shores of Africa.

“I was privileged and lucky to have gone to a club like Liege because they had a fantastic structure. Not all clubs adopt that set-up. It was one of the oldest clubs in Belgium. Liege manager Robert Waseige knew that I was talented but he equally knew that it was not going to be easy for a 16-year-old to stay alone in a hotel.

“You would not be able to concentrate on what you were brought in for. So they took me to a Belgian family, whom I stayed with for two years to learn their language and life. My eating habits changed and I couldn’t eat my favourite pounded yam anymore. They say when you are in Rome, you behave like Romans. So I adapted to the culture. I was the only black player they had then but the old players accepted and helped me. The two years were helpful and I had to give credit to the family who helped me out,” Ikpeba said.

In Belgium, Ikpeba made 79 appearances for RFC Liege scoring 27 goals between 1989 and 1993. He was quickly spotted by officials of AS Monaco in France, where his performances earned him the African Footballer of the Year award in 1997.

Here, he got the nickname ‘Prince of Monaco’ for his great goals and outstanding qualities on the pitch. He made 169 appearances for Monaco, scoring 55 goals. He also played for Borussia Dortmund in Germany, as well as Real Betis of Spain, among other top clubs in Europe, before quitting active football in 2005.

He won the Belgian Cup in 1990 with RFC Liege and also the Ebony Boot award in 1993.

At national level, Ikpeba made a great hit. He scored the crucial goal against Egypt in Cairo that ensured Nigeria’s qualification for Atlanta ’96 Olympics Games.

In Atlanta, Ikpeba scored another crucial goal in the semi final against Brazil (the second goal), after Celestine Babayoro’s brilliant header gave Nigeria the first goal. Kanu Nwankwo completed the rest to send the Brazilians to early bed.

Reminiscing on the exciting moments of Atlanta ‘96 Olympics, Ikpeba said: “We beat Hungary and Japan but lost to Brazil in the group stage. When we defeated Mexico in the quarterfinals, I knew we could go all the way because we out-classed them. Against Brazil in the semi-final, you couldn’t have written us off because we had quality players. When we were 3-1 down, you would have felt it was over, but that is the beauty of football.

“I got the second goal and then had a hand in the third. The ball hit me on the back in front of goal and fell onto Kanu’s path and he made no mistake from there. We went on to win through Kanu’s Golden Goal.

“It’s a moment I will never forget. I was a regular in the team before the introduction of three over-aged players; Amokachi, Amuneke and Okechukwu in the team for the Olympics. At Atlanta, I always came on for Amuneke. After my performance against Brazil, Bonfrere Jo decided to start me against Argentina in the final. We came back from behind again to win 3-2, with Amuneke, who replaced me, scoring the winning goal. It was a euphoric moment.”

Ikpeba had his first senior cap at Senegal ’92 Nations Cup, where he played just one game, the third-place match against Cameroun, which the Eagles won. He got a bronze medal.

Two years later, Ikpeba and the ‘gang’ went all out to win the Tunisia ’94 edition of the Nations Cup, beating a resilient Zambia in the final. He helped Nigeria to capture the Atlanta ’96 Olympics gold and was voted the African Footballer of the Year in 1997. That same year, Ikpeba got the BBC African Sports Personality of the Year award.

At the 2000 edition of the African Nations Cup co-hosted by Nigeria and Ghana, Ikpeba’s penalty kick was ruled out despite crossing the ball crossing the line in the final against the Lions of Cameroun at the National Stadium, Lagos. This cost him the opportunity of adding another Nations Cup gold medal to his silverware.

Ikpeba, who still cherishes his school days at Crowder Primary School and Okpe Grammar School both in Sapele, counsels pupils, especially those with sports talents, to learn the habit of combining education with sports for a better future.

“My early childhood was sports and education and it paid off for me. That is what I want the youths of today to emulate because there are so many rewards in it.

“Parents should encourage their children to take to sporting activities in school because it is not just a good exercise for them, but a way of cultivating discipline and building their career from childhood.

“On the part of the government, I want to advise that we should cultivate the culture of maintaining our sporting facilities and also providing new ones. We were successful in the past, so, why not now? I watched the Delta Governor’s Cup final in Warri on Tuesday and it reminded me of my early days as a schoolboy player. The Governor (Emmanuel Uduaghan) was an active participant as a schoolboy player for Government College, Warri and he has continued to demonstrate his passion for the game.

“I am very sure no Nigerian premier league game will attract that huge crowd I witnessed at the Warri City Stadium on Tuesday. That is the passion and the students will continue to look forward to the next edition of the Governor’s Cup. Even the schools that could not participate in the first edition would be eager to register for the next edition. I thank Governor Uduaghan for reviving the culture of the Governor’s Cup and I am happy to be part of the organization,” Ikpeba stated.