Former Nigerian internationals are divided over the choice of
Debate about who is the greatest in any endeavour especially in sport would forever bring varied thoughts. It is capable of raking up controversy and conflicts of opinions.
Former Super Eagles forward Daniel Amokachi started it all.
He stir the hornet's nest with his submission that erstwhile Super Eagles captain
The former Chelsea midfielder was successful while playing for the
'Mikel Obi is the greatest Nigerian player. He won everything that a player can hope to - the
He added: 'As a footballer, your laurels count, and that will surely count for Mikel because nobody has won that much in Nigerian football.'
Certainly, Mikel's repertoire with Chelsea is intimidating including winning the
So, where does Mikel rank in the 'comity' of Nigerian former players dating back to the days of yore?
Even in recent era, there is Austin 'Jay Jay' Okocha,
It is as result of these indices that many former Nigerian footballers did not agree with Amokachi's verdict, describing it as nothing but mere hallucination of the mind.
First to open the salvo is former national team goalkeeper, Ike Shorunmu who argued that different generations of Super Eagles have churned out great players and it is out of place to tag Mikel as the greatest Nigerian footballer ever.
According to the Super Eagles goaltender at the 2002
'It is not as simple as A-B-C to choose the best Nigerian player ever,' the former FC Zurich keeper explained.
He added that 'There are different generations of Super Eagles with many brilliant players as such I will not agree with Amokachi that Mikel is the greatest Nigerian footballer.
'He may be saying that because he is now a football ambassador appointed by the government. He can say Mikel is one of the greatest; but as for me he is not the greatest. When you talk about achievements, yes he has done well with his clubs and the national team but to give a player that accolade as the greatest Nigerian player ever, you need to consider a lot of factors.
'He needs to have started from a local club side where he had an impression on the fans before moving to
'For me, Mikel is a good player and a nice person but not the greatest Nigerian player.'
Former Super Eagles midfielder
Adepoju, nicknamed the 'headmaster' for his knack for scoring goals with his head, noted that winning so much laurels and playing many games for various clubs and
Adepoju who had a storied career in
He explained: 'There is no argument about the laurels and medals Mikel has won. He has also played so many games in the course of winning these laurels so he deserves to be celebrated. He has won the
'I go along with Amokachi based on what Mikel has won but Amokachi is entitled to his views,' stated Adepoju who also noted that the scope of selection should have been widened.
Erstwhile Super Eagles assistant coach
'I quite agree with Amokachi when it comes to laurels won at club level for Mikel to be named as the greatest
'Although the likes of Finidi George and
'At Chelsea, Mikel was so successful that his years with the club were very interesting and fruitful. I can quite agree with Amokachi on this but when it comes to performance, talent and skills, you cannot compare him with some of
Mikel has done enough to be considered the greatest Nigerian player but his exploits at club level in
Etim explained: 'Mikel has done well for himself in terms of the laurels won while playing for Chelsea and he was able to achieve this because of his long stay with the
'For me, if you have not been able to win the African Footballer of the Year award as well as excelling at local level, you cannot be considered to be the greatest. There is no doubt he has done well for himself at club level as well as winning the
'I am not saying that he has not done enough but he can be considered among the greatest but not the greatest,' noted the former Lokeren midfielder.
The 1994 African Footballer of the Year,
The former
'Maybe Amokachi wanted to nominate Mikel as the greatest Nigerian player of his generation because I don't know the yardstick he used to have declared him as the greatest Nigerian player ever,' noted Amuneke who made name with Egyptian giants Zamalek en route to a successful career in
'I don't like saying this player is the best Nigerian player. Every generation is totally different and each generation has been able to put their mark on the development of Nigerian football.
'What will you say about people that have played before us like
'Also, in our generation, there were lots of great players and you can mention the likes of Amokachi himself, Finidi, Yekini, Okocha,
'People's opinions have to be respected. I don't like comparing generation of players. What matters is that let us see how another generation can continue and carry on what other people have done; but we have to respect Amokachi's opinion.'
Meanwhile, the debate about the greatest Nigerian player is never ending with Amao picking late Stationery Stores star, Haruna Ilerika, as his greatest Nigerian player whose skills cannot be rivaled on the field of play.
He said: 'Not many people watched Ilerika play in his active days but I was opportune to watch and play alongside Ilerika and I can conclude that he was my hero and my number one
'He was a complete footballer whose skills most times attracted fans to the stadium. There might be other great players, but no one stands close to the great Ilerika,' Amao added.
In fact, Amao's view on Ilerika as one of the greatest Nigerian players ever was long ago shared by the former Governor of Lagos State,
In a file interview with our correspondent as far back as February 2017,the Minister for Works and Housing who is a notable football aficionado, told our correspondent that but for lack of exposure, Ilerika as a matter of fact, was far better than the gifted Argentine 1986 FIFA World Cup winner,
'There are two players I admire so much,' noted Fashola. 'Segun Odegbami was not only my hero but a great footballer who did so many wonderful things with Shooting Stars Football Club of
'But the most talented , I mean the most naturally gifted player I've seen including
'Not only was he a great entertainer, he was a very positive player and he was a great individual and team player. It was a sheer magic for me to have watched him play,' added BRF.
For Shorunmu, the likes of
He added: 'It is unfortunate that most of these players I mentioned above and many others did not ply their trade in
'The league was standard and lucrative not like what we have now with teams owing salaries and allowances. If our league is lucrative, we will get players who would do better than Mikel. As it is now, things have changed and he is benefitting from the evolution of the game and the big bucks now on offer.
'The team that won the 1980 Nations Cup in
'Every era has in own stars. For my set, we had
Yet Amuneke said Amokachi's submission must be respected: 'Amokachi's opinion needs to be respected; everybody is entitled to their opinion. Everybody has done the best they could when they had the opportunity to serve or play for
'So we must respect everybody; some of us have done our best for Nigerian football and we hope the new generation can add value to our football and sports,' noted Amuneke, the 2015 FIFA U-17
© Pakistan Press International, source