Former Super Eagles’ striker and 1997 African Footballer of The Year, Victor Nosa Ikpeba has given a very low scorecard to the current generation of Nigerian players, saying they lack real commitment to play the game.
Sports247 reports that ‘The Prince of Monaco’ took a look back at the days when he played actively in Nigeria before moving abroad and pointed out that widespread interest in football by many parents has affected the quality of today’s players.
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Ikpeba recalled, “During my era, you must know how to play football. In my era, not everybody was allowed to play football. So, even if you wanted to play football, you had to have the talent, the passion and the quality to play it. But, in the last 20 years, most parents want to allow their kids to play football because of the money.”
The former AS Monaco of France and Borussia Dortmund of Germany hitman also used the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) as a reference point to support his argument about dropped standards in the round leather game, while also stressing how changes through the years have brought about low values in the current dispensation.
Ikpeba acceded, “Times have changed. In those days, people were playing not just for the money but because of their passion and talent. I go back memory lane; the league we had in the 80s and 90s was very competitive in Nigeria, and the players were very good. For you to be selected and put in the Green Eagles or Super Eagles, it just shows that you were exceptional.
So, I think quality-wise and talents, we had more of those values than we see in this era. I don’t think some of the guys of this era would have been able to play in my era. That’s the truth.”
He concluded by pointing at some specific qualities of good players which many present generation Nigerian footballers lack, especially the rare zeal of playing on the popular open playgrounds of youth football scattered across the Lagos metropolis.
“It’s about the skills, the commitment, the physicality; everything is now different. I am sorry to say this, I love this generation, but how many of them can fight for football or play where it matters in Lagos? Can they play in Lagos,” Ikpeba stressed rhetorically.
