Former Super Eagles striker/winger Peter Odemwingie has revealed that some set of people in Russia believed he doesn’t have the ability to play football at the highest level.
The former Lokomotic Moscow striker who’s the Ambassador of FIFA Women’s World Cup trophy to Nigeria said he only want to commit his international future to Nigeria despite been eligible to play for Russia and Uzbekistan, a decision the Russians media called “laughable”.
”Your dream, when you are young, you voice your dreams out and people laugh of course and in 1996, Nigeria became Olympic champions in Atlanta, I said one day I’m going to play for Nigeria,” Odemwingie told FIFA TV.
”It was in Russia, and they looked at me, laughing, and said ”You will never get to that level”.
Odemwingie made history with the Nigerian team , winning the Olympic Silver medal at Beijing in 2008 and also went on to become the oldest player in history to score for the Super Eagles at the World Cup when he found the net against Bosnia aged 32 years, 11 months and 6 days.
”When the goal goes in in the World Cup, I remember how my family was, how everybody was in Brazil, 2014.
”I wanted to give the country that feeling. So when I scored in Brazil and it was 1-0 and we won so that was the time I felt ”Yes, I have done something big”, and every time I want to feel something positive.
”I remember that day and what I gave to people”.
The former West Bromwich Albion man was Born in Uzbekistan to a Nigerian father and Russian mother and made his debut for Nigeria in an international friendly against Kenya at the National Stadium in Lagos .
