Starting off, his full name is Onyinye Wilfred Ndidi. Ndidi was born on the 16th day of December 1996 in Lagos, Nigeria to his father (a serving military man as at the time of writing) and his mother who is a trader.
He was born as the first child and only son of three kids. This literally means he has two sisters.
As the son of a military man, Ndidi grew up at the Military Cantonment in Ikeja, Lagos. He started playing football at the Command Children School which offered him the opportunity to passionately play competitive soccer during sports periods.
Our version of Wilfred Ndidi Childhood Story is interesting, if not uncommon – It about a little boy with a testing childhood life, one who went against all odds stacked against him by his military father.
Ndidi right from his primary schooling days possessed a steely determination to make his dreams come true and his ambitions were not just a passing fancy.
For Ndidi, the focal point in his childhood life entails him going against the wishes of his father who never wanted him to become a footballer. In his words…
“My father was not really into football because of his Military job. Ndidi he told the Leicester Mercury. “My dad watched it on the television on few occasions but he didn’t want me to play football. Despite him being a soldier, he still never want me to follow in his footsteps. He just wanted me to go to school. I did miss out on schooling because of football. Since my dad’s military life came with lots of postings and distance away from the family, I took that opportunity and moved to Nath Boys Academy without his knowledge.
This time, going to school became totally off my mind because I trusted my abilities. He only got to know when Nigeria called me for the 2013 African U-17 Championship. That time, he gave me fatherly blessings and full support”
Back then at Natt Boys Academy, Ndidi played as a striker with guys above his age group. He attributed his toughness on the ball to the knocks he received from the older players while growing up.
Ndidi grew up the football ranks at Nath Boys Academy and becoming their best player. It didn’t take long before he got the shocker of his life as he was called to represent Nigeria at the 2013 African U-17 Championship.
He came into the tournament as a central midfielder thanks to his utility role. His performance at the championship saw Belgium scouts raiding him off the West African country to Belgium where he joined Genk.
At Genk, he became a first-team regular started and showcased a wide range of passing and shooting at long range. Ndidi got global recognition when he scored a long-range goal of the season in Belgium. His ferocious volley was measured to travel over 111 km/h.
As Ndidi puts it; “Musa drives me around. If we have an away game, he picks me up and drives me to the airport, during breaks, he drives me showing me stuffs around town. At this moment, I don’t have my driving license and still don’t know how to drive.”
Unlike Ahmed Musa and Kelechi Iheanacho, Ndidi adapted to Leicester City at a fast pace. His bullet goal against Stoke captured the hearts of Leicester fans.
For Leicester fans, The love for Ndidi still deepens even thou he got his first career red card on 16 December 2017 – which also happens to be his birthday. He will be forever known as an ‘all-action midfielder’. The rest, as they say, is now history.
I have always been crazy about Mikel. The way he plays is amazing. In Nigeria, When I and my friends talk about players, we always want to talk about Mikel. He is so important for Nigerian football. I actually liked 1 player outside of Africa [when I was younger], that’s Ricardo Kaka.
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