Sub-Saharan African powerhouse, Nigeria, which prides itself to be the giant of Africa, is a nation that has been blessed with abundant talent in all known genres of human endeavour. As far as the round leather game goes, Nigeria, over the years, has boasted of some of the most exciting prodigious talents who had been tipped to replicate the contributions of all-time greats like Jay Jay Okocha, Kanu Nwankwo, Finidi George, amongst others.
Perhaps the most apt index to demonstrate Nigeria’s track-record of producing precocious youngsters in the game is evidenced by it’s lofty record of lifting the FIFA U-17 World Cup a record 5 times in its history; and this is saying a whole lot considering the great dominance exhibited by European and South American competitors in the sport.
It echoes, therefore, as a great paradox that these exciting youngsters have in most cases failed to live up to expectation in the course of their respective careers, floundering tremendously and plunging into anonymity after etching their names in gold.
Eko Hot Blog takes a look at 5 Nigerian footballers whose careers took a nose-dive after enjoying exciting and promising breakouts.
(1) Stanley Okoro: Stanley Okoro came into the limelight during the 2009 edition of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, hosted by Nigeria, where he made a number of eye-catching performances.
He played his first match in the tournament in a 3–3 draw against Germany and scoring his side’s first goal through a penalty kick in the 54th minute. He subsequently scored against New Zealand and Spain and was a starter in the eventual 0–1 final loss to Switzerland.
Following an impressive outing during the U-17 showcase, a move to Europe beckoned. Okoro joined Spanish side, Almeria, where he failed to impress. He was eventually loaned to Bulgarian A Professional Football Group, Cherno More Varna, where he continued to struggle to re-produce a semblance of the form which inspired his move to Europe.
In 2015, Okoro was released by the Bulgarian side. He returned to Nigeria where he joined Abia Warriors in 2016, and Plateau United the following year. Four months later Okoro was released by Plateau United. His release by the NPFL side three years ago remains the last time Okoro’s career showed up on the radar.
Still only 27, it remains an unlikely wager to predict that Okoro’s career could match the high and lofty expectations which greeted his emergence on to the big stage.
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(2) Isaac Promise: The career trajectory of Isaac Promise doubles as not merely a disappointment, but ultimately a regrettable tragedy. He was the captain of the football team representing Nigeria which won the silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
As a promising youngster, Promise went on trials with Nigerian second division side Grays International. Attracting attention from several big-name football clubs in Europe, he went on trials with Manchester United alongside John Obi Mikel but found the trials unsuccessful. After being linked with Dutch outfit Feyenoord Rotterdam he eventually signed for Turkcell Super Lig club Genclerberligi in a three-year deal in August 2005.
He spent the next decade traversing across lower rung Turkish teams in a disappointingly underwhelming career. In August 2018, it was announced that Promise would join United Soccer League expansion side Austin Bold for the 2019 season.
Promise died of a heart attack on 2 October 2019, at age 31. A tragic end to a career which was tipped to blaze the trail for a teeming crop of Nigerian footballing talents at the time.
(3) Sunday Mba: Seven years ago Sunday Mba was the name on every Nigerian’s lip following his heroics in South Africa where he helped Nigeria win it’s third AFCON title, scoring the only goal against West African neighbours, Burkina Faso in a cagey encounter.
He signed for Bastia in December 2013 after a drawn-out negotiation that lasted most of the year. Two years later Mba joined Turkish side, Yeni Malatsyaspor, but after failing to impress he was consequently released in 2017.
In October 2019, after 2 years without a club, he said he wanted to return to football; unfortunately for the former Rangers man, no outfit has come knocking. Now 31 and soon to chime 32, there is a very real possibility that this Nigerian hero’s career has gone down in a whimper after showing flashes of brilliance and promise.
(4) Joel Obi: Joel Chukwuma Obi currently represents Serie B side, Chievo Verona. This is a sharp contrast for a player who spent 10 years at the top flight of Italian football with Internazionale under the tutelage of a number of world-class managers, including Jose Mourinho.
Initially pegged to be a slight variation to his name-sake, John Obi Mikel, Joel later failed to engage a higher gear to his game, particularly during his peak years. A failure that saw him dismissed by Inter in 2015. He moved to Torino in 2015 and has been trading clubs a tad less than the previous one since parting ways with the Nerazzurri.
(5) Macaulay Chrisantus: Not many Nigerians who watched the 2007 edition of the FIFA U-17 World Cup may believe that Macaulay Chrisantus currently plies his trade with an unknown outfit in Saudi Arabia. A centre-forward blessed with natural clinicality in his youth, Chrisantus emerged as the top goal scorer in the U-17 tournament held in Korea, helping Nigeria to win the tournament alongside a host of impressive youngsters who have disappeared from limelight ever since.
Born in Abuja, Chrisantus joined Hamburg in 2007 from Abuja FC, after attracting offers from several major European clubs, probably due to his contribution to Nigeria’s World Junior Cup win that year as the highest goal scorer and second-best player of the tournament. In summer 2009, he was loaned to Karlsruher SC for the 2009–10 season, but on 15 April 2010, KSC extended the loan deal for another year.
On 21 July 2014, Chrisantus signed a three-year contract with Turkish Super Lig side Sivasspor after his two successful years at Las Palmas in Spain. He would spend the succeeding years shuffling between lightweight teams in Greece and the Spanish segunda division, before ultimately signing for Hetten FC in 2020.
Macaulay’s career plunge remains a model story in the archives of Nigerian footballers who failed to live up to the bidding, having dazzled at a global stage where everything he touched literally turned into goals.
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