Jonathan Akpoborie was among the first Nigerians to win a FIFA world championship when as a member of the Golden Eaglets in 1985, Nigeria conquered the world to win the maiden Under-17 World Cup in China. That success in China kick-started Akpoborie's football career, in which he featured for major clubs Europe. The Super Eagles former star's desire to make a living from the game was ignited during the famous Lagos Principals' Cup, where he featured for St. Angus Memorial Secondary School in Bariga. Though his team never won the competition during his time, taking part in the championship inspired him to choose the game as a profession. Now a player agent, the former Stuttgart of Germany star told OLALEKAN OKUSAN in Calabar, Cross River State, on Monday that he is now reaping from his decision to marry the game to his education.Like his older siblings, Jonathan Akpoborie embraced sports at a tender age as a pupil of Anglican School, Apapa. He took part in virtually all the sporting activities, while his cheetah feet endeared him to the heart of his games master, who encouraged him to take to athletics and football.Recalling his experience in primary school, Akpoborie said: 'Sports is something I was born into because my brothers were all well-known footballers in my area in Ajegunle. So growing up in that family, they did not introduce me to only football, but to sports in general.'At a young age, I was a good sprinter that I used to be the fastest runner in my area. I was attending Anglican School in Apapa, which was in the outskirts of Ajegunle and my school was popular. I had to thank the school because they actually exposed us many extra-curricular activities, especially sports. They introduced a programme that allowed us to combine sports with education and I was fortunate to be a beneficiary of this exercise.'The school had teams in virtually every sport, but the young Akpoborie was pushed to football because his teachers found out that he could play any game that involved ball.He said: 'I was gifted in all sports, including cricket and it was what actually pushed or motivated me to go into all kind of sports. Among all these sports, football had the strongest pull and I would not complain because I actually benefited a lot from playing the game.'Aside playing football in school, Akpoborie also featured for teams in his area and it was not too long that his contemporaries noticed his skills in the game.'I left my primary school in Apapa and got admission to Igbobi College in Bariga. Before joining Igbobi I was already playing football in my area. There was a time my older ones wanted to play against another street and I had to carry my brothers' boot to the venue of the match. But on getting to the filed, they noticed that their team was not complete and they asked me to join them. But I turned them down because I felt they were too big for me to play with. But they pleaded with me and I joined them and that was the beginning of football for me.'Igbobi College was a brand new experience for the Ajegunle boy, who had to leave Apapa every morning to Bariga/Somolu area of Lagos.'In Ajegunle, football was popular, but it was also very big in Bariga, especially among schools like CMS Grammar School, St Finbarr's College, Methodist Boys High School and Igbobi College. So being in Igbobi afforded me the opportunity to continue with what I loved doing in primary school.'I want to say I subconsciously benefited from the experience because the two environments (Ajegunle and Bariga) are different from each other. It was from Bariga that we now moved to Lagos Island, which was arguably the best football playing local council in Lagos. Apart from this, Lagos Island organised the biggest junior tournament at Campos Square that drew all the school children from the neighbouring communities to the mini stadium. In Ajegunle, we also had competitions like the annual Mock Nations Cup,' he said.The former Golden Eaglets star says attending Igbobi College imparted positively on him as a footballer, and also as a person.'I was at Igbobi College but eventually we were moved to St Angus Memorial College, which was also located within the Igbobi College compound in Bariga. Then we were more or less Igbobians and the background I had in football was really sharpened when I got into Igbobi College.'Akpoborie was fortunate to bi in Igbobi College the same period with such fantastic players like Andrew Uwe, Michael Dominic and Dehinde Akinlotan, among others. Although, these players were his seniors in school, he was privileged to play with them on several occasions. One of such occasions, while playing the rubber ball (Felele) actually got him into trouble.He added: 'One day as a first year student at Igbobi College, I was watching the seniors playing and one of them got injured and I was asked to replace him. But I refused because I knew the implication of playing with senior players in the school. They pleaded with me that nothing would happen to me and I agreed to join them. I came in and scored lot of goals and this got me into trouble with the opposing side because I was actually punished for dribbling my senior. It got to a stage that whenever they called me to join them, I most times ran away from them.'Though Akpoborie honed his skill at Igbobi College, it was as St Angus that he first took part in the famous Principals' Cup, when he featured for the school during one of the preliminary matches.'I represented St Angus several times in the Principals' Cup, but one particular game against CMS Grammar School changed my vision of the game.'Before that encounter, I always played as a defender, but being the smallest boy on the pitch that day, our games master told me to play from the midfield just because of my size. As a defender my mates gave me the nickname 'Odiye.''In that game against CMS Grammar School, I played so well in the new position such that even though the game ended goalless, people treated me as if we won the match. The next year's event, I played as an attacker and it was from there I started dreaming of playing professional football.'Reminiscing on the privileges he got from the schools authorities as a member of the school team, he said: 'It was unbelievable playing for the school team because you are representing the school and after every victory, everybody will look at you with lot of respect. It was almost the same feeling when you get when represent Nigeria, especially when you are singled out for praise by the school principal on the assembly ground. All these encouraged me to continue playing for the school and it motivated me to aim to represent Nigeria.'Although he enjoyed the accolades that followed his prowess in sports, one major problem he found difficult to surmount was balancing his education with the demands of sports. But with determination, Akpoborie was able to mix the two successfully.'To be sincere with you, combining sports with education was not an easy task, especially for me leaving in Ajegunle and schooling in Bariga. Most times I returned home late because I used to play football after school and I would lie to my parents that there was heavy traffic on the way that held me back,' he said.Because of Akpoborie's exploits in football, his parents usually received emissaries from people, who want to recruit him as a mercenary in games. 'Most times I used to help them with the games. But it was not really easy for me in terms of my education. But I give glory to God for what He did for me,' he said.Akpoborie began the transition to club football while still playing for his school team through Coach Baba Aliu's Savannah Bank Football Club.'During one of the matches we were playing with Felele, Coach Baba Aliu invited some of us to train with the Savannah Bank team but most of my colleagues refused because they felt they would play against bigger players. But for me, it was a challenge having played against such players before,' he said.He continued: 'I joined Savannah but I did not play for the team because it was toward the end of the league and I had not been registered to play for the team.'When Coach Baba Aliu moved to Flour Mills he took me along, but after one of the games between Flour Mills and Federal Housing Authority (FHA), the management of FHA decided to sign me on.'Actually, moving to FHA made things easy for me because I was then leaving in Festac, so it was easy for me to attend training with the team. The month I joined FHA was the time Savannah Bank were to play in the final of the Bankers' Cup and it was at that particular match that the late Joe Audu saw me and gave me a note to the then U-17 coach, Sebastian Broderick, for trials. That was three months before the team left for the 1985 FIFA Under-17 World Cup in China.'Akpoborie says being among the first set of players to feature for the Under-17 national team was unbelievable. He adds that playing for the first national team was really fascinating and the journey to China was then like a dream, but flying in an aeroplane for an Ajegunle boy was exhilarating.'At that time, I didn't know anybody in the Nigeria Football Association (NFA), which was significant because I had nobody in authority to say anything for me.'If it were now with the current way football is being run in the country, I would not have had any chance to travel because I had nobody at the federation. The team (U-17) was picked purely on merit and Nigerians could see that the team was actually a good side.''I could remember that during the qualifiers against Ghana, I told my teammates jokingly that they (Ghana) would play the qualifiers, but we would be playing in the final of the World Cup. My friends did not believe this would come to pass, but we returned with the trophy from China.'Akpoborie sees education as very significant in the life of every athlete, saying the knowledge would make the sportsman a complete athlete.'In the football community, education most times add colour to your skills in the game. I am using it now even after quitting active sports. Unfortunately when we started playing, most of the people we were dealing with were not educated. But now most of the players know that they have to go to school. Football does not necessarily mean you stay out of school except you want to. There is always time even if you don't want to go to school, read books and the internet is there for you to exploit. Try and improve your knowledge because it is important as it actually helps you comport yourself in the society. It helps you to organise yourself, especially when you are representing Nigeria. It is vital and I enjoyed it.'After winning the U-17 World Cup in China, Akpoborie played his way into the national Under-20 team to the 1987 World Cup in Chile. But he did not record as much success as he had two years earlier.After the Chile experience, Akpoborie proceeded to the United States to study Computer Science at Brooklyn College. While in the states, he played for the Brooklyn College team, which won the New York State Football Championship.The team also played in the National Collegiate Championship, where it got to the semifinal stage.While in Brooklyn, the urge to play for the senior national team, Super Eagles, proved too difficult to resist, so Akpoborie left the school for Europe to begin a professional football career.'I was in Brooklyn College and we won the New York State championship to qualify to play in the national semifinal. But we were eliminated in the semifinal, so immediately after our defeat, I left the school for Europe because what I wanted to do was to play professional football. Then, the hunger to play for the Super Eagles after representing Nigeria at the Under-20 level was still very strong.'At that time, to play for the Eagles, you have to be in a professional team in Europe like such other players as Stephen Keshi, Austin Eguavoen and Samson Siasia, who were already in Belgium. And instead of staying in America, I decided to switch to Europe to play professional football,' he added.Akpoborie began his sojourn in Europe in 1990 at FC Saarbrucken of German Second Bundesliga, before spells with FC Carl Zeiss Jena, Stuttgart Kickers, for whom he scored 37 goals in one season, and Waldhof Mannheim, before finally joining top-flight Hansa Rostock in 1995.After spending two years at Hansa, the player moved to their Bundesliga rivals VfB Stuttgart and then VfL Wolfsburg in 1999.He retired at Saarbrucken in 2002.Looking back at his career that spanned over 15 years, Akpoborie says he has no regret choosing football as a profession. And to any youngster, who wishes to take to the game, or any other sport, Akpoborie says discipline should be the watchword.'Anybody who thinks he or she will just survive through sports will be probably right. But at the same time being an athlete demands a lot from the individual. Sports will give you fame and money while you are practising it, but you must know that nothing lasts forever.'Getting good education will help you for your life after sport. It will give you the confidence to blend in the society when you hang your boot, and then through that education you can carve out another life for yourself when the body is weak.
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