U-23 striker Jude Aneke tells OLUFEMI ATOYEBI the temptation of rewriting the Nigerian league goalscoring history made him delay his move to EuropeJude Aneke made all the headlines when he scored 20 goals playing for Kaduna United in the Nigerian Premier League last season. It was the first time a player would achieve the feat in the league. He is on his way out of the club as Belgian club, Genk, are ready to offer the U-23 player a lucrative deal.At 23, the striker is one of the few notable stars that went through the detailed developmental process that the Nigerian league offers before moving abroad. He said he would have joined the club a long time ago, but he had his eyes on setting a Nigerian league goalscoring record, even when the club feared that the deal could fall through.I would have joined Genk in Belgium a long time ago but because of the very long season we had in Nigeria last season, I could not walk out on Kaduna United and move on for personal gain, he said.I have a manager that knows how to work things out. He worked with the Belgian club on my behalf and was able to convince them to have patience. He assured them that I would not sign for other clubs because at a point, Genk were worried that I would not honour our verbal agreement because I kept scoring goals for Kaduna United.You know a player that scores regularly attracts clubs to himself. I was on the verge of breaking a record and setting a new one and that also contributed to my decision to finish the season. Sincerely, it was a temptation I could not resist, he said.He said with the league now ended and the U-23 team out of the 2012 Olympics qualifier, the time was ripe for him to move on.I am on my way to the Belgian embassy in Abuja (on Tuesday) and in a few days to come, I should be in Belgium to seal the deal, said the striker.Aneke had a football-friendly youth that took him round the country. But he was later torn between two important decisions that would later shape his future. With his parents insistence on investing in education of their child, the young Aneke must choose wisely and brave the odd.He said, I grew up in different parts of Nigeria so I understand the different cultures across the country. I spent some time in Enugu and also in the northern Nigeria. After my primary education, it was obvious that I would play football. But my parents wanted me to go to school so I had to find a way to satisfy their wish and fulfill the urge in me to be a footballer.It was not easy to combine education and football especially in Nigeria but I did it and graduated with a degree in political science. What I find out is that education and sports cannot be separated because they complement each others.With a degree in hand and a bright future in football, Aneke is aware of the short life span of football. He says when he approaches the end of his career, he will like to look back and make use of his certificate.I would one day like to put into practice what I studied in the university by participating in Nigerian politics. We all have to contribute to the success of this nation and if there is a role for me to play outside football, I will gladly offer myself for service. But right now, I want to play for some time because I have the talent, he said.The Morocco experience was definitely a disappointing one for Aneke, who could not transform his goalscoring prowess in the Nigerian league to success on the global stage. Aneke talks about the emotional disappointment he had when he could not help the Nigeria U-23 team succeed in the race for London 2012 Olympic Games.I had a very bad experience because it was the first time I would be representing Nigeria in an international competition, he says.We went to the venue to go and qualify so that Nigerians will have the opportunity to watch their team in the Olympics after we could not make the All Africa Games and the Africa Nations Cup. As players and patriotic citizens of this country, we were all disappointed to leave the competition without an Olympic ticket.Aneke denied been under pressure to repeat his feat in the Nigerian league when he played for Nigeria in Morocco, saying it was normal for fans to expect strikers to score goals.I scored the highest number of goals in the Nigerian league but my target as a member of the U-23 team was not to score all the goals but to contribute to the success of the team. If I scored and we lost, it would have meant nothing to Nigerians. However, I still feel bad that I could not score at all because I am also aware of the expectation of Nigerians from a player who had just scored 20 goals in a league season.The Belgian bound striker revealed the optimism that reigned in the U-23 camp despite knowing that there were hurdles to clear in Morocco.When we left Nigeria, my mind was beyond the qualifier. I was already thinking of playing in London and I was sure that was what my colleagues were thinking of. But we have been thought a football lesson and it will form part of our experience as we develop, said the striker as he shed light on the factors that worked against the team.Our failure could be linked to lack of time to train properly before the first match. I joined the team two days before we left for Morocco and some of the professional players also came from different parts of the world to play in the team. So, it was difficult for us to understand ourselves. We had very good individual players in the team but it happened that we could not transform the individual brilliance to success. Its painful and I pray that another opportunity comes for us to make Nigerians smile and forget this disappointment.In the match against Morocco, we would have won but we made a mistake by not reflecting instructions given to us by the coach in our game. We could have scored two or three goals in the first half if all of us followed coach Austine Eguavoens instruction.The player expresses his feeling for the coach, adding that Eguavoen is made to carry the cross of a whole team. He attributes his league success to the few training sessions he had under the former Super Eagles defender in the U-23 camp.It is unfortunate that our failure led to the resignation of the coach. He is such a wonderful person to work with. The team failed but I am sure that individually, the players would have learnt a few things from Eguavoens style of coaching. Because he was an ex-player, he found it easy to demonstrate to us what we should do when we had the ball and when we lost it.Before the last three matches against Rangers, Enyimba and Niger Tornadoes, I had the opportunity to work briefly with him. He taught me a few things that helped me score three goals, which brought my total for the season to 20 goals. It was not Eguavoens fault that we did not qualify for the Olympics, it was the players fault because he gave us instruction that we did not followOn the hostile environment the team played in the qualifier, Aneke informs that Nigeria would have made the semifinals if Morocco had played with the right attitude against Senegal in the final group match.Morocco knew that Nigeria was a threat to its ambition in that combination so they did everything to send us out. When we reached there, we received a hostile welcome and when they had the opportunity to nail us in their last match against Senegal, they seized the chance and lost the match, knowing it would automatically send us home even if we beat Algeria. But that will not be a good excuse for our failure, they were the hosts and you dont expect them to please others and hurt themselves, he reasoned.
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