SUPER Eagles' former captain, Kanu Nwankwo, was all smiles over the weekend after watching Chelsea triumph over Bayern Munich in the final game of the UEFA Champions League.Kanu was smiling not only because of the manner in which Chelsea won the tie, but also because, with the victory, his compatriot, John Obi Mikel, has joined the exclusive club of Nigerians that have won Europe's top trophy.'Welcome to the club,' the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Ambassador said moments after Didier Drogba calmly tucked away his penalty kick to give Chelsea its first ever UEFA Champions League trophy. Kanu was alluding to the fact that Chelsea's 4-3 penalty kick victory over Bayern at the Fussball Arena Stadium in Munich meant that Mikel had become only the third Nigerian player to join the exclusive club of Champions League winners.Seventeen years ago, Kanu himself, along with Super Eagles colleague, Finidi George, became the first Nigerian player to lift the coveted trophy when his young Dutch side, Ajax, upstaged Italian giant, AC Milan, 1-0 in the final played in Romanian capital, Bucharest.'I am very happy for him (Mikel), he really deserves it and I'm also proud that after all these years, we (Finidi and I) have another Nigerian member of the Champions League winners club,' said the Arsenal former star, who was one of the stars viewing the final at the Hardley Suits and Apartments, Victoria Island, Lagos.The viewing centre, which also had a number of other football personalities in attendance, including the Chairman of Enyimba Football Club, Felix Ayansi-Agwu, was part of the hotel's special programme for the final of the world's top club football competition. Incidentally, it was the Enyimba chairman that won the star lottery prize of one night free lodging at the highbrow hotel.Meanwhile, the Managing Director of the establish, Ayo Gam-Ikom, says that Saturday's fulfilled evening was only one of a number of programmes the hotel has lined up for its guests, noting: 'On a regular basis, we intend to hold special events for both our lodgers and guests to make their visits to the hotel very memorable.
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