Nwofor, Nigeria’s Newest Sensation

This time around, it was neither of the more famous and accomplished Uche brothers, Ike and Kalu nor Turkey-based Uche Kalu.  Rather it was former Flying Eagles striker and Holland based Uche Nwofor, who came on as an early second half substitute in the game played at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, South Africa, that shone like a million stars on the first opportunity he had under coach Stephen Keshi.

Despite being relatively unknown back home, Nwofor has been creating waves in the Dutch Eredivisie last season with VVV Venlo.
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The 21-year-old bagged 10 goals for Venlo last term, despite their relegation from Holland’s top flight, to earn the attention of a myriad of European top club sides­— Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle— and a call-up to Nigeria’s national squad.

Nwofor was close to joining CSKA Moscow in January for around £3m.

Regarded as the new Christian Benteke because of his playing style, which resembles that of the powerful Portuguese forward, Nwofor grabbed Keshi’s invitation with both hands, ensuring that the Eagles stretched their superiority over the South Africans.

Sheer class

The manner in which Nwofor executed both goals was pure class. First he backheeled the ball past a stunned South Africa goalkeeper, Itumeleng Khune, after a goalmouth scramble in the 49th minute while he kept his cool to slot home into an empty net after good work from the right flank by speedster, Ahmed Musa, in the 68th minute.

“Nwofor showed he is truly a good striker; those goals were not easy but the way he scored them made them look easy,” Eagles media officer, Ben Alaiya, said.

“Such goals as the first one don’t come often and it takes a very intelligent striker to do that. He has a very bright future in the team,” he added.

New Yekini

Former Flying Eagles defender, Mike Onyemachara, shares Alaiya’s view on the player and goes further to liken Nwofor’s predatory instinct to that of late Nigeria legend, Rashidi Yekini.

Onyemachara, who won silver at the Saudi ’89 U-20 World Cup, said, “Those goals were world-class. He is a fantastic player and there is one thing I like about him; he doesn’t hold on to the ball for too long. His positioning is fantastic and he plays like Yekini.”

Festus Odini, a winner of the 1993 U-17 World Cup, says the emergence of Nwofor will give the Eagles more options upfront and help solve the team’s perennial striker’s problem.

“For him to have scored a brace, I think he justified why he was included in the squad in the first place. It also shows that Keshi knew why he called him up.

“We’ve been having striking issues since the exit of Yekini and the new boy has traces of going far. I think he needs more call-ups to beef up his confidence,” Odini said.

But former Eagles striker, Victor Agali, believes it is too early to compare Nwofor with anybody, saying it might affect his game.

“We don’t have to judge or compare him with anybody so that we don’t put him under pressure. That could kill his game,” the former Schalke 04 striker said.

Eagles’ debut

It may sound shocking but Nwofor actually made his Nigeria debut in 2010— even before he was called up to the Flying Eagles— in a friendly game against DR Congo. He also represented Nigeria’s B team in the WAFU Nations Cup.

However, after then, Nwofor has been left in the international wilderness until Keshi recalled him to his team, which has gradually taken a new shape with majority of the old guard giving way to a new and younger generation of players.

“Even though he is just coming in, he can perform well if the team play to his strength. He is a good finisher, who is always in front of the goal but he needs the other players to score goals.

“You could see that his goals looked easy on Wednesday because the team played well and utilised his positioning. So, he needs his teammates,” Agali added.

Flying Eagles

Nwofor represented Nigeria’s U-20 team at the 2011 African Youth Championship in South Africa, scoring four goals in five games to finish highest goal scorer as Nigeria won a record sixth AYC title in Johannesburg.

At the U-20 World Cup proper in Colombia same year, Nwofor watched most times from the bench but the time he came on as a substitute, he distinguished himself before Nigeria crashed out in the quarter-finals courtesy of a 3-2 defeat to France. In fact, he came off the bench to score two goals in six minutes against Croatia as Nigeria won 5-2 in the city of Armenia.

Club career

Nwofor began his career with Anambra Pillars and went on loan to Nigerian Premier League side, Shooting Stars, where he played for one season before joining Enugu Rangers.

He signed for Venlo in 2011, despite being a target of Portuguese giants Benfica. Nwofor announced his arrival not long after, by scoring on his debut for Venlo in a thrilling 3-3 draw against PSV Eindhoven in the Dutch topflight.

He managed just four goals in his debut season but after scoring 10 last season and announcing his arrival in international football with a brace against Bafana Bafana, the sky seems the limit for this dangerous goal poacher.