Martins targets Super Eagles return

Seattle Sounders striker Obafemi Martins has said he would welcome a recall to the Super Eagles after being left out of the squad for over a year.

The former Levante forward has scored 10 goals in 22 appearances for the MLS team and has won several Man-of-the-Match awards in his second season since moving to the United States.

Martins has not had it so bad with the Eagles as he has only been invited to the national team only twice in the last three years.



Despite his impressive performance this season, he was again overlooked when the Nigeria Football Federation announced the players to face Congo and South Africa in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

“I’m here and I’m Nigerian, so we’ll see if I get picked (for the 2015 AFCON). I have no control over it. Every coach has his favourites. All I can say is that I’m playing good football in Seattle and I’m happy doing it. If I’m in the Nigeria team, great, and if I’m not, I wish them all the best. I always want Nigeria to do well,” Martins told FIFA.com.

The 29-year-old has formed a near-perfect partnership with Clint Dempsey at Seattle, a union that has produced 21 goald and 14 assists between them. He praised the USA international for his professionalism in football.

He said, “Dempsey’s a serious player. We connect on the pitch. If I get the ball, he knows I’ll give him the right pass. I know the same, too, when he gets it. It’s not an easy thing to create a strong understanding in attack so quickly, but we are on the same page. The man knows the game and I respect that.”

He added that Nigerian footballers are easily accepted in every league in the world because of their talent and love for the sport.

“We don’t have the best domestic league system in Nigeria, but we do have some of the best players – too many talented players. Go to Germany, Russia, Spain, Italy, wherever, and you’ll find Nigerians playing there. They might not be the big stars, but they’re out there showing what Nigerian football is all about. Nigerians love to play football and it’s not like here in the States where there’s American football, baseball, basketball. All we have is football in Nigeria. And we love it.”