NIGERIA'S GREATEST GOALKEEPERS!!!

Sam Ibiam©Getty Images

By. Emeka Enyadike. (culled from Superspot.com).

Nigeria has produced some amazing goalkeepers over the last 61 years, beginning with Sam Ibiam, the Port Harcourt Red Devils keeper, who became Nigeria’s first International goalkeeper on the trip with the UK tourists’ .

Sam kept goal through all of those games with Isaac Akioye in tow as reserve goalkeeper. I remember Isaac Akioye more as Chairman of the National sports Commission in 1980 but I have always been fascinated with Goal keepers since my childhood football fantasies.

I have somehow had the benefit of watching most of Nigeria’s goalkeepers at close quarters as well as having been able to interact with most of the major ones over the last 20 years especially the ones from the 70s to date.

In line with SuperSport.com's quest to find Nigeria's 50 greatest players of all time,we will look at the various periods down memory lane will reveal an interesting fact, 40 goal keepers have been involved in Nigeria’s international matches.

Some have been active for long but a lot of them have been journey men. It is an interesting fact that over the years, Nigeria has always paraded one dominant keeper for almost every decade.

1949-1959

What do I know about these keepers and how many did I watch and who can I really say was Nigeria’s best goal keeper of all time?

The most I know about the 1949 tour, the 50s and 60s were mostly through what I read or what I was told and there were so many tales about Innua Rigogo and early pictures I saw of him as a kid in the 70s made me relate to him like I would Lev Yashin, the Legendary Russian goalkeeper often touted as the greatest ever goalkeeper, I never stopped asking questions about him.

When the first Nigeria Team was assembled for the 1949 UK tour, they would play mostly against amateur Clubs in England but on their way back, they stopped by in Sierra Leone to play their first full international match. Isaac Akioye was the first keeper and that would be his only game.

There would be no games in 1950 but in 1951,there emerged another Keeper Olisa who kept Sam Ibiam on the bench and subsequently “Gentleman “Carl O’Dwyer would be number 1 between 1953-1956 before Sam Ibiam reclaimed the number one shirt for three years,1956-1958.

In 1980, when Sharks were playing in the Wafu cup, the Nigeria Football Association seconded a national Coach to support the team and I remember them beating a very strong Stade d’ Abidjan 2-1 in the quarterfinals and as the Team returned form that trip, Gentleman Carl Odwyer died suddenly and as the newspapers wrote about him, I discovered he had been a great goalkeeper.

OUTSTANDING KEEPER: Sam Ibiam, Carl O’Dwyer

1960-1969

Emmanuel Omiunu who took over from Sam Ibiam in 1959 would continue into the 60s along with Olu Onagoruwa, Andre Clement, Godwin Ezekwe, Lati Gomez (1963-1964) and in the late 60s Inua Lawal Rigogo and Peter Fregene.

This was an era when Nigeria struggled to make an impact in Africa and suffered some embarrassing defeats. I did not watch any of these keepers except Peter Fregene who played on to the early 80s but a look at the records show that Inua Rigogo conceded the least goals,

OUTSTANDING KEEPERS: Inua Lawal Rigogo, Peter Fregene, Emmanuel Omiunu, Olu Onagoruwa

1970-1979

In assessing all the goalkeepers, it would be difficult to make a fair comparism without video evidence but definitely from the 70s, I have seen quite some amazing giants between the posts.

The fiercest rivalries of the 70s existed between Rangers and IICC shooting stars and their meetings were always keenly contested with low scorelines essentially because of how good their goalkeepers were.

Initially,it was Amusa Adisa from WNDC which changed to IICC ,then Eyo Essien briefly but the colossus of the 70s has got to be Emmanuel Okala from Rangers .

He took over from Essien and was in goal when Nigeria won the 1973 All Africa Games Gold medal and apart from the 1976 Africa Nations Cup in Ethiopia when Joe Erico was first choice, there was hardly any International match that saw any other keeper in goal, such that even the advent of Amusa Adisa’s replacements at IICC Zion Ogunbufunmi and especially Best Ogedengbe(Shooting Stars) could muscle ,Okala who was a true giant, literally standing at almost 2 metres.

He had a frightening moustache and was very intimidating. He was always first choice for the National team then known as the Green Eagles. Best Ogedengbe was always the reserve keeper.

OUTSTANDING KEEPER: Emmanuel Okala, Joe Erico

1980-1989

It was a big surprise that Otto Gloria chose Best Ogedengbe ahead of Emmanuel Okala at the 1980 Nations cup, but to his credit Nigeria conceded only one goal in the opening game 3-1 victory over Tanzania. In the finals, following chants by the crowd wanting to see Okala in action, Gloria actually got Okala to warm up but he would play no part.

He retired with Christian Chukwu to concentrate on his Rangers Career and both led Rangers to a League and Cup double in 1981, earning a recall in 1981 for the final World cup qualifiers .Okala was on the bench but he never played for Nigeria after that.

In that winning 1980 Africa Nations Cup squad was another keeper, Moses Effiong from New Nigeria Bank of Benin. Effiong won more honours with his club New Nigerian Bank but would earn just one Cap as substitute. I had seen him play for Sharks in the 70s as where he competed with so many other phenomenal keepers like the Ghanaian Raymond Quacopome, Dennis Fente and one Peter Jaja, a school boy giant I had been fortunate to watch in Primary school and also when he played for his Government Technical College in Port Harcourt.

Peter Jaja became Peter Rufai in 1980 when he led a resurgent Stationery Stores of Lagos to the FA cup final where they lost to the phenomenal skills of Bendel Insurance parading the deadly Sam Okpodu and Henry Ogboe.He would earn a National call up and would become third choice ahead of Moses Effiong and with Okala’s final retirement in 1981, would begin to challenge Best Ogedengbe.

Best Ogedengbe would be Nigeria’s best choice throughout 1980 and 1981, but in the 1982 Africa Nations Cup, Peter Fregene returned as first choice amazingly after 12 years with Rufai as second choice. It was a dismal adventure which led to the disbandment of the Team.

In 1983, new Coach Adegboye Onigbinde recalled Rufai and he became captain and a recurring decimal despite the emergence of a lot of young goalkeepers coming through the youth ranks in a decade where Nigeria became one of the top Youth teams at the 1983, 1985, 1987 and 1989 Fifa World youth championships.Onigbinde also capped Emmanuel Okala’s younger brother Patrick Okala, though not as tall as his brother, Patrick was brave and equally left a mark.

The keepers who represented Nigeria at the junior world cup, the Fifa World youth Championships of Mexico 83, Moscow 85 and Chile 87 and Saudi 89 were Wilfred Agbonavbare, Alloy Agwu, Christian Obi, Willy Okpara.They were equally in good form for their various League clubs and gradually got promoted .

They were helped by the fact that for Junior National coaches Christopher Udemezue and Paul Hamilton replaced Onigbinde.

There was of course Etta Egbe from Calabar Rovers and David Ngodigha who captained Nigeria in 1989.However, Peter Rufai always returned to the top.

OUTSTANDING KEEPERS: Best Ogedengbe, Peter Rufai, Patrick Okala, David Ngodigha

1990-1999

The 90s could best be described as the golden age of Nigerian football with a second Africa Nations Cup title at Tunisia 94 followed by qualification for the USA 94 and France 98 World cup tournaments where Nigeria reached the second round on both occasions. Then of course, there was the Olympic Soccer gold in Atlanta 96.

Nigeria‘s final game of 1989 was a crucial world cup qualifier away to Cameroun which incidentally was Clemens Westerhof’s first match in charge.

He dropped Peter Rufai at the Airport and in the game, the inform David Ngodigha was injured and replaced by Alloy Agwu who would become first choice in 1990,1991,1992 and 1993 before Wilfred Agbonavbare earned a recall following spectacular displays for his Spanish La Liga Team,Rayo Vallencano. Alloy Agwu was so regular; he was made Captain until Keshi’s return to the team.

Peter Rufai fought his way back twice to become first choice for the 1994 Nation’s cup and both the 1994 and 1998 World cup, the second time, because the Team struggled to find consistency.

Injuries to the upcoming Ike Shorunmu then playing in Switzerland and the near fatal but career ending injury to Atlanta Olympic Gold medalist Dosu Joseph meant the Team had to try out Abiodun Baruwa and Williams Okpara from South Africa’s Orlando Pirates.

Rufai had to be called up from his holiday just days to the 98 world cup. In 1999 ndubuisi Egbo form Nepa of Lagos emerged as the front runner but a mature Ike shorounmu was set to regain his rightful place.

OUTSTANDING KEEPERS: Peter Rufai, Alloy Agwu, Wilfred Agbonavbare, Ike Shorounmu

2000-2009

Ike shorounmu finally emerged at the turn of the century as the undisputed number one Keeper and it would be the first time in almost two decades that there would be a dominant keeper.

He would lead Nigeria’s spirited march to the finals of the Nigeria-Ghana 2000 Africa Nations cup where they lost on penalties to Cameroun. Ike was also in goal through the key Korea-Japan 2002 world Cup qualifiers and the world cup proper.

He had in reserve Idah Peterside, an outstanding keeper in the Nigerian league with most of the leading teams in the 90s but by now playing for Tembissa Classics in South Africa, and Murphy Akanji leading up to the Mali 2002 Nations cup where Nigeria finished third.

The sacking of Shuaibu Amodu paved the way for Adegboye Onigbinde to become the first Nigerian to Coach at the world cup and he would take two young keepers who will dominate the next era to the World cup. Austin Ejide and Vincent Enyeama.

Enyeama would keep a clean slate in his World cup debut in the final group game against England Vincent Enyeama would dominate the goals at the 2004, 2006 and 2010 Africa nations cup.

Ejide would be preferred by German Berti Vogts for the Ghana 2008 Africa nations cup with Enyeama on the bench.Ejide was in good form but many would argue that Enyeama would have done better.

It is to his credits that none of the other keepers Rotimi Sunday, Dele Aiyenugba,(his reserve at Enyimba with whom he shared Goal Keeping duties in their back to back Africa Champions League triumphs in 2003 and 2004)and Greg Etafia have less than 10 caps each .

OUTSTANDING KEEPERS: Vincent Enyeama, Ike Shorounmu, Austin Ejide

2010 and Beyond

Vincent Enyeama was one of the outstanding goal Keepers at South Africa 2010 World cup and has kept his place above others in the Nigerian Team. He looks set for a longer reign especially with Uefa champions League experience.

He will be hoping new Coach Samson Siasia keeps faith in him. He may as well count on the fact Siasia wanted to include him in his Olympic squad two years ago but for the refusal of his Club. He would have gone as one of three over-aged players.

There doesn’t appear to be much competition in the horizon and he could well surpass Peter Rufai and Emmanuel Okala for longetivity.If Nigeria qualifies for the next world cup, he would be heading to his third World cup.