Page 55 - LionKing

ONE ON ONE
WITH KANU
By Nonso Nduanya
Kanu Nwankwo is without doubt, one of Africa’s biggest football icons of all time. Arguably Nigeria’s most deco-
rated international footballer, the retired forward was named a CAF Ambassador for the 2019 AFCON, alongside six other African legends: Egypt’s Ahmoud El Khateeb, Cameroon’s Samuel Eto’o, Cote d’Ivoire’s Yaya Toure and Didier Drogba, Algeria’s Rabeh Madjer, and Senegal’s El Hadji Diouf.
‘Papiloo’, as he is fondly called, is a two- time winner of the ‘African Footballer of the Year’ and the ‘BBC African Footballer of the Year’ awards. His international career saw him feature in six AFCON edi- tions between 2000 and 2010.
Kanu rose to prominence during his first
appearance at the 1993 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Tokyo, Japan which Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets won. However, his classy appearance at the 1996 Olympics in which Nigeria won the Gold Olympic medal remains unforgettable. He won
the highly coveted UEFA Champions League and English Premiere League titles, amongst numerous other titles at dif- ferent stages of his active football career period.
I caught up with Kanu, who despite his lofty achievements is very unassuming and easy-going. He was happy to share his views on the 2019 AFCON tourney and some other issues that are quite personal to him.
What are your expectations from the Nations Cup?
I’ve always loved that question because when you ask me that, it is like I’m still playing and I’d respond “we are going to win it”. I would not be there, as I am retired, however, I would say Nigeria
is going to win it, and I want the boys
to feel that way, believe in it and work towards it. The road would be rough, but we can do it.
Talking about the quality of football in Africa now, can we say that we have gotten to the level where our football can compare with international standards? Yes, definitely! During our days, we
did have a lot of issues especially with regards to getting allowances and other entitlements. Not just in Nigeria, but other
55
Image credit: Moments4life