Heartland of Owerri goalkeeper, Ikechukwu Ezenwa has revealed that former Super Eagles’ shot-stopper, Vincent Enyeama is his mentor, and he still calls the most-capped Nigerian player ever, because he remembers what he gained from being up close with him, megasportsarena.com reports.
While declaring that Enyeama is the biggest Nigerian player he looks up to, Ezenwa said he can never forget the daring save pulled off against England by the former Akwa Starlets of Uyo, Enyimba of Aba, Hapoel Tel Avivi and Maccabi Tel Aviv as well as ex-Lille Metropole of France netminder in his only match at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea/Japan.
He recollected his first meeting with Enyeama at the Eagles’ camp in 2015 and recalled with glee how former Lille star predicted that he would go on to represent the national team, then cited the older keeper’s high level of agility, confidence and calmness in front of goal during any given match, regardless of the level of play or quality of opponent.
Having also passed that the same setting that Enyeama experienced at Enyimba of Aba, before moving to Katsina United and back to Heartland, Ezenwa, whose last competitive match for the Eagles was against Madagascar at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt, concluded by stating how determined he is to try an emulate the longevity and regular presence his mentor had in the Nigerian national team, with which he got a total of 101 caps.
Ezenwa told Super Eagles Media: “Vincent Enyeama is my mentor, even up to date I still call him, I still talk to him; we do chat. He’s one person that inspires me, truly speaking. He plays in a big game as if there’s nothing happening, you will not find him jittery, that self-confidence.
“When I watched him at the 2002 World Cup, in the third game against England. That charisma, that inbuilt confidence; you see him playing his first World Cup as if there’s nothing at stake. You won’t even know that he’s the second or third goalkeeper. So, I started following him.
“When I met him in the Super Eagles, the first invitation, after the first training session he called me to his room. I will never forget, he gave me a pair of gloves and Lille jersey and told me I am a good goalkeeper, told me I have what it takes to keep for Nigeria. Since then, everything has been going according to plan.
“I’ll say it’s a thing of joy choosing him as my mentor, because I keep following him, keep trying to talk to him. One thing about goalkeeping is confidence, you might know how to do everything but you might be tensed facing the crowd but he’s one person despite the situation you see him clam, doing what he knows how to do best.”
