SD Huesca of Spain midfielder, Kelechi Nwakali has declared that his club’s promotion back to the Spanish LaLiga was made possible only through the intervention of God, as he reckons that all their efforts would have fallen flat had they not gained divine support for their aspiration; while Nigerian-born Marvin Akinlabi Park is causing ripples with new champions, Real Madrid.
Megasportsarena.com reports that Nwakali was obviously delighted, after Huesca sealed promotion to the top-flight on Friday with a 3-0 spanking of Numancia at Estadio El Alcoraz, which gave The Azulgranas an unassailable four-point lead over third-placed Almeria with one game to end this season in the Segunda Liga.
It also means Huesca make an immediate return to LaLiga, after they were demoted at the end of last season and Nwakali, who was signed in a full contract from Arsenal of England as one of the players bought to bolster the squad in the summer is happy that his arrival, after a torrid campaign on loan at FC Porto of Portugal, has been justified.
Nwakali had also been on loan at MVV Maastricht and VV Van Venlo of Holland before joining Porto, as he could not get to play for Arsenal in the English Premier League due to the quota on international matches.
He will now be expecting an eligibility clause from Spain’s football authorities, based on what is known as the Cotonou Agreement, for him to feature next season in the Spanish top-flight, although he is still yet to get a full national debut, after his appearance with Nigeria’s B-squad in an exhibition match against Atletico Madrid at Goodwill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo.
For now, the former Golden Eaglets and Flying Eagles’ captain, who went on to get four games off the bench for Huesca this season, after overcoming an initial work permit obstacle, is glad with what he has achieved and to show just how happy he is with his change of fortune, the youngster posted on social media: “It can only be God 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 I am forever grateful.”
Also in Spain, Nigerian-born attacking midfielder, Marvin Akinlabi Park is also knocking on the door of a likely run of matches next season in LaLiga, as he has been training with Real Madrid’s under-19 team since Wednesday.
Akinlabi, who has had a number of non-competitive outings with the senior squad from Madrid, is now stepping up his efforts with youth team, as they commence preparations for their UEFA Youth League round of 16 clash against Juventus of Italy on August 16.
The lad with a Nigerian father and South Korean mother, but born in Spain, is one of the over-age players drafted into Los Blancos’ youth squad for the next round of the UEFA Youth League, as up to five players born on or after January 1, 2000 are allowed to be included on the roster.
Born July 3, 2000, Akinlabi made three starts for Real in the first half of the season in the UEFA Youth League, one against PSG and two versus Galatasaray, taking his total appearances in the competition to 10 since his debut.
Should Real Madrid beat Juventus in the last 16, they will face the winner between Inter Milan of Italy and Stade Rennes of France in the quarter-finals, with all the remaining matches billed to hold in Nyon, Switzerland, where Akinlabi and his teammates will be handled by Los Blancos legend, Raul Gonzalez.
