Omonia Nicosia of Cyprus goalkeeper, Francis Odinaka Uzoho believes he gained a good basic foundation for the sport and he has been able to improve tremendously because of the unique kind of training he received as a young shot-stopper during his early days in Spain, megasportsarena.com reports.
While taking stock of his breakthrough days in the Land of The Armada, where he cut his teeth with Deportivo La Coruna in the top-flight Spanish LaLIga, Uzoho acknowledged that he went through a different kind of technical development, which he believes prepared him for the task of being an internationally acclaimed keeper.
Although he has been loaned thrice by the former LaLiga side, which got relegated from the Spanish top-flight two seasons ago, Uzoho believes he has come of age and thanked the training sessions he enjoined in The Land of the Armada for the leap forward.
While affirming that goalkeeping training in Spain is quite different from what applies in other countries, the former loanee at Segunda Liga stragglers, Elche and Anothorsis Famagusta of Cyprus reckoned that his breakthrough into the Super Eagles was also on account of the solid foundation he got in the Iberian nation.
Now that he is approaching full recovery from a nasty knee injury he copped in action for Nigeria against Brazil during an international friendly last October in Singapore, Uzoho is holding unto strong belief that he will get back into the mainstream for club and country, with high hopes of even doing better as the days go by.
The product of Aspire Football Academy of Qatar, who was second choice behind Sunday Dele Alampasu is Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets’ squad that won UAE 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup, added that he will continue to improve because he always keeps in mind the special training drills he got during his time in Spain.
Uzoho told Super Eagles media: “Goalkeeping training is different in Spain. You must learn how to use your legs and they expect you to make yourself imposing when in goal. I learnt a lot and it has helped improve me.”
