Former Super Eagles striker and SuperSports football analyst, in an interview with Sportlight, spoke about growing up, playing professionally in Nigeria and abroad and his love life – losing Atinuke in 2000 and plans for a future spouse.
Excerpts:
How did you start playing football?
I was born in Benin City, though my father is an Isoko man in present day Delta State. I grew up with my dad’s mother, who is from Benin City, in Sapele. I was not up to two years when I started staying with her. My mother is actually Yoruba, but not many people know this. I am the first of three boys. I lost my dad when I was very young, so whenever I was on holidays, I visited my uncle, an Air Force officer, in Benin City, meaning my childhood was spent in Benin and Sapele. Between age four and five, I was already playing rubber balls in the neigbourhood with my friends. Out there then, you had over 20 people staying in one compound. Sport was in me and I am sure I took after my dad because I saw a lot of his pictures as a footballer. I come from a military background, though I wouldn’t say I am from a rich family. But my early childhood was sports and education; I was involved in school sports. I attended Crowder Primary School and Okpe Grammar School in Sapele before I came to stay with my uncle in Lagos and then got admission into Yaba College of Technology. Actually, it was not easy. I used the opportunity to play for Eko Holiday Inn, then they were in the LAFA League and Golden Eaglets before moving ahead. It was difficult for my uncle to accept me playing football because he was afraid if I got injured, it will be all over; he felt that I might not be 100 per cent fit in doing whatever I wanted to do in life. There was really no money in football then. Our heroes who played the game in the 70s and 80s for Nigeria didn’t make money. They only had the passion for the game. I think that passion for the game drove me on.
How did you receive the news when coach Sebastine Brodericks-Imasuen invited you to the Golden Eaglets?
When I was invited to the Eaglets in 1988, I told myself there was no going back. I believed in my qualities and I did well to be selected for the final squad for the U-17 World Cup in Scotland out of hundreds of young kids. And it did change my life. We had a decent tournament and when the door opened to go abroad came, I felt my life was going to change and it did change.
What was your initial experience in Belgium?
I was privileged and lucky to have gone to a club like Liege, they had a fantastic structure. Not all clubs adopt that set-up; it was one of the oldest clubs in Belgium. Liege manager Robert Waseige knew that I was talented but he equally knew that it was not going to be easy for a 16-year-old to stay alone in a hotel; you would not be able to concentrate on what you were brought in for. So they took me to a Belgian family, whom I stayed with for two years to learn their language and life. My eating habits changed and I couldn’t eat my favourite pounded yam anymore. I always said Belgium was going to be a stepping stone for me and I really worked hard. They say when you are in Rome, you behave like a Roman. So I adapted to the culture. I was the only black player they had then but the old players accepted and helped me. The two years were helpful and I had to give credit to the family who helped me out. We still kept in touch when I played in other European countries. I think our young players have to learn from this. It was a good step for me and it was not surprising that after years there, I moved on to Monaco.
At such a young age, how were you able to manage the fame and money at the time?
I was never crazy about being famous. People asked, ‘how is he (Ikpeba) going to cope playing for a big club like Monaco?’ But I had my wife with me, we married very early and it was good as I had stability at home. That really helped me because if I was alone, it would have been a little bit difficult. I would probably have done things people didn’t expect from me. For that I am always very grateful to her. We were always together. I was popular but having a woman at home made me put my feet on the ground and I did my job.
You had an automatic promotion from the Eaglets to the Super Eagles. How did you make it?
After I played for the Eaglets in 1989, I couldn’t play for the Flying Eagles in 1991 because Nigeria had issues with FIFA over age discrepancies of some players. But (Clemens)Westerhof and Bonfrere Jo monitored me and I was invited to the national team in 1991, just two years after I played for the U-17. I was part of the team to Senegal 92 and I played just one game, the third-place match against Cameroon and we won. It was a learning curve for me. That was the beginning of my senior national team career. It’s one of those moments of my life I will never forget.
After making your debut in 1992, you were tipped as one of the stars to shine at the 1994 Nations Cup and World Cup, but you ended up playing fringe roles for the team. What happened?
There were a lot of problems that I don’t really want to dwell on anymore because I am a forward looking person. At a point, I couldn’t see eye-to-eye with Westerhof but I still give him the respect he deserves because he gave me my chance in the national team. I saw him sometime back and I greeted him and we exchanged pleasantries. People say I am stubborn but I don’t think I am. I have a strong character though. That’s life for you. Honestly, everybody in the 1994 squad was good. That you couldn’t take away.
Did you witness anything like a mafia or cabal in the Eagles, as alleged by some other players of your generation?
I wouldn’t really call it the mafia. It was a hierarchy thing. I didn’t have any problem with that because I was in the team to learn and benefit from the experience of the older players. In as much as we need young players in a team, we must realise that experience counts.
Would you say the good preparation embarked upon by the Atlanta 1996 U-23 team helped in winning the football gold medal at that year’s Olympics?
Preparation? It was nothing to write home about. They said there was no money. At a point, the players used their credit cards to hire some buses in Tallahassee to take us to training and back to the hotel. I was a driver of one of the buses. It got so bad that the hotel staff refused to launder our jerseys. They wanted it to get dry before they would wash it because of stories of AIDS. I think because we lost 5-1 to Togo while preparing for the Olympics, nobody gave us a chance but we had self-belief. We didn’t know if we would win the football gold medal though, but our target was the semi-final, where probably, we could win the bronze medal.
Can you give us a summary of the team’s performance on the way to claiming the historic gold, the first by an African team?
All everybody remembers now is the gold medal feat achieved in Atlanta but nobody talks about the final qualifiers against Egypt. The Egyptians needed just a goal at home to scale through after they lost 3-2 in Nigeria in the first leg. So a lot of new players including me were brought in to fortify the squad. We held them to a 1-1 draw in Cairo to progress. It was a very tough game. If we lost that game, we wouldn’t have qualified. At the Olympics proper, we beat Hungary and Japan but lost to Brazil in the group stage. However, when we defeated Mexico in the quarter-finals, I knew we could go all the way because we out-classed them. Against Brazil in the semi-final, you couldn’t have written us off because we had quality players like Emmanuel Amuneke, Daniel Amokachi, Taribo West, Uche Okechukwu, Celestine Babayaro, myself, Nwankwo Kanu, Austin Okocha and several others. Even if Brazil had the likes of Bebeto and Ronaldo, you couldn’t write us off. Our players were also playing in the big European leagues. When we were 3-1 down, you would have felt it was over but that is the beauty of football. I got the second goal and then had a hand in the third. The ball hit me on the back in front of goal and fell onto Kanu’s path and he made no mistake. We went on to win through Kanu’s Golden Goal. It’s a moment I will never forget. I was a regular in the team before the introduction of three over-aged players; Amokachi, Amuneke and Okechukwu in the team for the Olympics. At Atlanta, I always came on for Amuneke. After my performance against Brazil, Bonfrere Jo decided to start me against Argentina in the final. They paraded a great squad that had the likes of Hernan Crespo and Ariel Ortega. We came back from behind again to win 3-2, with Amuneke, who replaced me, scoring the winning goal. It was a euphoric moment.
Despite not playing regularly for the Eagles, you won the 1997 African Footballer of the Year award. How did you manage to do it?
I had a very good season at Monaco, scoring a lot of goals and helping them win the Ligue One title that year. It was an amazing performance from me throughout that season and even beyond. We had great players like Jurgen Klinsmann, David Trezeguet and Emmanuel Petit. It spurred me on and eventually, it was a vindication for me.
During the final of the 2000 Africa Cup of Nations in Lagos, you scored a penalty in the final against Cameroon that was ruled out by the ref. Some people feel your negative reaction influenced the referee’s decision.
Before I talk about the penalty shoot-out, let me talk about the game itself. Cameroon were in control of the first half of the final scoring two goals but we came back in the second and equalised. It was a tough game which went into a penalty shoot-out. The match was played at night and I couldn’t see clearly if the ball had crossed the goal line or not. The referee ruled out the goal and I was blamed; that I shouldn’t have held my head. But we all saw that it went in. Wherever I go all over the world, the question Nigerians ask me is, “Victor, why did you hold your head after the penalty against Cameroon?” Nobody remembers again that Kanu also lost a penalty kick in that game.
On retirement from football, you went into football punditry. How have you been coping in your new field?
Well, I must give thanks to people like Brila FM CEO, Larry Izamoje and SuperSport Nigeria General Manager, Felix Awogu. They were really inspiring. I wrote a column for FourFourTwo magazine and then I analysed the 2010 World Cup on Brila FM and from there, it’s been an interesting journey. Since I started analysing, the passion has been growing by the day. Every ex-footballer cannot be a coach.
Can you tell us about your family and how you have been coping without a woman in your life?
I still feel the death of my wife. She died from breast cancer in 2000. I tried my best to save her but I couldn’t. If money could buy health, she would be with me here. Now I have a friend, a Congolese-French lady, who has two daughters for me. She shuttles between France and Pointe Noir and she runs a spa. So I have five girls; three from my late wife. Two of them are in Nigeria, in boarding school. My girlfriend has been helpful in taking care of all my kids. Coping without a woman has not been easy but you are going to see something very soon.
So who is the lucky bride and where is she from?
I will keep that to myself.
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