Did wing football in Nigeria retire with wing wonder Finidi?

IKENWA NNABUOGOR

Having an unforgettable debut supplying four goals and helping himself with a goal out of seven, was one of the wonder signs of what to expect from Sharks’ youngster Finidi George in the 7-1 demolition of Burkina Faso in the Senegal 1992 African Cup of Nations qualifiers in Lagos in 1991 and the former Ajax superstar didn’t waste time to living up to billing.

That was the official welcoming back of wing football in Nigeria that seemed to live and evaporate with Finidi after fans were reminded of the mambo dance Mathematical Segun Odegbami used to treat them with in the right flanks for the Green Eagles.

Nigeria had endured years to grace a player who stepped into the big shoes of Odegbami fittingly sizing him and flying down the flanks and bringing goals and assists.

Ndubuisi Okosieme, Wasiu Ipaye and a few others had found Odegbami’s shoes too big leaving the Eagles’ ranks with little cheer until Finidi came along to bring back the glorious wing football days.

Identifying Finidi and blooding him into the Eagles’ squad was nowhere tasking for the former Dutch coach Clemens Westerhof whose record in Nigerian football remains unrivaled till date, and it was smooth transition from the local league to one of the top leagues in the world for the winger whose international recognition was just a matter of time.

Late goal king Rashidi Yekini had a field day busying the Burkinabe goalkeeper retrieving the ball from the back of the net almost in quick successions after receiving gifts from the debuting wing machine.

Finidi, meaning “a future full of sun” living up to his name, wasn’t going to settle to a cameo role after the Burkinabe annihilation and game after game, the former Ipswich star grew from strength to strength to become one of the most sought after wingers in the beautiful game.

While Super Eagles were reaping from his magnanimity from the wings, European clubs Ajax Amsterdam, Real Betis, Mallorca and Ipswich Town had their fans cheering and asking for more from the Port Harcourt-born winger wizard.

His arrival at Ajax unsong and unheralded from Sharks wasn’t, of course, with any fanfare; after all he was an upstart coming from Africa and right into the mix of some of the best leagues in Holland, Europe and the world. Finidi must be special, everyone thought.

He didn’t take long to prove he was worth every Dutch Guilder that was paid on him as it was widely reported then in the media that coach Louis van Gaal had to find a new role for Marc Overmars on the left side of Ajax attack to make way for the dethroning new king from Africa.

The “new king” proved he was indeed one, a great one for that matter, as he brought a brand new excitement in the right wing for the multiple time Dutch champions.

His style was unique, a bit slow without the ball, which was his trademark deceptive magic, blistering quick off the mark leaving his marker in the dead, a delightful bag of tricks, quick dribbles and completing his “vicious” circle of his patented entertainment football with the pin point crosses that needed less power for strikers to finish.

Good scorer in his own right, Finidi’s selfless disposition aside, the former Ajax star would definitely have helped himself to some more career goals.

Back to Super Eagles, “Finito” ran the wings like a happy bird, had no rival, did his job perfectly well, left the fans happy and retired home happier with laurels on his neck and in his honours’ cabinets.

He still holds a rare record of assisting in four goals as debutant – a record that will stand a length of time before it’s equalled or broken. He would put more gloss on his debut by also scoring in the 7-1 rout.

The biggest stage in the beautiful game was to welcome arguably the best winger in the world and Finito didn’t waste time to send Yekini to his usual scoring ways after he put the ball onto the path of the late goal king to finish a delightful attacking move that was launched by Sunday Oliseh in the Eagles’ midfield in the US’94 World Cup debut game against Bulgaria.

Set pieces were also part of his business on the pitch, his corner kicks were as daring as they were dangerous for the opponents, Finito was a complete cannon fodder!

Such gifts were also received by Mutiu Adepoju as the renowned “Headmaster” returned the favours, one of which was the much needed equalizer against Spain in the Eagles’ famous 3-2 win at France’98 World Cup.

Eagles were the most feared not only Africa but in the world for their breathtaking attacking football that was enforced from the wings as Finidi galloped away delightfully and Emmanuel Amuneke returning the favour from the opposite direction. Only a few survived their onslaught!

When Finito flew down the wings, Yekini, Daniel Amokachi Samson Siasia were expectant, Amuneke, Okocha, Adepoju were on red alert to pounce on rebounds and ricochets, fans were in delirium, Eagles’ rating soared. It was as good as it got for Finito and his beloved country whose unity in diversity of socio-political and cultural differences were heavily rooted in the beautiful game.

But the big question now, did Finidi retire with our wing football?

While Finidi was making fans happy, his Dutch side kick Tijani Babangida was also proving his breathtaking wing football performances in Holland were not in fluke.

Both flew same time in the Eagles’ ranks and admirably too, but Finito’s nose right up in the pecking order left no one in doubt who was the king.

Wing football disappeared from the Eagles’ radar since the duo left the scene and the Eagles’ attack is still feeling it.

Is wing football back in sight any time soon? No signs yet but your guess is as good as mine.

Finidi lasted 62 times on the pitch for his country and left with his delightful wing play.

From the wings of the Eagles, Finidi would eventually transition to the Eagles’ dug outs but his association wasn’t sweet as a player, ending it abruptly after just four games.7