Nwankwo Kanu’s last football wish is for Nigeria to win trophies again
Posted Tuesday, June 14, 2011 by YAHOO Sport
When Nwankwo Kanu called it quits from football at the weekend with a testimonial match in his honor in Lagos, one last wish on his mind was for the Super Eagles of Nigeria to reign supreme again.
In a career spanning two decades, Kanu won every trophy that was available at club level, but was not as successful with the Nigerian national team. He came on the scene as a lanky 17-year-old in Nigeria’s triumph at the Youth Championship in Japan in 1993. Later on he moved to Ajax where he won the Dutch league as well as the UEFA Champions League. He followed this with a triumph as captain of Nigeria’s U23 team at the Olympics where he won Africa’s first gold medal in football. A UEFA Cup title with Inter came alongside double Premier League titles and FA Cup titles with Arsenal, and a final FA Cup triumph with Portsmouth in 2008.
However, victory with the Eagles eluded the two-time African player of the year as he missed a crucial penalty in Nigeria’s loss to Cameroon in the final of the 2000 African Nations Cup in Lagos. That was the closest he came to winning a trophy at senior level.
“Honestly, I wanted to keep playing, but just could not keep up with challenges anymore,” Kanu, 34, told the Vanguard.
“I enjoyed my years in the game and my only wish as I bow out finally is that the Super Eagles should start winning trophies again.
“We can only call our team Super if we are winning trophies. Trophies are what determine the success of a team and the fact that we have not won trophies since 1994 is a clear indication of where our football is. The only way I can enjoy this retirement is for the team to start winning trophies.
“We need to win the next Nations Cup and think of winning the World Cup also. These things are not out of reach if we are serious. We won a gold medal at the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996, so I believe if we are determined we can also win the World Cup trophy,” Kanu said.
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