I became a goalkeeper to escape beatings by my father –Aikhuomogbe

Andrew Aikhuomogbe
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Andrew Aikhuomogbe shed tears of sorrow after Nigeria were beaten on penalties by Saudi Arabia in the quarterfinals of the 1989 FIFA Under -17 World Cup at Dens Park, Dundee, Scotland.

He had not conceded a goal in the Golden Eaglets’ three group games in the tournament and was hoping to maintain a clean sheet in the encounter against Saudi Arabia on June 17, 1989. But after both sides failed to hit the back of the net in extra-time,  as they did in regulation, they headed for a penalty shootout.

Although Aikhuomogbe saved two kicks, he could not help Nigeria  reach the semifinal because  Bobolayefa Edon, Sunny Umoru, Patrick Mancha  and Chiedu Anazonwu  missed from the spot.

The Saudis won 2-0 and progressed to beat Bahrain 1-0 in the semifinals before  defeating hosts Scotland 5-4 in a penalty shootout to win the title.

“I cried  like a baby after the defeat to Saudi Arabia because we deserved to go through after playing very well,”  Aikhuomogbe, who will be  40 years in December,  told our correspondent on the telephone during the week  from his base in Cairo, Egypt. He is currently scouting for clubs in the United Arab Emirates and Europe.

Despite his heroics, particularly against Argentina, Aikhuomogbe  did not make the  FIFA Rising Stars’ list unlike his teammates  Victor Ikpeba and Godwin Okpara,  who were listed along with Serginho (Brazil), Henry Zambrano (Colombia), Fode Camara (Guinea),  Luis Figo (Portugal), James Will (Scotland) and Claudio Reyna (USA).

But Aikhuomogbe  was no longer the unknown   16-year-old Makurdi Hawks (now Lobi Stars)  goalkeeper  when he   arrived in Nigeria from Scotland. He earned a great deal of attention from the local  media  and  was tipped to succeed  Peter Rufai in the Super Eagles when Dodo Manyana retires from international football.

His strong performances in the league sparked a scramble for his signature. However, it was the Rovers of Calabar who won the race. He was soon on the move and this time to BCC Lions of Gboko. Aikhuomogbe later played for Katsina United, Shooting Stars and Enyimba before dumping the domestic league for a professional career in Belarus in 2002. He joined El Shams in 2006 and manned the posts for the Egyptian club for three seasons before hanging up his gloves in 2009.

Aikhuomogbe, who comes from Ekpoma, Edo State but was born in Lagos, had a fair share of trouble with club and national team officials, but he was a cool customer with the ball at his hands.

Perhaps his temperament and reputation for clashing with club and the national team officials denied him a chance to achieve his target of playing at the highest level.

Aikhuomogbe was promoted to the Under-23 team after Scotland ’89.  He was forced to skip the Under-20 team, the Flying Eagles, because FIFA in 1989 placed a two-year ban on Nigeria  from age-grade competitions following  the age scandal  involving Dahiru Sadi, Andrew Uwe and Samson Siasia. The ban was lifted in 1991.

Aikhuomogbe made the squad to the Cairo ’91 All Africa Games and was coach James Peters’ first choice keeper in the men’s football competition where Nigeria beat Zimbabwe 3-0 to come third. Cameroon, who defeated Nigeria 2-1 in the semifinal, beat Tunisia 1-0 in the final to win gold.  Aikhuomogbe pulled off stunning reflex saves in the tournament and won plenty of plaudits for his showing.

After the competition, Dutch coach Clemens Westerhof invited him to the Super Eagles ahead of the Senegal ’92 Africa Cup of Nations. However, Aikhuomogbe did not make the final squad to the tournament as Westerhof preferred the goalkeeping trio of Aloy Agu, David Ngodigha and Ike Shorunmu for the championship where Nigeria won bronze.

The keeper’s rising stock in the domestic league, despite his exclusion from the Senegal ’92 squad, forced   Peters to ‘demote’ him to the Flying Eagles.  Aikhuomogbe was in goal for Nigeria at the 1993 Under-20 African Youth Championship in Mauritius.

 Despite boasting the likes of Taribo West, Austin Okocha, Emmanuel Amuneke, Emmanuel Teberen, Tijani Babangida and Garba Lawal, the Flying Eagles crashed out in the group stage of the tournament.

Aikhuomogbe put the Mauritius ’93 disappointment behind him and   continued his fine form in the domestic league, where he led BCC Lions to the 1994 FA Cup title.

With Westerhof settling for the trio of Rufai, Wilfred Agbonavbare and Agu, Aikhuomogbe was again denied the opportunity of featuring for his country at the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia. The Eagles won the trophy.

Aikhuomogbe, who won two FA Cup titles and two league trophies with BCC Lions as well as one league shield and WAFU Cup crown with Ibadan based Shooting Stars, insisted that he deserved to be in the Tunisia ’94 and the USA ’94 World Cup squads.

He said, “Westerhof refused to invite me to the national team  due to politics,  despite being one of the best keepers in the country then. Some people didn’t want me in the team.

“Some of the Nigeria Football Federation officials didn’t like my face. They labelled me a troublemaker and ensured that I was not given the opportunity to fight for a place in the Eagles.

“I was in top shape and ready to fight for the starting role but  I never got the chance.

“I thought I would make it to the France ’98 World Cup after helping the country win the Hong Kong Tournament months before the World Cup but surprisingly, I was ignored.

“I have no regrets not winning trophies with the Eagles because I was not given the opportunity to play, despite my talent.

“I won a lot at club level and I’m proud of my achievements.”

Aikhuomogbe  says he was misunderstood while he played in  both the domestic league and the national team.

According to him, there were a number of times people got the wrong impression of him during his playing days in Nigeria. He was seen as a stubborn and arrogant footballer.

He said, “I’m not a troublemaker. The problem we have in Nigeria is that when a player is fighting for his rights he is considered  a troublemaker.

“My actions might have given different people different impressions, but I wasn’t  the Andrew  Aikhuomogbe they thought I was. I believe people misunderstood me and got the wrong impression of me.

“I respect constituted authorities, but I shouldn’t be denied my rights. I think that was what brought problems between me and the NFF officials.

“I paid dearly for fighting for my right but I’ve no regret doing so.”

Aikhuomogbe will always regret the decision he took in a   Super League match against Julius Berger at the National Stadium, Lagos on July 16, 2000.

The former Enyimba player, who was visibly the star of the night, called for his substitution in the dying minutes of the encounter between his club, Katsina United, and Julius Berger.

The Katsina outfit, owned by former Chairman of the NFF, Abdulmumuni Aminu,  only needed a draw  in the game to win the competition.

Aikhuomogbe  complained of dizziness and asked to be substituted. After his coach failed to persuade him to continue till the end of the game, he was replaced by Ahmed Jubril. Unfortunately, Julius Berger captain Ambrose Duru  rifled home with just 30 seconds to go to win the title for his club.

The retired keeper says he regrets the decision, saying “it was a big mistake”.

“I could’ve managed to  complete the match but I just wanted to leave the pitch,” he said.

“I regret the decision till today. It’s more painful when I was voted the Man-of-The-Match.

“My action denied the team the trophy and the reward they would have got for winning the competition. I made a big mistake.”

Aikhuomogbe went through tough conditions to  became a top  keeper in  the country.

He said, “I started playing football in Sapele. I played for my   primary school and later for  St Malachy’s College, Sapele.

“My father wanted me to become a doctor  and he would beat the hell out of me each time I sneak out from home to play football with my colleagues.

“I was a good striker and I was very popular in Sapele. But the problem was that I was always injured and each time my father discovered that I was injured he would beat me severely.

“Despite the beatings I got, I kept on playing.  I discovered that the goalkeepers in our team and in the opposing teams sustain fewer injuries unlike the strikers. So, I decided to become a goalkeeper to prevent my father from beating me. That is how I changed from a striker to a goalkeeper.

“Since I was not always injured my father wouldn’t know that I was still playing football. But whenever  he discovered any wound on my body  he  would beat me.”

However, the father   finally stopped beating him when his son  became a star and was winning titles with St Malachy’s College and KB Stars, Sapele.

He said, “Our neighbours and my father’s co-workers would appeal  to  him to stop beating me and allow me choose my future  career.

“He stopped beating me when I was invited to the Bendel Academicals and began to represent the old Bendel State. He became proud of me and became my number one supporter.

“He was very happy when coach Sebastine Brodricks picked me for Scotland ’89 and was also very sad when we lost to Saudi Arabia.”

Aikhuomogbe, who underwent a coaching course at the Nigeria Institute for Sports in 2011, is not happy with the state of the  Nigerian league.

“We need good  and honest administrators to manage our football,” he said.

“It’s a shame the league is no longer attractive. No Nigerian club has good structures.

“In Egypt, the government doesn’t have anything to do with the league.  Football here has the same setting with Europe.

“Every club has its stadium and other facilities. It’s pure   business. We can do the same in Nigeria if we are serious.

“We need experienced ex-internationals to achieve success in the game.”

He backed the Eagles to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, saying “we are the best in Africa”.

“We have the best players on the continent. Mikel Obi and Victor Moses stand out of the crowd,” Aikhuomogbe said.

“Vincent Enyeama remains our number keeper but we should give Austin Ejide and other keepers a chance to prove themselves.

“If Enyeama is  injured or not released by his club, we will have problems because it  would take other keepers   time  to gain confidence. So let us give them a chance to make mistakes and learn from their mistakes.”

 Aikhuomogbe says he would encourage his  two children – two boys – to follow in his footsteps.

“One of them is playing as a goalkeeper and the other as a  striker. They are still very young but they have the potential to make it big in football,” he said.