Efe Sodje
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Nigeria defender Efe Sodje tells ’TANA AIYEJINA about
his current job as player/assistant manager at National Conference side
Macclesfield Town, the 2002 World Cup, his sporting family and more
How is life as a player and as an assistant manager at Macclesfield?
It’s been good; the job is exciting and I
am enjoying it. I have always talked when I play, so it’s not difficult
fitting into the new position. Nothing has really changed; the younger
players look up to me and I guide them as much as possible. To be fair,
they know I have played at the World Cup and they know I have played for
Macclesfield before. They see my pictures everywhere. I don’t need to
tell them what I have done because they know my reputation in this
country (England). I make sure we work together, no big man or
seniority thing. We do everything together. It’s a team work.
At 40, you are probably Nigeria’s oldest player still playing actively. Do you agree that Nigerian players falsify their ages?
It’s not only Nigerian players they
accuse of falsifying their ages. They say all African players falsify
their ages; they say South American players do the same thing as well.
You heard of an issue concerning the age of a big player like Radamel
Falcao from Colombia. For me, I cannot cut my age; I have always used my
real age. People say, “what is your secret?” It’s easy; I train hard
and take care of my body. With that, everything is okay for me. I don’t
drink and I don’t smoke; that helps me as well.
Are we going to see you play till 50?
To be fair, I feel happy, I feel good
still playing at over 40 years of age and I hope to keep on playing. I
spoke with a former Everton assistant manager and he said, “Sodje, keep
on playing until nobody wants you to keep playing anymore.” So I will
keep playing. I can even come to Nigeria to play if they want me to come
down. If a club in Nigeria needs me, I can move down and come and play
in Nigeria too. I am serious about it; if they are ready, they can
contact me.
The likes of Mikel Obi and Victor
Moses are Nigeria’s top players in England at the moment. What is your
assessment of Nigerian players in England?
Mikel, Moses and all of them now are all
young boys. When you talk about the reputation of Nigerian players in
England, you have to remember we had players like (Austin) Okocha,
Nwankwo Kanu, Daniel Amokachi, Finidi George and even myself. We have
made an impact already and they respect Nigerian players because of what
they have done. All Nigerian players that play in England are household
names. So when you mention our names, we are known everywhere. And now
the new generation like Mikel and Moses are doing their best as well.
How were you able to break into the 2002 World Cup squad as a lower league player in England?
It was so funny because obviously I was
in the Nigeria squad two years earlier for the Africa Cup of Nations but
I never played a game. I was called up by Bonfrere Jo but Nigeria had
big time players; they were massive I must confess. But I got the
opportunity again to play under (Adegboye) Onigbinde; he said, “Sodje
come and play for me against Paraguay.” It was a preparatory game ahead
of the 2002 World Cup. That is how it all started for me. That was how I
played. I play as a central defender but that day, Nigeria had no
right-back and I had to play that position. That was the first time I
played at right-back for Nigeria. That’s the story. I agree there were
big players but I had belief and confidence in myself and I wanted to
give my best for my fatherland. I have no other country, so I had to
keep my best for my country. And more importantly, I was invited on
merit; I was good.
Can you recall your goal against the Republic of Ireland?
First of all, playing for your country
alone is a rare privilege. In my club football career, I have scored 38
goals in all the clubs I have played for. And all these goals have come
as a defender, which is very rare. It’s hard to find defenders scoring
20 goals in their entire careers. So, one-on-one, I knew I was going to
score. When Pius Ikedia took the corner-kick, I just told myself,
“jump”. As soon as I knew Roy Keane was the one going to mark me, I knew
I was going to score. Keane is good in the air but if you call me in
this country (England), people will tell you, “Sodje is very good in the
air, he is quick and strong.” That’s the reason why I knew I was going
to score.
Were you under pressure playing against superstars like Claudio Lopez and Gabriel Batistuta at the World Cup?
You know what, let me make it very clear
here, I am a Warri boy. Coming from Warri, we always believe in
ourselves that we are the best and we always believe that we could play
football against anybody anywhere. So, for me, I had no problem, no
matter who I played against. That’s the Warri mentality. You put us on
the pitch, we will play against anybody. Playing against Claudio Lopez,
Batistuta and Gonzalez didn’t bother me one bit. All I went there to do
was to play football. That is the attitude I took with me to the World
Cup.
Back home Onigbinde was criticised
for Nigeria’s first round ouster because he omitted big players like
Sunday Oliseh and Finidi George. Do you agree?
To be fair, I was just thinking of how
we were going to qualify for the next round. The manager and the coaches
had their own agenda; they knew what they wanted. I cannot criticise
Onigbinde because he is the one that made me play for Nigeria; he took
me to the World Cup. People criticise him but I will never do that
because he made my World Cup dream come true. It’s a shame that we got
knocked out in the first round but again our group was labeled the Group
of Death. It was a tough group including Nigeria, Argentina, England
and Sweden. So, any of the four teams could have been knocked out.
After a fine outing in
Japan/Korea, observers felt you should have been part of the national
team for more years but you were left out. What happened?
That is a question that you should ask
the coach that took over (from Onigbinde). You know Onigbinde left the
squad after the World Cup and another coach took over. So that coach
should be in a better position to answer that question. I can’t say
anything.
How would you compare and contrast the present Eagles and that of your time?
There is something people don’t
understand. You asked earlier how I broke into a squad with very big
players. Those caliber of players in my time like the Finidis, Okochas,
Olisehs, Babangidas and a lot of others will never be seen again. It’s a
new caliber of players that we have right now and you can’t really
compare this present squad with that of my time. I am not going to say
because this present squad won the Africa Cup of Nations, they are
better. No, that would be a big mistake. The team now are good but you
cannot say outright that they are better than the team of before. That’s
not football.
Why did you opt for your rugged style of play?
I have always played as a defender when I
played for Steel Pioneers and Invincible Leopards in Nigeria. I was
always known as a hard footballer. I was never the most skillful of
defenders. I know that and I play to my strength. My strength is my
speed, my heading and my strength. So, when I came to England, that is
what people here knew, that is what they wanted from a defender. I had
an adavantage, which was good for me.
Who is the best footballer from the Sodje family?
Back in the days, my mum and dad were
all sporty people, which was good for us because we took over from them.
We were all very good footballers but really, the best footballer among
us was our senior brother, Solomon Sodje, who is a lawyer now. He was
the best but as the senior son he decided to train as a lawyer. When it
came to football, Solomon was way ahead us but I made the name more.
Do you have any regrets not playing in the EPL and the UEFA Champions League?
The answer is no because there are a lot
of players that have played in the Champions League but haven’t played
in the World Cup. Guess what, the ultimate dream of every footballer is
to play in the World Cup and I have done that. You can play in the
Champions League 10 times but you can never play in the World Cup such
number of times. I have played at the World Cup and it’s a record you
can never take away.
Can you recount your best and worst moments?
I have played for 10 clubs in England
and I have won eight promotions. Playing at the World Cup and
representing Nigeria were all my best moments as well. I think my worst
moments were when I didn’t play enough times for Nigeria.
Have you been a victim of racism?
Yes, I have always been a victim. When I
first came to this country (England) in 1996, I was a victim and since
then, it’s been like that. But we have to keep fighting it.
Is it true the bandana has brought you luck?
It brought me luck and people know it as
my trademark. I got noticed with it and my other luck was from my
family because they all supported me. You know I am from a big sports
family.
In what ways have the Sodjes given back to the game that brought the family so much popularity?
We’ve been doing that for long, in the
last 15 years. We have the Sodje Sports Foundation and every time, we
take a thousand pairs of football kits to kids in Nigeria free of
charge. We did some work with Lagos State a year and a half ago and in
May, we also worked with the Edo State Sports Commissioner.
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