An Ex-International, former Super Eagles of Nigeria goalkeeper coach and former BCC Lions FC of Gboko goal tender, Aloysius Agu in an exclusive interview with The VoiceSports’ Terfa Alaghga, revealed the worst moment in his football career, and that he had no regrets serving his country. He also spoke on other issues.
Excerpts:
VoiceSports: When did you begin playing football?
Alloy Agu– I began playing football at a very tender age, in the primary school at the Ibeme Primary School in Imo state of Nigeria.
VoiceSports: What informed your decision to take to goalkeeping?
Alloy Agu – My late elder brother, Vigilus Agu was a good goalkeeper and because I grew up watching him play as a goalkeeper, the love for goalkeeping just came into me. That was how I developed the interest in it and as goalkeeping runs in the veins of the family, while I was playing for the Ibeme primary school team, I began putting in a lot of effort and backing it with prayers, it paid off because I played up to the University level and in the NUGA Games for the University of Lagos.That is why I am also where I am today.
VoiceSports: Were your parents in support of your playing football?
Alloy Agu – Well, they did not completely allow me because they would always say, “have you read your books, have you finished what you are supposed to do”? But I am happy today that before their death, they were so grateful to God that I was a successful football player and that eventually, I was able to serve my Country Nigeria. May their souls rest in peace. Unlike during our time when our parents would not allow us to play football, most parents today want their children to play football because there is light at the end of the tunnel. So, it is a good thing to allow your child to do what interests him but he must also learn to read his books because it is important. But if he wants to play football, let him because there is a future in it.
VoiceSports: Which club side, did you first start playing football for?
Alloy Agu – I played for various local clubs but where I started making the waves was at the ITT Waves FC of Lagos (a company owned by the late MKO Abiola). It was while I was playing for a Lagos State Football League side against big teams like the NEPA, ACB, National Bank and Stationary Stores Football Clubs all of Lagos that some of us including the late Yisa Sofoluwe were picked and moved to NEPA FC of Lagos. From there, we were also invited to the Flying Eagles of Nigeria.
VoiceSports: Can you recall some of the players that you met in the Flying Eagles camp at that time?
Alloy Agu – Yes. Ali Jeje who was there as the captain, Monday Odiaka, Friday Elaho, Mike Odoh, Andrew Uwe, late Osaro Obobaifo, Ndubuisi Okosieme, Samson Siasia and others too numerous to mention. Our squad lifted the ECOWAS Cup (then Shehu Shagari Cup) and we went ahead to qualify for the Junior World Cup in the Soviet Union. We were not only African Champions but we also brought in the Junior World Cup medal in 1985. In fact, all of us in that squad were drafted to the Super Eagles camp.
VoiceSports: Which club did you leave NEPA Lagos for?
Alloy Agu: Although, many clubs wanted me to sign for them but I left for the ACB FC of Lagos and then to BCC Lions FC of Gboko, under the late Coach Shaibu Amodu where I also contributed my quota to lifting the Cup Winners Cup with them before I left for Holland.
VoiceSports: How would you describe your days at the BCC Lions FC of Gboko?
Alloy Agu: Most exhilarating. The people loved football, they loved us too and one thing you cannot take away from them is the pounded yam. We ate pounded yam in the morning, afternoon and at night with plenty of goat meat. I had good time with my team mates like, Aham Nwankwo, Moses Kpakor, the late Terfa Kpakor and Alumun Aule, Edema Fuludu with whom we nicknamed ourselves, “ishor ka ishima”.(football is determination) Even today, when we meet that is the name we address each other with. We enjoyed Playing for the club and we were all happy and I was particularly glad to be part of those who contributed to the growth of the club but I had to leave for Holland.
VoiceSports: Were you invited or you went for trials?
Alloy Agu – I was invited. I was supposed to sign for the Dragons FC of Benin Republic but it did not work out because after my brilliant performance as a substitute to David Ngodigha who was injured in one of the Italia 90 World Cup qualifiers between the Super Eagles of Nigeria and Indomitable Lions of Cameron in Cameron, about five teams in Cameron wanted me but the late MKO Abiola advised me, Ademola Adesina and Yisa Sofoluwe, to return with him to Nigeria and we all accepted. After the Algiers 90 qualifiers, and when Clemence Westerhoff travelled to Holland to watch a game involving relegation bound MVV Maastricht, he told them he would recommend someone who can save them out of their predicament. They accepted it and I was invited to the team.
VoiceSports: When you got there, how were you received?
Alloy Agu– I was well received and in fact, after my first training session with the team, they said they have now found who they were looking for but along the line when we were to go for a football match, there was a disagreement between the players union and the team where they said, there are enough goalkeepers in Holland but were wondering why the management would bring in an outsider. The team appealed against it in court giving reason that none of the goalkeepers in Holland were willing to accept the offer which the outsiders were willing to and the team won the case. During my interview for the goalkeeping job, I was asked many questions which I answered intelligently and I was signed into the team. And to the glory of God, I helped the team out of relegation.
VoiceSports: Which club did you leave MVV Maastricht for?
Alloy Agu – I was supposed to have signed for the PSG but when their team captain got involved as coach of RC Liege in Belgium, he said Alloy, you will go with me which I did. At RC Liege, I met three great players, Sunday Oliseh, Victor Ikpeba and King Gambo the Zairian national team captain. From RC Liege, I went to a Division 3 FC, Kayserispor Kulubu of Turkey and played for some time before leaving for Canada to play for a lower division club. I then left for the USA and played for Indiana Invaders FC. That was where I finally hung my boots.
VoiceSports: What caused your early retirement from playing active football?
Alloy Agu– I had told my God to give me a grace of two more years in which to play active football and because He was faithful to me, I had to keep to my promise. Even the injury which I sustained within these two years period of grace, healed miraculously in less than a Week.
VoiceSports: During your play days, what were your regrets and did you face any challenges?
Alloy Agu– I don’t think I had any regrets playing in Nigeria, because all I wanted was to play for the NEPA and ACB football clubs of Lagos, get good results, make the people happy which I was doing and it gave me so much joy. The moment you have such priorities; you will go places.
But when I was playing for the national team, I had some challenges in our match against Ghana and the match which we played against Brazil, where I had my leg fractured. Against Ethiopia as well, my waist was tampered with. Aside from that, it was a great joy serving my country and the clubs that I played for. In fact, I had no regrets.
VoiceSports: What were your best moments in football?
Alloy Agu– I had so many best moments and the first one was when Nigeria qualified for the Junior World Cup in 1984/85 and becoming Africa’s Champions by bringing home the Junior World Cup medal after defeating Mexico in the USSR. I was the Man of the Match. I was part of the team that qualified Nigeria for the first World Cup and also lifted the Unity Cup outside Nigeria. It was a thing of joy for me to be part of the squad that made Nigeria 5th in the whole World by FIFA rankings. There are so many great moments which I cannot exhaust.
VoiceSports: And your worst moment was?
Alloy Agu– When the Super Eagles of Nigeria, lost to the Gli Azzurri of Italy in the USA 94 World Cup. Honestly speaking, Nigeria had a formidable team that was capable of playing in the final of the World Cup but God knows why it happened that way. That was the worst moment in my football career because I knew that we had a good squad.
VoiceSports: Do you see any difference between the players of your time and the players of today?
Alloy Agu; Yes, there is a great difference and that is, the culture which includes determination, resilience and the doggedness in Nigerian football. But are our players experiencing such attributes now? How many fans go to the stadium to cheer them up or invest in them? What are supporters or investors giving the players? In our time, somebody would just walk up to you and ask you what you want and he gives you because you are making them happy by playing the kind of football that they want. That is why before I left Nigeria for professional football abroad, I was already grounded and did not go there to learn football. Today, at the age of 15/16 these players leave for Europe, so how would they learn the culture?
VoiceSports: Why did you take coaching as a profession?
Alloy Agu: Right from my youth, I had an interest in the coaching profession and even when I was playing professional football in Holland, in the contract agreement papers there was a particular section which stipulated that you must go out there and impart in the youths and it became part and parcel of me and that is why I excelled in that department.
VoiceSports: How did you use your wealth of experience to impact the goalkeepers upon return to Nigeria?
Alloy Agu: When I returned to Nigeria, I started preaching to Nigerians that goalkeepers are special people who need special hands because they are the most important players in the field of play because they decide to match. I can tell you that since 2004 to date, every club in Nigeria has had a goalkeeper coach and it has not been like this before. My first point of call was the Football College of Excellence, where I started recruiting for them with Coach Clemence Westerhoff. I also had the same opportunity when I was invited by Coaches Amokachi and Baraji, to handle goalkeepers at the Nasarawa United FC of Lafia, where they asked me to recruit three goalkeepers that would replace the already five in the team, which according to them were not good but I told them I would prefer to work on the five, and that they should give me just one month to transform them and by the time I am through with all of them before the season begins, they will all play for Nasarawa United FC of Lafia, and even make a difference anywhere they go in the world as goalkeepers. They accepted and behold, the good result was Femi Thomas, Audu and so on. They were all exceptional in goalkeeping. I train my goalkeepers in a manner that the first choice in goal is the one playing well at a particular time.
VoiceSports: After your stint with the Nasarawa United FC of Lafia, where did you go?
Alloy Agu: I went to Enyimba FC of Aba, and stayed there for up to when we played in the CAF Champions League before my name was shortlisted for the Super Eagles of Nigeria, and I left.
VoiceSports: Did you also carry out the same transformation in that department there?
Alloy Agu: When I reported to the national team, all the goalkeepers were having issues and they asked me, “Alloy what are you going to do”? I simply said I will transform them. At that time, Vincent Enyeama was the fourth goalkeeper of the Super Eagles. I transformed him and he became the number one choice for Nigeria. What about Dele Aiyenugba, Bassey Akpan, Ejike and the rest who played for us and were also in top shape? I have transformed the goalkeeper department because it is a gift that comes from God and is in me. If you checked the records, there was a time when Vincent Enyeama played in thirteen games for the Super Eagles and he did not concede a goal and they did not lose any match. He still holds the record as one of the best goalkeepers in the World Cup. You can go through the records. He is my boy whom I respect and he equally respects me because he knows that I know my job. It must also interest you to know that I brought so many good goalkeepers into the Super Eagles team. I brought in Carl Ikheme who nobody knew and in a space of one week after working on him he played for the national team and when he was injured, I worked on others like, Ezenwa, Akpeyi, Francis Uzoho, Maduka Okoye and others.
VoiceSports: Foreign and Local coaches, which would you recommend for the national team?
Alloy Agu: Why do you recommend coaches and players to go to Europe? Well, I am not against any coach whether you are black or white for as long as you know what you are doing, to bring good results to Nigeria, we will approve of you because no man is an island and if our own is good, he is good so let him be there. When a white man came and turned Vincent Enyeama to the fourth goalkeeper and when I came, I said I would change the situation which I did and Enyeama became the first choice for Nigeria.
VoiceSports: In a nutshell, what are you saying?
Alloy Agu: I am saying it is all about performance and that is your bargaining power. So, all I am advocating for is the best hands and best players for Nigeria at all times and this will give us the result that we want. That is why I am not against a black or white man coaching the national team. If we are good, give us the job and if it is a white man that can take us to the place of glory, bring him but we don’t need someone who will create problems for us because we love football. I was in Enyimba FC of Aba and I gave them the best as well as in Nasarawa United FC of Lafia. So it is a matter of putting the right peg in the right hole.
VoiceSports: Home and foreign based players. Which of these classes do you think can make a better Super Eagles?
Alloy Agu: Honestly speaking, we are unique when we come together and also bring our gifts together to work for our father’s land. Remember, we are all Nigerians and as long as we are heading for the same goal. What matters is if you are good and are willing. When we played in the Algiers 90, we had only three foreign based players in the team and we came back with a Silver medal.
VoiceSports: Is the Nigerian League really developed?
Alloy Agu: It was supposed to have gone beyond this. If you go to Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt for instance, you will discover that it is difficult for their younger ones to leave their shores because of the level of football development. They have all the facilities that they need so we in Nigeria too must move on and I believe a lot has been put in place to get to that level. That means we have to start from the grassroots level and in all arms of the league.
VoiceSports: How do you wish to be remembered?
Alloy Agu: I wish to be remembered for helping my country to attain great heights, for helping and ministering to people, for being a man of God, and one who has dedicated his life to serving God and his country.
VoiceSports: What is your philosophy?
Alloy Agu: My philosophy is to give the right people the right chance to work and that is what I have always believed in. If you put the right person with the right frame of mind and the right tools, he will perform for you. The legendary goalkeeper, Peter Rufai of blessed memory would always tell me that when he sees Ezenwa in goal, he sees me in him and that is to say your performance is your bargaining power and if you put the right thing into people, they respond to it. That is my philosophy.
