By Daily Sports Nigeria on December 28, 2023

Former Super Eagles forward, Emmanuel Amuneke, has described his move from Sporting CP to Barcelona as ‘a dream come true’, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

Amunike joined the Catalans in 1996 to become the first Nigerian to don the Blaugrana jersey.

Success as a young player with Egyptian giants Zamalek brought the forward to the attention of Sporting CP in Portugal and it was during his time in the Iberian Peninsula that he played arguably his best football.

After two years in Lisbon, that ‘dream’ call from Barcelona arrived.

Meanwhile, the Atlanta ’96 gold medallist saw his time at Nou Camp marred by series of injuries and could only manage to make 26 appearances in four years, scoring a goal.

Despite his lack of game time, Amuneke said joining Barcelona was the highlight of his career.

“Joining Barcelona was like a dream coming true,” Amuneke recalls during an interview with Tribalfootball.

“Every player or young player wants to play for a big team. Nowadays the situation has changed because young players only want to play for a big team but for me, it’s important to play where you can have continuity and grow as a player.

“Of course, still, teams like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, etc have that appeal where everybody wants to go and play.”

He added, “My experience at Barcelona was good. Coming from Portugal to Spain it was a big step for me, but unfortunately injuries began to happen a lot. When these injuries occur you cannot give 100% as you are not in shape.

“But when this happens you need to be strong and have the confidence in yourself that everything will become better. You must remember this is part of the journey.”

Unperturbed by his injury crisis during his time with the Catalans, the Nigerian insists everything in a player’s career is an opportunity to learn and grow.

“Every experience has its positive and negative things and for a player its important to face them. For me, all the experiences are important, also the difficult ones, because they make you better for the future and define your character.

“And for me, all of them were important because they made me a better person and helped me to grow.”

Source Punch Ng

Posted December 28, 2023

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