Nwabali: Grass to grace story of AFCON hero News

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Nwabali: Grass to grace story of AFCON hero

By Daily Sports Nigeria on February 16, 2024

After his shock inclusion in the 2023 AFCON squad, Chippa United goalkeeper, Stanley Nwabali, has won the hearts of Nigerians following his amazing performances in the tournament in Ivory Coast, which helped the Super Eagles to a final-place finish, writes ABIODUN ADEWALE

On Wednesday February 8, hundreds of residents of Ndoni, Omoku and Oguta, places in Ikwere and Port Harcourt, stormed Stanley Nwabali’s father’s house in Port Harcourt while celebrating Nigeria’s qualification for the final of the just-ended 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.

The Super Eagles had just beaten bitter rivals South Africa 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 stalemate after 120 minutes of tension-filled football and the unheralded Nwabali was the unlikely hero, saving two of the South Africans four penalties to fire his country to the final of the continental showpiece for the first time in 11 years.

Nwabali’s heroics left his compatriots feeling proud and videos of residents of Port Harcourt, made up largely of youths, trooping to the home of the Nwabalis went viral online.

Hundreds of motorcyclists took to the streets while many surrounded Nwabali’s father’s house singing dancing and chanting the name of the country’s latest football bride.

In the space of a year and four months, the River State-born Nwabali rose from being an average Nigeria Premier Football League player to becoming the country’s national team’s first choice keeper and helping the Super Eagles to a silver medal at the 2023 AFCON.

On top of that, he was conferred with the national honour of Member of The Order of The Niger by President Bola Tinubu, and also rewarded with a house and a piece of land, both in Abuja, the country’s capital.

Indeed, it could have been more for the 27-year-old Nwabali, but even the player admits his meteoric rise has been nothing but a dream come true, while those who have known him from his days in the Nigeria National League; the country’s second division, also testify that he truly deserves what he has earned.

Between 2019 and 2022, Nwabali played for five clubs in the domestic league before joining Chippa United in South Africa, where he got the call up into the national team last December. He moved from NNL side Go Round FC to two-time African champions Enyimba in February 2019, before joining Wikki Tourists July 2020. By May 2021, he was already at Lobi Stars, before again switching to Katsina United in March 2022. Seven months later, he joined South African side Chippa United.

While he was busy shuttling between clubs and gaining popularity as one of the best keepers in the Nigerian league, the national team goalkeeping department was dipping.

At the 2019 AFCON in Egypt, Nigeria settled for a third-place finish, no thanks to a semi-final loss against eventual champions Algeria. Goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi and his teammates made a mess of a Riyad Mahrez free-kick, which brought their title chase to an end.

Three years later, Udinese goalkeeper, Maduka Okoye, and Cyprus-based Maduka Okoye committed several calamitous errors leading to goals in crucial games, which first led to the team’s elimination from the 2021 AFCON in the round of 16 before costing the team a spot at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Okoye hasn’t been able to stage a successful return to the squad since his howler at the 2021 AFCON, after not goof in a friendly against an Algerian B side, while Uzoho consistently failed to inspire confidence.

In the build-up to the 2023 AFCON in Ivory Coast, Eagles coach Jose Peseiro came under intense pressure from the country’s football-crazy fans, who insisted on Uzoho being dropped as the Eagles first choice keeper, which forced the Portuguese gaffer to look the way of the little-known Nwabali in South Africa.

Peseiro’s choice of Nwabali was also greeted with criticisms by the hard-to-please football lovers, who questioned the shot stopper’s abilities to solve the Eagles problematic goalkeeping department, especially because a number of goalkeepers in the NPFL like Bendel Insurance’s Amas Obasogie, Kingdom Osayi of Doma United, Kayode Bankole of Remo Stars, amongst others, were impressive on the local scene and were deserving of a look-in.

Peseiro did answer the critics.

“I was there in South Africa for four days to speak with him (Nwabali), I spoke to the coach, and a lot of people. I watched the training, the practice, and I watched one match. In the final list, we decided to add him to the list after the whole evaluation,” Peseiro told NFF TV.

“We believe in him because he showed good quality, good performance, and good capacities. Now I hope he displays the same quality he shows at his club.”

Like other goalkeepers in the NPFL who were snubbed, it still remains a million dollar question if Peseiro would have seen these qualities in Nwabali, if he was still plying his trade in the country’s topflight league.

Before he left Nigeria, he was part of the home-based team that played Mexico during a friendly match in July 2021. He was between the sticks that day and conceded four goals. Despite that, he was applauded for making a number of saves in that game. Yet, he wasn’t satisfied and said he would continue to crave more opportunities in the Nigerian colours.

“It’s a very big privilege given to me,” Nwabali told Nigerian journalist Colin Udoh.

“Before this game came up, people started praying for me and I was like, I knew chances like this will come one day. I thank God it came with this game and yes, people said I did very well but to me I did nothing. Doing very well and conceding four goals is crazy. I can’t remember the last time I conceded four goals in my entire career,” the goalkeeper said.

“It’s my first experience with my national team but I don’t think it will be like this some other time if I’m invited,” Nwabali added.

At the AFCON, the opportunity came again and he was trusted as the first choice with the huge responsibility of restoring confidence in the Nigerian goal was on his shoulders and he delivered.

After conceding in Nigeria’s first game against Equatorial Guinea, which ended 1-1, the Chippa United man kept four clean sheets till the quarter-finals.

But several fans felt he was not properly tested but that narrative was killed in the semi-finals against bitter rivals South Africa, when he made five saves in regular time as well as extra time and two penalty saves during the shoutout to send Nigeria into the final.

Although the team lost the final 2-1, his saves kept Nigeria in the game until he was eventually breached. The final match, however, saw him lose the goalkeeper of the tournament award to South Africa’s Rowen Williams, who first stole the show at the tournament with four penalty saves against Cape Verde in the last eight.

Some of his former teammates at home said they always knew what Nwabali was up to.

“He takes his job seriously and he is a confident goalkeeper. All he wanted was an opportunity and he grabs it anytime. It’s a lesson for all NPFL players to keep working hard and not give up,” Rivers United captain and former Go Round FC player, Nyima Nwagua, told The PUNCH.

“He is a kind of player that means business with great quality to show for it. He knows how to distribute the ball so well. He is patient with what he gets, even when he is not selected, he still gives his best in training. I think that was what made him known in the NPFL,” Nwabali’s former teammate and Wikki Tourists captain, Idris Guda, also told The PUNCH.

Nwagua and Guda’s comments are not far-fetched. During his one season spell with Enyimba, there was Theophilus Afelokhai in the team as well as Fatau Dauda, but Nwabali waited for his time and made his mark with the nine-time champions.

The Super Eagles have lost another AFCON final, but Nwabali is the newly discovered national treasure in football, just like he made his father’s house in Egbema, Rivers State popular after the semi-finals victory over South Africa.

The next window for national teams will be March, and Nigeria’s will hope to see him continue his fine run for the Super Eagles while they also try to get their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers campaign back on track in June.

Source Punch Ng

Posted February 16, 2024