The keeper is in the Super Eagles record books as the most capped Nigerian international with 101 caps. Enyeama achieved his 100th cap for the Super Eagles when they took on the Cranes of Uganda in an international friendly match in Uyo. By earning his 101st cap with a clean sheet 2-0 victory over Chad 2-0 last weekend in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier, he surpassed the record held by former captain Joseph Yobo.
Nigerian goalkeeper Enyeama decided to retire from the Super Eagles in October following the revelation that coach Sunday Oliseh had chosen for Ahmed Musa to captain the side, rather than the veteran keeper. Announcing his decision to retire, he took to his Instagram account and said: “I am no longer Nigeria captain or goalkeeper nor available for Nigeria duty. I fought a good fight for 13 years, but now I have finished my course.”
Source: Instagram
Nigerian captain Enyeama won the Marc Vivien Foe Award thanks to excellent performances in goal for club side Lille and the Nigeria national team. The award is named after the Cameroonian midfielder who tragically died on the pitch during a FIFA Confederations Cup semi-final for the Indomitable Lions in June 2003. The award is meant to honour Foe, by honouring the greatest African performers in the French Ligue 1.
The goalkeeper has always been a top performer for his clubs, but before making the move to Europe’s top leagues, he represented Enyimba in Nigeria’s top flight competition and on the continental stage in Africa. In 2004 his club won the CAF African Champions League, with Enyeama awarded the CAF Champions League Player of the Year accolade for his contribution to the title success.
The acclaimed goalkeeper began a career that would span over a decade and more than 100 matches with an encounter against East African nation, Kenya. This match took place in May 2002, and with his successful debut behind him, he was selected for the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan as a back up keeper with Ike Shorunmu as starter.
In 2001, Enyeama joined Enyimba International football club in the Nigerian Premier League, playing under manager Idris Ikhana. While he was the club’s first-choice goalkeeper, Ikhana made the decision to always sub out Enyeama before penalty shots. The tactic seemed to work. Enyimba won two CAF Champions League titles while Enyeama played for them.
During the 2008-2009 season while playing for Hapoel Tel Aviv in the Israeli Premier League, Enyeama was named the Player of the Year. This was quite unusual. Goalkeepers rarely receive the award, and Hapoel did not win the championship that season.
For his first 11 matches for Lille OSC, Enyeama didn’t let in any goals, playing 1,062 minutes with a clean sheet. Enyeama eventually let in a goal on Dec. 8, 2013, against Bordeaux. He came within 114 minutes of Gaëtan Huard’s 1993, 1,176-minute goalkeeping record without conceding a goal.
In 2004, Enyeama was a passenger in a car in Uyo, Southeast Nigeria, that hit two motorcycle riders. The two motorcyclists died and the driver of the car was in critical condition. Enyeama came out with several bruises – amazing, given that the car somersaulted twice as it swerved to avoid the motorbike.
Enyeama first debuted for the Nigerian national team in 2002, and has since racked up over 100 appearances for the Super Eagles. He has played in three FIFA World Cup tournaments (2002, 2010, and 2014), and several Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, including the 2013 edition in which he was captain and helped secure Nigeria’s championship win.
In his second FIFA World Cup appearance, Enyeama was named Man of the Match in Nigeria’s opening match against two-time world champion Argentina. Nigeria won 1-0. Enyeama made six spectacular saves, four from football legend Lionel Messi. After the match, Argentinian manager Diego Maradona said Enyeama was the reason Messi was unable to score a goal, giving Nigeria the victory.
Enyeama is from Akwa Ibom state in South Nigeria, and believes that many of his critics are hard on him due to his ethnicity. He said, “My critics will remain as long I am still with the national team. I am criticized because I am not Hausa, Yoruba or Igbo but I am not worried…Critics make the game sweet so why should I be angry? When they criticize me, they only make me stronger so I give them thanks. I also thank God for giving me strength.”
Source: MJEMagazine.com
Though Nigeria eventually did not qualify for the tournament, Enyema said he believed that Ebola made the Africa Cup of Nations tournament too risky. He said, “I really wish it doesn’t happen with all the people that will be moving around. But I’m not CAF. I’m not the one who calls the shots…It’s risky for everyone because you go to Africa and then everyone is hugging you and shaking you, and what can you do? You’re at risk…But if it happens I will play, if we qualify.” In the end, they did not qualify.
Source: DailyMail.co.uk
Before Nigeria won the 2013 AFCON tournament, Enyeama said he would dance nude if that happened. Afterwards, however, he backtracked, saying, “I never said I would strip but I remember I did say I would take (off) my jersey but would celebrate with my underpants on but I was advised by well-meaning people against doing so and I changed my mind.”
Source: Goal.com
During the group stage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup tournament, Enyeama kept a clean sheet in Nigeria’s first two matches, resulting in a 0-0 draw with Iran and a 1-0 victory against Bosnia and Herzegovina – Nigeria’s first World Cup win since the 1998 tournament. Though he gave up three goals in their last group-match game against Argentina resulting in a 3-2 defeat, Nigeria still qualified for the round of 16 for the first time in 16 years.
