Nicknamed “The Cat”, Vincent Enyeama is one of the favorite players of the Nigerian National Team by both fans in his country and the coaches. For several years he had been the undisputed first choice of Nigeria coaches in goal for the team. Born on August 29, 1982, he had been the Super Eagles’ best goalkeeper since he replaced Ike Shorunmu in his country’s last match at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
Starting his football career at the young age of 16 with the semi-professional club Ibom Stars, he continued to improve his skills until he was signed by the main club Enyimba Aba, where he played for three seasons from 2001-2004. During his time with that club, he won the CAF Champions League twice. However, he was always substituted before the penalty shootout by his coach. Not knowing the real reason behind it, but accepting the fact that he probably wasn’t good enough for penalty kick stoppages, he worked twice as hard and mentally trained himself to prepare for such events and not fail. He moved to FC Heartland for the 2005 season before transferring to Israel.
At Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv, a minor league club in Israel, he had a very productive first season showing off his feline physical abilities and athletic abilities. In his first season there, his contributions on the pitch helped his team qualify for the Israeli State Cup and achieve fourth place in the Israeli Premier League which, in turn, qualified the team for the UEFA Cup of Israel. 2006. He stayed with the club for two seasons and in 2007 he moved to Hapoel Tel Aviv where he is currently connected.
Although his team did not have a good 2007-08 season, Vincent Enyeama continued to grow and improve not only his goalkeeping skills but also his leadership skills. At a time when his club was not performing well, he wrote a letter to his team asking them to work together and fight for each other and the club. He not only kept improving as a player, but also as a leader, which helped his team not only avoid relegation but also compete for the state cup final. His constant improvements are the result of an excellent training system that includes not only physical conditioning but also mental training to keep his focus intact every second of a match.
His consistent performance for his commercial clubs earned him a substitute place for the 2002 World Cup, where he played just one game, which was against England. During that last group match, he calmed his nerves and kept his composure to keep a clean sheet and salvage a draw against the mighty English team. Since then, he became his coaches’ favorite goalkeeper when Ike Shorunmu retired from international football.
He had always contained his country’s goal during the 2004 and 2006 African Cup of Nations. He had a very memorable sequel in the 2010 tournament when he saved three penalties in the quarter-final against Tunisia, but unfortunately lost to the Ivory Coast in the semifinal.
The goalkeeper who had been substituted before the penalty shootout early in his career became the hero of many of Nigeria’s international matches.
In the first group match against Argentina at the 2010 World Cup, he put in an excellent performance stopping and parrying a variety of shots from some of the world’s top scorers such as Lionel Messi and Gonzalo Higuain, but was unable to save the game. Gabriel Heinze’s winning header. Still, with that loss, he was named Man of the Match for his spectacular performance.
Even in the face of defeat, an athlete who has shown great endurance and desire against a more powerful opponent always receives due credit. Enyeama, who chose to be better than he was before by constantly learning, is a goalkeeper who has carved his name as one of the best in the world of soccer.
