The underrated brilliance of Ikechukwu Uche

Ikechukwu Uche of Nigeria in action.

It’s early June, the weather is pristine, the stage is set, as an all important 2010 AFCON/World cup qualifier is about to get underway, with the Super Eagles squaring up against the Harambee Stars of Kenya at the National stadium Abuja (now christened the M.K.O Abiola stadium).

We had barely taken our seats with fans still trooping into the stadium when within a couple of minutes after kick off, what looked like a misplaced pass from Yusuf Ayila in midfield to a teammate was poorly intercepted by a Kenyan player. Suddenly that teammate in question pounces on the loose ball, takes the ball in his stride, waltz past two challenges and faced with the keeper buries his effort in a thrice sending fans into raptures within three minutes in for 1-0. Suddenly, questions of “Who scored, who scored” echoed around stands, only for the stadium announcer to call out the name “Ikechukwu Uuchhheee”. It took a couple of goals later from Victor Obinna for match day nerves to settle at full time but it was Ikechukwu Uche who got the ball rolling as usual in a stadium that he would eventually make his own turf during his international odyssey.

Such was the impact of the then Getafe hitman that with him in the starting XI, the Super Eagles chances of winning games grew higher, even if the team were playing badly, due to the Aba-born hitman’s prolificacy in front of goal and industry. For a player who only made his international debut approaching his mid-20s and never really playing international football at the youth level, his rise to prominence as Nigeria’s no.1 striker at the tail end of the 2000s was quite praiseworthy.

Ikechukwu Uche (R) of Nigeria battles with Anthony Annan of Ghana during the