Three years into the Goal Nigeria Player of the Year awards, readers
have chosen to reward the best players that the country has on offer
The idea for the Goal Nigeria Player of the Year award began in 2012 as an opportunity to reward the best players our country has to offer.
At that time, there was no recognized award for footballers after several organizations had tried their hand at it without the ability to sustain an independent and credible process.
With the arrival of Goal, the world’s biggest football site, into the Nigerian market courtesy of our local edition in early 2012, it was a great opportunity to support the players who make our readers happy.
Our knowledgeable readers, numbering in their millions, constitute the largest group of football aficionados in the country. Hence, it was only right that we allowed them choose their player of the year after the editors and writers had sifted through the bunch to present them with a shortlist of five.
And we have seen a lot of enthusiasm from our readers over the past two years, something that has encouraged us to continue with the awards.
When you ask the average Goal reader, one of the highlights of their calendar is when the opportunity opens to select their Nigeria Player of the Year on the Goal website.
The pattern of voting has been really insightful. In the first edition in 2012, the five players that were nominated for the award were John Obi Mikel, Victor Moses, Ahmed Musa, Gabriel Reuben and John Utaka.
Maiden Goal Nigeria Player of the Year award winner, Mikel, had helped Chelsea to win the Uefa Champions League in May where he played a yeoman’s role to hold the terrific Bayern Munich attack. He was also in fine form as the Blues won the FA Cup.
Moses earned his nomination after helping Wigan retain their place in the English Premier League while also shining for the Super Eagles as they qualified for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa following the disappointment of the year before.
Musa’s transfer to CSKA Moscow, where he won the Russian League title and his performances with the national team, were both responsible for his inclusion in the shortlist.
The list was not populated by foreign-based players alone as former Kano Pillars midfielder Gabriel Reuben was included. After a season when Sai Masu Gida won their second-ever title and the first of a ‘three-peat’ in American basketball parlance, Reuben deserved his place on the list for being a leader in their campaign as well as sscoring his first goal for the Super Eagles in a World Cup qualifier against Malawi in Blantyre.
Which of these Eagles will win the 2014 Goal Nigeria Player of the Year award?
The final nominee in 2012 was John Utaka, who had come off a title-winning season with lowly-rated Montpellier. His seven goals for the unlikely Ligue 1 champions earned him a recall to the Super Eagles and a place on the Goal Nigeria shortlist.
At the end of voting, our readers chose the achievements of Mikel ahead of the others. The Chelsea midfielder was presented with his award in Nelspruit, South Africa in February 2013, a day before the Super Eagles played their quarter-final game against Cote d’Ivoire.
Perhaps charged up by the award, Mikel played his heart out as the Eagles defeated the Elephants in a game reminiscent of the battle between David and Goliath. Nigeria went on to win that tournament and the Chelsea man was voted second-best player.
Hence, it was not surprising when he was again nominated for the 2013 award and he retained his title ahead of inspirational goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, striker Emmanuel Emenike, winger Moses (his second straight nomination) and defender Godfrey Oboabona.
Mikel’s performance at the Africa Cup of Nations propelled him to award once more as he was rewarded by the fans for his leadership in the middle of the pack, which saw Nigeria’s stock rise in the international sphere. Even though Mikel had a mixed year at his club, his shift for the Eagles was impressive and he capped the year with a sublime goal in the Confederations Cup against Uruguay.
While Mikel was solid in the middle of the field, Nigeria’s success in 2013 was achieved due to the confidence gained at goal by Enyeama’s calming presence. The LOSC Lille goalkeeper was in fine form as the Eagles won the African title for the third time.
In his turn, Emenike joined the shortlist due to his top-scoring performance at the Afcon as well as his impact in the Eagles’ final push for a place in the 2014 World Cup. The striker scored a brace in Addis Ababa to silence the Walyas to effectively give Nigeria a ticket to South America.
Moses was once again nominated for his brilliant performance at the Afcon where his brace against Ethiopia saw Nigeria through to the knockout stage. His move to Chelsea also brought more focus on his game and he didn’t disappoint as he helped the Blues to win the Europa League.
The final nominee for 2013 was defender Obaobona, who was solid in defence throughout the year for the Eagles in their run to the Afcon title. The former Sunshsine Stars captain played all Nigeria’s matches in 2013 and was listed as the top Nigerian at the Confederations Cup. And who can forget his timely clearance in Addis Ababa which helped the African hampions from going down to an early goal?
While all previous nominees have gone on to enjoy diverse success, their nomination has recognized their impressive contribution to the game whether with club or country.
While Mikel and Moses have both featured in the previous two editions, the duo has had a mixed 2014. It would be interesting to see if they make the shortlist once again.
On the contrary, we have seen great performances over the past 11 months from Enyeama and Musa as well as revelatory showing from the home-based duo of Emem Eduok and Mfon Udoh, who if nominated, would ensure that a locally-based player has always made the list.
Only five players will make it into the shortlist that will be announced on December 1. But as stated when we started the award in 2012, one’s hope is that this award helps to inspire our players to do more and not to rest on their oars.
Nigerian football can only get better when there is reward for the best. Our readers know best.
2012 Nominees
Mikel (Winner)
Moses
Musa
Reuben
Utaka
2013 Nominees
Mikel (Winner)
Enyeama
Emenike
Moses
Oboabona
2014 Nominees
To be unveiled December 1
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