Photo Credit - Enyimba FC.
Former Nigeria striker Victor Ikpeba is not happy with the current standards of Nigeria football and the Super Eagles players.
The 1997 African Footballer of The Year has questioned the commitment level of players despite the team finishing in second at the last Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.
Ikpeba told Sports247: “During my era, you must know how to play football. In my era, not everybody was allowed to play football. So, even if you wanted to play football, you had to have the talent, the passion and the quality to play it.
“But, in the last 20 years, most parents want to allow their kids to play football because of the money.” Ikpeba whose career took him to AS Monaco of France and Borussia Dortmund of Germany, blasted the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) for not doing enough to raise the standard of football in the country.
“Times have changed. In those days, people were playing not just for the money but because of their passion and talent. “I go back memory lane; the league we had in the 80s and 90s was very competitive in Nigeria, and the players were very good.
“For you to be selected and put in the Green Eagles or Super Eagles, it just shows that you were exceptional. So, I think quality-wise and talents, we had more of those values than we see in this era. I don’t think some of the guys of this era would have been able to play in my era. That’s the truth.”
“It’s about the skills, the commitment, the physicality; everything is now different. I am sorry to say this, I love this generation, but how many of them can fight for football or play where it matters in Lagos? Can they play in Lagos,” Ikpeba added.
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