When Odion Ighalo left Granada in the highly-respected La Liga in July 2014 for second-tier football in England with Watford, his critics wrote him off, citing his case as one of many dwindling fortunes of Nigerian footballers.
But the Ajegunle-born player was on a mission: to return Watford back to the English Premier League and achieve a lifetime dream of playing in England’s topflight.
Ighalo told our correspondent weeks before The Hornets gained promotion to the EPL, “I’m in England because one of my dreams is to play in the Premiership. Playing for Watford now has made that dream realisable and we just have to keep on working. It’s a good league, one of the best in the world. I’m doing my best now and scoring goals. I just want to keep doing that and working hard and make sure we gain promotion to the EPL.
“We are just one point behind the top team. We just have to keep on winning. We have tough games but we must make sure we win some games to make sure we go to the EPL, if not, we play in the play-offs. But I’m really praying to God that we go straight to the EPL. I want to play there.”
His prayers were answered and today, Ighalo is one of the most celebrated people in English football courtesy of his heroics at Watford. On arrival from Spain, he scored a remarkable 20 goals to help steer The Hornets back to the English Premier League after an eight-year absence.
And if he remains at Watford, he will surely be achieving another dream: playing against Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez— his former teammate at Udinese— in the EPL.
Success they say, has many fathers. Ighalo is already being courted by several top clubs across Europe, with West Bromwich Albion reportedly set to revive a move for Ighalo in the summer, after he was linked with a £5m move from the Championship club in January.
“I am a Watford player and I have a two-year contract with them. I just want to keep on working hard for the club. Sure, I know interests are coming in but that is for my agent. He has to ensure that things go well at the end of the season.
“Personally I just want to concentrate and help Watford, and then we will see what happens in the summer. But right now, I am happy at Watford, the fans like me and I don’t have any regrets,” Ighalo added.
Ighalo joined Watford initially on a season-long loan deal from Udinese in July 2014 and made his debut for the English side in the first round of the League Cup at Stevenage on August 12. He scored his first goal against Brentford a month later, slamming the ball home after his initial penalty was saved by David Button.
When Watford re-signed him on a permanent deal in October, Ighalo repaid the club back for the confidence they had in him with loads of goals.
The highlight of his goals came in January, when he notched an amazing four goals as The Hornets came back from 2-0 down to wallop Blackpool 7-2. The Nigerian had struck twice in the earlier 5-0 win over Charlton Athletic.
His heroics earned him the PFA Championship Fans’ Player of The Month for January but he was not done yet. Ighalo then took his tally to 14 goals after scoring twice, including an injury time winner as Watford came from a goal down to beat Brentford 2–1 in February.
But if you think scoring four goals against Blackpool would be his best outing of the season, then you are wrong.
“My game against Brentford away is actually my best. We were losing 1-0 and I equalised in the 88th minute and scored the winner in the 92nd minute. We won 2-1 against a very good team, who were ahead of us in the league then. That was when we went top of them. I don’t think any other game beats that,” Ighalo said.
After stints at local side Prime FC and Julius Berger, the calm forward began his European sojourn at Norwegian side Lyn Oslo in 2007. He joined Italian team Udinese in 2008 and was loaned out severally to Granada and Cesena before teaming up with Watford.
“I had different and good experiences in all the leagues but I’m doing well in England now. The football in England is different. I did well too in Spain and I am happy I played in the Italian Serie A and the Norwegian league. I want to play in the Premier League this time around. I’m a fulfilled man because 99 per cent of my dreams have come to pass,” he said.
However Ighalo admits that playing against the superstars in the Spanish La Liga made him a better player and individual.
Encounters against Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are still fond in his memory. He is also not forgetful of his confrontations against some of the most rugged defenders in the game.
“They (Ronaldo and Messi) are great players and it’s a privilege for me to play against them and share the same field with them. It’s one of the best experiences of my life. Messi is calm while Ronaldo is one of the best. I hope to still play against them in the future.
“The defenders are not easy to deal with as well. I remember my first season in La Liga against Barcelona’s (Carles) Puyol, he is one of the toughest I have played against. So is Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos. When you see these defenders coming, you have to be careful,” Ighalo added.
Close followers of Ighalo’s game feel the Super Eagles coaches have not been fair to the 25-year-old. After captaining the national U-20 and U-23 teams, Ighalo was constantly left out of the national team despite playing in the tough topflight leagues of Italy and Spain.
In a twist of fate, he was only given a look-in while playing second-tier football in England. Former Eagles assistant coach, Daniel Amokachi, handed him a call-up for the two friendly games against Uganda and South Africa in March.
He debuted for Nigeria at senior level on March 25, starting in the disappointing 1-0 defeat to the Cranes in Uyo but it’s a moment he will never forget.
He said, “I thank God for giving me the opportunity; to have my first cap in the national team is one of the best experiences I ever had and I am very happy because it’s always my dream to play for the Super Eagles. Now I have two caps for my country. So, it’s just for me to keep on working hard and keep my place in the team.
“I felt bad after the loss to Uganda; it was my debut and we wanted to win for (Vincent) Enyeama, who was having his 100th cap on the day. The game didn’t go as planned but that’s football. Anything can happen but we just have to move on and look forward to the next game.”
The former Udinese man is not one to rue his fate even when he was shunned by the Eagles coaches. Instead, in typical fashion, he kept his cool and kept on working on his game. Now, he can predict where his game will be in a few years from now.
He said, “I don’t have any regrets in life. Things don’t work out sometimes but I challenge myself to always be the best I can be. Every season I want to do better and surpass my achievements of the previous season.
“One of the challenges I had last season was my injury and I was out for four months. I did meniscus operation on my knee.
“Last season was not too good for me but I thank God things are better this season. In the coming years, I should be playing in the Premiership— it’s one of the biggest leagues in the world— and also regularly for my national team.”
Ighalo’s rise from humble beginnings in Ajegunle, a Lagos ghetto noted for crime and violence, to the topflight leagues of Europe, is truly meteoric. He knew if he had to play at the top level and make a name for himself, he had to maintain a disciplined lifestyle, in a difficult setting like Ajegunle, popularly called AJ City.
“Life was difficult in Ajegunle, a ghetto. The field we played then was dangerous. People smoked marijuana there and did a lot of things there. But as kids, we just go there to train and play football and go back home. That’s the only field we had then.
“I don’t think it was all bad though. It was a decision you had to make: if you want to join the bad boys, it’s your choice. But I am where I am today because I didn’t hang around boys there and do what they were doing. I played football and went back home.”
Joining bad gangs was a choice he never contemplated, rather he turned to football for help. He wanted to follow in the paths of great footballers like Sam Nwobum, Samson Siasia, Emmanuel Amuneke, Jonathan Akpoborie, Ikpe Ekong and others, who were discovered from the ghetto.
“I started playing (football) in primary and secondary schools. I was the games prefect of my school and captain of my school’s junior football team. My dad wanted me to go to school but my mum encouraged me.
“It was difficult in the beginning, you look around Ajegunle and you see a lot of very good players better than you, so it was not easy. I give glory to God because there were so many better players than me who couldn’t reach the level I am today. But I am still happy to have been one of the players to come out of Ajegunle.”
Now, he hopes to give back to the society that paved the way for him to become the star he is today.
“I am praying to God to give me the grace to establish an academy there (Ajegunle); that will help people from there because that is where I come from.”
Ighalo undergoes a ritual before every game. He dedicates every game to God and hopes to come out unscathed even in defeat. He knows he will need loads of that in the tough and very physical EPL next season.
“Before a game, I listen to gospel music, stay calm and do my prayers before going onto the pitch. I thank God before going in because many enter and don’t come out safely. Some get injured and some die but that will not be our portion,” Ighalo added.
“I am a Watford player and I have a two-year contract with them. I just want to keep on working hard for the club. Sure, I know interests are coming in but that is for my agent. He has to ensure that things go well at the end of the season.
“Personally I just want to concentrate and help Watford, and then we will see what happens in the summer. But right now, I am happy at Watford, the fans like me and I don’t have any regrets,” Ighalo added.
Ighalo joined Watford initially on a season-long loan deal from Udinese in July 2014 and made his debut for the English side in the first round of the League Cup at Stevenage on August 12. He scored his first goal against Brentford a month later, slamming the ball home after his initial penalty was saved by David Button.
When Watford re-signed him on a permanent deal in October, Ighalo repaid the club back for the confidence they had in him with loads of goals.
The highlight of his goals came in January, when he notched an amazing four goals as The Hornets came back from 2-0 down to wallop Blackpool 7-2. The Nigerian had struck twice in the earlier 5-0 win over Charlton Athletic.
His heroics earned him the PFA Championship Fans’ Player of The Month for January but he was not done yet. Ighalo then took his tally to 14 goals after scoring twice, including an injury time winner as Watford came from a goal down to beat Brentford 2–1 in February.
But if you think scoring four goals against Blackpool would be his best outing of the season, then you are wrong.
“My game against Brentford away is actually my best. We were losing 1-0 and I equalised in the 88th minute and scored the winner in the 92nd minute. We won 2-1 against a very good team, who were ahead of us in the league then. That was when we went top of them. I don’t think any other game beats that,” Ighalo said.
After stints at local side Prime FC and Julius Berger, the calm forward began his European sojourn at Norwegian side Lyn Oslo in 2007. He joined Italian team Udinese in 2008 and was loaned out severally to Granada and Cesena before teaming up with Watford.
“I had different and good experiences in all the leagues but I’m doing well in England now. The football in England is different. I did well too in Spain and I am happy I played in the Italian Serie A and the Norwegian league. I want to play in the Premier League this time around. I’m a fulfilled man because 99 per cent of my dreams have come to pass,” he said.
However Ighalo admits that playing against the superstars in the Spanish La Liga made him a better player and individual.
Encounters against Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are still fond in his memory. He is also not forgetful of his confrontations against some of the most rugged defenders in the game.
“They (Ronaldo and Messi) are great players and it’s a privilege for me to play against them and share the same field with them. It’s one of the best experiences of my life. Messi is calm while Ronaldo is one of the best. I hope to still play against them in the future.
“The defenders are not easy to deal with as well. I remember my first season in La Liga against Barcelona’s (Carles) Puyol, he is one of the toughest I have played against. So is Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos. When you see these defenders coming, you have to be careful,” Ighalo added.
Close followers of Ighalo’s game feel the Super Eagles coaches have not been fair to the 25-year-old. After captaining the national U-20 and U-23 teams, Ighalo was constantly left out of the national team despite playing in the tough topflight leagues of Italy and Spain.
In a twist of fate, he was only given a look-in while playing second-tier football in England. Former Eagles assistant coach, Daniel Amokachi, handed him a call-up for the two friendly games against Uganda and South Africa in March.
He debuted for Nigeria at senior level on March 25, starting in the disappointing 1-0 defeat to the Cranes in Uyo but it’s a moment he will never forget.
He said, “I thank God for giving me the opportunity; to have my first cap in the national team is one of the best experiences I ever had and I am very happy because it’s always my dream to play for the Super Eagles. Now I have two caps for my country. So, it’s just for me to keep on working hard and keep my place in the team.
“I felt bad after the loss to Uganda; it was my debut and we wanted to win for (Vincent) Enyeama, who was having his 100th cap on the day. The game didn’t go as planned but that’s football. Anything can happen but we just have to move on and look forward to the next game.”
The former Udinese man is not one to rue his fate even when he was shunned by the Eagles coaches. Instead, in typical fashion, he kept his cool and kept on working on his game. Now, he can predict where his game will be in a few years from now.
He said, “I don’t have any regrets in life. Things don’t work out sometimes but I challenge myself to always be the best I can be. Every season I want to do better and surpass my achievements of the previous season.
“One of the challenges I had last season was my injury and I was out for four months. I did meniscus operation on my knee.
“Last season was not too good for me but I thank God things are better this season. In the coming years, I should be playing in the Premiership— it’s one of the biggest leagues in the world— and also regularly for my national team.”
Ighalo’s rise from humble beginnings in Ajegunle, a Lagos ghetto noted for crime and violence, to the topflight leagues of Europe, is truly meteoric. He knew if he had to play at the top level and make a name for himself, he had to maintain a disciplined lifestyle, in a difficult setting like Ajegunle, popularly called AJ City.
“Life was difficult in Ajegunle, a ghetto. The field we played then was dangerous. People smoked marijuana there and did a lot of things there. But as kids, we just go there to train and play football and go back home. That’s the only field we had then.
“I don’t think it was all bad though. It was a decision you had to make: if you want to join the bad boys, it’s your choice. But I am where I am today because I didn’t hang around boys there and do what they were doing. I played football and went back home.”
Joining bad gangs was a choice he never contemplated, rather he turned to football for help. He wanted to follow in the paths of great footballers like Sam Nwobum, Samson Siasia, Emmanuel Amuneke, Jonathan Akpoborie, Ikpe Ekong and others, who were discovered from the ghetto.
“I started playing (football) in primary and secondary schools. I was the games prefect of my school and captain of my school’s junior football team. My dad wanted me to go to school but my mum encouraged me.
“It was difficult in the beginning, you look around Ajegunle and you see a lot of very good players better than you, so it was not easy. I give glory to God because there were so many better players than me who couldn’t reach the level I am today. But I am still happy to have been one of the players to come out of Ajegunle.”
Now, he hopes to give back to the society that paved the way for him to become the star he is today.
“I am praying to God to give me the grace to establish an academy there (Ajegunle); that will help people from there because that is where I come from.”
Ighalo undergoes a ritual before every game. He dedicates every game to God and hopes to come out unscathed even in defeat. He knows he will need loads of that in the tough and very physical EPL next season.
“Before a game, I listen to gospel music, stay calm and do my prayers before going onto the pitch. I thank God before going in because many enter and don’t come out safely. Some get injured and some die but that will not be our portion,” Ighalo added.
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