Our Group Head of Sports gets a rare sit-down with Super Eagles and Leicester City attacker, Kelechi Iheanacho. In this interview, he talks about his move to Manchester City and his love for Nigerian delicacies.
Goals are the ladder used to attain success in a chosen endeavor. To footballers, theirs is to score with their names reverberate around the arena while confetti’s drops as fans cheer in pure ecstasy.
Since time immemorial, strikers are the most in-demand, and when the transfers markets close; it’s almost a guarantee that the player who would be acquired with the most fees – is a forward. In 2013, Nigeria gave the world one of such goal-machines during the FIFA U17 World Cup held in the United Arab Emirates. Kelechi Iheanacho aged 17 at the time of the tournament he was like a god walking amongst men. He was 2nd joint top scorer with 6 goals and was named overall best player.
As expected, after the tournament, European teams like Sporting, Chelsea, Porto, Arsenal, all came in the hunt for his services, in the end, Kelechi Iheanacho decided Manchester would be his destination. So, I sought to decipher, what motivated his choice to move to the North.
Nigeria Info: How and well did you pick up football, and said you wanted to become a professional footballer?
Iheanacho I started football when I was young, it's what I love, it is a blessing and a gift that God gave to me so it's football all through, it's what I live for, it's in me, my life, since I was born. Football is just everything.
Nigeria Info: What exactly made you choose Manchester City?
Iheanacho: At that stage it was difficult so I thank God I went through everything with the people around me. It was difficult to choose at that period, but God made it possible for me to join Man City, so everyone helped, my father, I think it's God that choose it for me.
Nigeria Info: In 2015, you made your senior debut for Man City, and scored your first premier league goal coming off the bench against Crystal palace, tell me how the feeling was on the day.
Iheanacho: Looking back, it was something that I would never forget, a great moment for me and my family, for City, it was a point that we needed, it was a feeling that would never go off my mind.
Nigeria Info: You had the opportunity to work with two brilliant managers at the Etihad, what prompted you after leaving City to publically - via twitter - eulogize, in particular, Manuel Pellegrini?
Iheanacho: "He has been my mentor, a man who brought me to the first team at Manchester City, so I will always be grateful to him. He is also a great manager, a loving father figure. The club loves him, and everyone that knows him, his personality is good, so I think it was great to work with him."
In August 2017, Leicester City announced they’ve striker Kelechi Iheanacho from Manchester City for a fee understood to be £25m – a five-year deal. His gift has also shone brightly in the green & white.
Nigeria Info: Before you joined the National team, who would you say was your best Super Eagle's player?
Iheanacho "I didn’t have the opportunity to watch many games because back then we didn’t have the means to watch football matches. but the few that I watched I know: Jay Jay Okcoha, Kanu Nwankwo, Sunday Oliseh, Rashidi Yekini, Emmanuel Amunike, Daniel Amokachi, Garba Lawal, West, Yobo, Mikel; these are great players who motivate me, and ones to watch. We hope we get such quality of players in the future to replace them because they have been irreplaceable since their retirement."
Nigeria Info: The people who'd read this would like to know, aside from Kelechi on the pitch, how do you relax when you are not playing football?
Iheanacho "Nothing much, just me and my play station, I don't play with it. After training, I return home and just got straight to it. Music also, I love music."
Nigeria Info: What kind of food do you enjoy?
Iheanacho "Our food (Nigerian Food), I can't do without them, anywhere in the world if I can go the extra mile to get them, I would. But when you are about to play a game you have to make sure you eat the proper food, you can't eba or pounded yam before taking to the pitch."
Nigeria Info: There is the unending debate of who is the best player between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. What do you think?
Iheanacho "They are two different class players that the world would never forget them, they are great players, top players, I love both of them, and can't pick one."
Kelechi Iheanacho and his Leciester City team are in the semi-finals of the Europa League Cofrence League where they take on Italain team AS Roma.
