It is a worrisome scenario. Why do most top NPFL goal scorers fizzle out after shining in the league and struggle in their various teams abroad?
From Jude Aneke, Ozurumba, Salami, Mfon Udoh, Junior Lokosa, Steven Odey, etc
Technically, for the past decade Top NPFL goal scorers have struggled for consistency, form and standard
STABILITY ESSENTIAL FOR DEVELOPMENT
To be relevant in a profession you will need stability. When you find European players enjoying rich form, check their career path and how many clubs they played for in a span of 12 years as a professional, mostly 3 or 4. That is from age 18 to 30 years of effectively playing football.
Unfortunately, for most NPFL stars, once they move abroad, it is usually a makeshift arrangement to use the club as a stepping stone to attract bigger clubs.They go to these new clubs with high expectations but the players mental framework is not there. Basically player starts thinking of catching attention of bigger suitors with bigger pay check.
Psychologically, players get unsettled and performances drops. Even when player makes impact(lower leagues) those clubs would normally want to have him for 4 years but the African will want to move quickly. He jumps boat and begins a new process of adaptation again in a new environment and with players with different philosophy.
The persistent player focuses his mind to move to a bigger club like Marseille, Anderlect, Porto or PSV. How do we expect a player to perform effectively when he plans to move from NPFL to Esperance to standard Liege, Anderlect, Lille and to Bolton all within a decade. His head is “messed up.”
The path is too long and he will not have dedication to any of his employers. “Na dem go punish am with bench role to see if he go dey dedicated to them”.
A season of bench role and our star boy is already thinking of running to India, Malaysia, China or Iran for quick money knowing that his career is short due to previous false age declaration.
FINANCIAL BOOST/SPONSORS
NPFL needs money so that most of the best talents can choose to remain here, build their wealth and live the good life without caring about European football. Many in South Africa SPL will not taste another league but will live the good life without pressure of moving out for greener pastures.
It is actually unfortunate for them and the NPFL football fraternity, considering how well they were in the NPFL and wanted their career to unfold with shining options.
Significantly, one would say they are going to have it smooth ride at the top after their record breaking goal scoring season in the Nigerian Football League but it is all a different ball game
LOGICAL FACTORS
Positively, a lot of factors comes to play (more than we know) as to why it is not all rosy for them.
It could be in the aspect of expectations, age, sometimes discipline level and sometimes some deals do not fall through for them due to agents and former club high demands.
Sometimes a lot happens behind the scenes more than we know, that are hindering smooth transition to the top.
I think whatever the problem may be, it can be fixed.
Fundamentally- grassroot football orientation needs to be enhanced.
LEARNING THE FUNDAMENTALS OF GOAL SCORING
Goal scoring is an art, to master it, you must have gone through the basics at a very young age. Our academies do not deal on specifics like their foreign counterparts. Goal scoring has to be practiced, analysed and understood at a early age with specifics on talent discovery.
Specifically, few Africans have succeeded in that department and if you check very well, the few ones actually left Africa early or grew up over there. Look at all the highest goal scorers in our local league, I vividly cannot remember anyone scoring above 25 goals a season without the exception of controversial penalty kicks taking bulk of the number.
Tactically, Nigerian players are more successful in areas where talents and skills arw crucial and vital, we hardly survive where specifics and applications are necessary. A striker in Europe starts to be one from ages 8/10, scoring goals in grassroots and coached for only that purpose after identification. Unlike here, one coach will just wake up one day because you are either tall or good with the head and tell you go and lead the line as a striker.
Watch “Oyinbo” strikers even backing the post they already know the angles and positioning.
Purposefully, the art of goal scoring needs practice, hard word and consistency to be mastered.
What is the way forward? share your views.
By Uni Dan Kakwi