Former Nigeria midfielder, Etim Esin in this exclusive interview with Complete Sports reporter, SULAIMAN ALAO, gives his candid assessment of the Super Eagles performances during the friendly matches against Algeria and Tunisia, and advises coach Gernot Rohr on the way forward.
Complete Sports: The Super Eagles’ return to football action in the international break saw them lose to Algeria and drew with Tunisia in the friendlies played in Austria. What is your assessment of the team’s performance?
Etim Esin: To be candid, the Super Eagles put up an average performances in the two international friendlies, and I’m sure Nigerian fans were also disappointed with the team’s performance.
We played two games and did not win any, it meant we picked up just one point out of six and that’s well below average to put it mildly. We conceded goals in both games and managed just one goal. We could have had our pride intact if we drew the two games at the least.
The Eagles were average in the defense, lacked creativity in the midfield and struggled in attack. They lacked leadership and did not play with cohesion. It was not encouraging seeing such performances by the Eagles at this p
- Home
- Sports
- He Had It All, But Lost It All: The Story Of Etim Esin
He Had It All, But Lost It All: The Story Of Etim Esin
No footballer of African descent has a story like that of Etim John Esin. At only 25, the Akwa Ibom bundle of skill a.k.a ‘Maradona’ had experienced fatal earthquake in Turkey, bloody gunshot, rape case that truncated his career, and messy drug problem.
“No footballer in Africa has that kind of story. Twice I stared at death, I was set up and severally rejected by people close to me and battled depression, yet I’m still standing tall,” Etim blurted out without regret. Etim touched on his struggles and rejections, his passion, still, for football, his affluent family and background, his turnaround, and new found peace, and the Hollywood documentary that would change his life forever in this exclusive interview with TAIWO ALIMI. Excerpts…
What are you doing presently?
I am a scout. I scout for players. Not everyone will be a coach. I don’t have passion for coaching. In-fact I’ve been offered the opportunity to go for coaching courses several time but it is not just my calling, it is not my passion. So, scouting for young talents which I can I recommend to coaches and most of the coaches are either my colleagues or former teammates. At my age I have to do what I have pas
Who is Etim, how special was he, what did he do, and how did he lose it all?
It was and the Nigerian U team were in camp around Surulere, preparing to leave the country in a few days for the World Cup in Chile.
Etim Esin was the star boy of the team, a supremely gifted player who had something extra each time he was on the ball.
Former Super Eagles striker Charles Okonkwo once said Etim Esin was one of the few players who would effortlessly make the Nigerian team of any generation.
Even the late Stephen Keshi, also had this to say about him:
&#;We had Etim Esin and relied so much on him. The team was built around him because he had so much skill and had so much to offer. So we said this is our &#;Diego Maradona&#; in Nigeria because he can do anything with the ball. It was like he was born with the ball.&#;
The U team were under strict instructions not to leave camp, but Etim Esin couldn't resist the lure of Lagos nightlife. He broke out of camp with 2 other players to visit a nightclub.
On their way out, armed robbers attacked them and shot Etim Esin in the leg. He was thought to have died, but luckily he was found and given early medical attention.
It was said that the
Biographies you may also like
Pope clement viii biography samples Clemente VIII nació el 24 de febrero de en Fano, Italia. Cursó estudios en Padua, Perugia y Bolonia. Fue cardenal en y elegido papa en , siendo el n.º de la Iglesia católica, Missing: samples.
Km cherian biography samples On Saturday, 25 January, India lost one of its most visionary and compassionate pioneers in cardiac surgery, Dr K M Cherian. The Padma Shri awardee passed away in Bengaluru after Missing: samples.
Huang zi tao biography samples Huang zi tao biography sample: also known as Following his departure from Exo and return to China, Huang stated that he made a decision to pursue his career in the ailing Chinese music .
Hephystus biography sampler To inspire your own bio-writing efforts, we‘ve curated over 25 of the most engaging real-life examples from across industries, roles and seniority levels. These range Missing: hephystus.
Dr thomas p lecky biography samples Dr. Thomas Lecky developed three breeds of cattle suited to the tropics- Jamaica Hope, Jamaica Red, and Jamaica Black. His particular cattle breeding technique forms the basis for breeding .
Carlo maria giulini biography sample He was drafted into the Italian army during World War II, but went into hiding as a convinced anti-Fascist; after the liberation of Rome by the Allied troops in , he was Missing: sample.
Fereidun fesharaki biography sample Dr. Fereidun Fesharaki Biography. Dr. Fereidun Fesharaki is the Founder and Chairman of FGE. FGE is a leading consulting group focusing on the oil and gas markets East Missing: sample.
Sandman negus biography of rory Sador Fasehaye aka Sandman Negus. Homie was from Rollin 60s, he got murdered in like He n Nipsey resemble each other.. that Eritean bloodline runs deepMissing: rory.