Injury Ruined My Nations Cup Debut

Former striker of defunct Stationery Stores Football Club of Lagos, Taiwo Oloyede spoke with SUNADY AKINTOYE and BAMIDELE OLOWOSAGBA about his playing days in the Nigerian Football League, his achievements and regrets

How would you describe your early days as a footballer in the Nigeria Premier League those days?

I was one of the players that played all their football careers in the local league. I started my professional career with International Bank of West Africa, which was renamed Afribank before the company’s name changed to Main Street Bank, in the Amateur Division 2 in 1985.

Although my elder brother played for the First Bank Football Club. From IBWA FC, I joined Stationery Stores of Lagos in 1988, where I played till 1993, though I had a brief stint with BCC Lions of Gboko in 1992. I also played for Rangers of Enugu in 1994, Julius Berger in 1995 before I played for Sunshine Stars of Akure in 2000. I finally called it quits at Union Bank FC in 2003.

Back in those days, playing in the Nigeria League was fun and challenging, though there was no money in the league then as it is today. But it was competitive enough that it drew a lot of fans into the local stadia.

Despite the fact that your name was a household name in the domestic league in the late ‘80s and ‘90s, you never made it to the national team. What was responsible for this, and any regrets not playing for Nigeria?

It’s every footballer’s dream to represent his or her country at the highest stage of the game. Unfortunately for me, a fracture in my right leg ruined my dreams of playing for the Green Eagles at the Algiers ’90 African Cup of Nations.

It would have been my first Nations Cup because I was part of the team that played the qualifiers under former Techical Adviser, Clemens Westerhof. It’s remains a big regret in my football career. I also did not play professional football  abroad throughout my career, though I had trials in Holland with F.C Utretch and a club in Dubai, but due to youthful exuberance and dubious players’ agent respectively, I lost the deals. Despite these, I did have the honour of playing at the highest  stage in Africa club championships. I was the highest goal scorer when Julius Berger got to the final of the African Cup Winners Cup in 1995 against J.S Kabiye of Algeria.

Would you say foreign-based players were more committed to playing for the country those days than what we have these days, where they walk into the national camp few days before crucial matches?

There’s nothing like that in the past, all the players behaved well due to the way they were handled. Take a look at the way our present coach, Stephen Keshi is handling the current crop of players in the Super Eagles. It’s obvious that no sensible player would want to break camp rules. That’s how the Green Eagles camp was handled during coach Westerhof’s era. You dare not arrive camp late or break disciplinary rules hence, you’ll face the consequence. That’s how national teams are handled, there should be total commitment from the players during national duties.

As a former domestic league player, how would you assess the ongoing Nigeria Premier League as it enters the crucial stage, especially the performances of home-based players in the national teams?

I think this season’s football league continues to gather momentum as we approach the later stage of the league. This may have something to do with the fact that the points difference between the top three teams, Kano Pillars, Rangers and Lobi Stars, are not much. I will advise coach Stephen Keshi to continue to follow what Westerhof did during his time by giving more home-based players opportunities to prove themselves in the Super Eagles. Some of the so called foreign-based players are bench warmers in their respective teams in Europe.

As coach Stephen Keshi  continues to prepare the Super Eagles ahead of the African Nations Cup qualifying match against the Lone Star of Liberia on 8 September, what’s your advice for the players as they begin camping this weekend?

My advice is that the players  should realise that there are no more minnows in football. That we are playing a Liberian side, who are ranked below us on FIFA ranking does not mean we will go and stroll over them in Monrovia. Liberia will not hand over the full points at stake to Nigeria, they must fight and play them as if they are playing a cup final.