The Golden Gloves of ‘Magnificent Vincent Enyeama’ – By Adelani Ogunrinade.
Yesterday, Super Eagles Captain, Vincent Enyeama, put up another world-class performance in Ponite Noire.Stopping a crucial penalty kick was one of the string of brilliant saves made by Lille’s number one. His heroics meant that Nigeria still have hope of qualifying for Equatorial Guinea 2015.
This has not been the first time Enyeama has spared the Super Eagles blushes.
In the 2010 Nations Cup in Angola, he was again Nigeria’s shootout hero at the quarter-final stage, saving from Zambia’s Thomas Nyrienda and scoring the winning kick himself.
At the FIFA World Cup in South Africa that same year, he was named man of the match in Nigeria’s opening match against Argentina. His reflexes combined with his defiant display prevented the much revered Lionel Messi and his teammates from disgracing the Super Eagles. At the 2014 world Cup in Brazil, the Akwa Ibom born goalkeeper continued his fine form; making a massive save against Edin Džeko in stoppage time to secure three points for the Super Eagles. Prior to that game, the Super Eagles had not won a world cup match since 1998.
Last season, Vincent Enyeama went 1,061 minutes (11 full matches) without conceding a goal in the French Ligue 1.This achievement made him the recipient of the 2014 Marc Vivien Foe award. Enyeama has deservedly been nominated for the 2014 BBC African Footballer of Year award along with Cote d’Ivoire’s duo of Yaya Toure and Gervinho as well as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Yacine Brahimi.
With the 2014 FIFA Ballon d’Or nominees revealed, the case can be put forward that Vincent Enyeama should have been nominated. Unfortunately, the Super Eagles shot stopper was overlooked. Perhaps his snub for the prestigious award is due to the super Eagle’s inability in recent World cup’s to qualify for the later stages of the tournament. His snub might also controversially be the colour of his skin.
After analysing his stats and the vital saves he has made for his country, the fact remains that Vincent Enyeama is an unsung hero. The former Enyimba player who is nicknamed “The Cat” should always be mentioned in the same category with the likes of Manuel Neuer, Thibaut Courtois, Joe Hart, Keylor Navas and Sergio Romero. It is time FIFA puts Nigeria’s best goalkeeper in the reckoning for a Golden Glove award.