By May next year, it will be clear which player, if any, will be the next Nigerian to lift the UEFA Champions League trophy after Nwankwo Kanu, Finidi George and Mikel Obi have won it.
John Utaka made his debut on September 18, 2002 featuring for Lens against AC Milan in a game that ended 2-1 in favour of the Italians at the San Siro stadium. It would have been exactly 10 years since first kicking a UEFA Champions League ball had he featured for Montpellier on Tuesday against Arsenal at Stade de la Mosson in France. He was ruled out of the game with a groin injury he sustained during a league game against Reims. At 30, his only silverware has been the 2008 FA Cup he won with Portsmouth and the 2011/12 Ligue 1 title with Montpellier. Utaka has reiterated several times his desire to have a European title in his kitty but Montpellier ’s loss against Arsenal may prove crucial in killing his dream. He’s currently not playing against any team featuring his compatriots but it may not remain so for long should the French champions progress from the group stage.
Mikel and Victor Moses have the uphill task of defending the Champions League title Chelsea won last season. While Moses is featuring in Europe’s elite competition for the first time, Mikel has been there since 2006 when he made his debut as a 90th minute substitute against Werder Bremen at Stamford Bridge. The former Lyn Oslo midfielder only got to lay his hands on the coveted trophy last season when Chelsea defied all the odds to beat Bayern Munich in an intriguing final in Germany. But with just one game played at the group stage, Mikel has attracted more criticisms than accolades after his infamous pass that led to Juventus’ equaliser in the 2-2 draw played in London on Tuesday. The torrent of verbal abuse on the midfielder forced him on Thursday to delete his Twitter account.
Moses, on the other hand, has yet to make his debut, but the former Wigan forward is not leaving anyone in doubt of what he can do when he eventually gets his chance to play.
Before Spartak Moscow’s game on Wednesday, Emmanuel Emenike vowed to deny their hosts Barcelona the joy of winning at Camp Nou . But it was the other way round at the end of the day as the Lionel Messi-inspired side came from behind to win the game 3-2. Beside suffering a setback to his dream of winning a Champions League title, Emenike also got a yellow card for a rough tackle. The former Delta Force striker was instrumental in eliminating his former Turkish club Fenerbahçe from the Champions League, scoring one of the goals in the preliminary stage. The loss to Barcelona has sent the Russian club to the bottom of Group G but their next game against Celtic will determine if Emenike’s dream has a chance to survive. He’ll likely face his compatriots, Efe Ambrose and Rabiu Ibrahim when they welcome the Scottish club to Russia.
The quartet of Taye Taiwo, Brown Ideye, Haruna Lukman and Ayila Yussuf at Ukrainian club Dynamo Kyiv have never come close to the Champions League trophy before.
Taiwo, who apparently is the most experienced among them, had his debut with Marseille when they defeated Young Boys 3-2 in Switzerland in 2005. He has featured in all Dynamo Kyiv’s Champions League games, except the tie against Feyenoord, since joining on loan in the summer.
Ideye, on his part has featured in all the club’s fixtures even scoring important goals against Borussia Mönchengladbach and Feyenoord in the playoff. He has so far scored three goals in the competition.
Lukman made his debut against Rubin Kazan in the qualifying round of last season campaign where they crashed out of the competition, losing to the Russians 4-1 on aggregate. He has not tasted Champions League action since the second leg fixture in Russia in August 2011.
Yussuf, who made his debut in the competition in 2004 against Roma, is currently not enjoying first team action at Dynamo Kyiv. Since recovering from the injuries he sustained two seasons ago, he has not been able to displace the likes of Ognjen Vukojevic, Miguel Veloso and Oleh Husyev in the midfield. While he was not named against PSG on Tuesday, he was in the squad against Feyenoord and Borussia Mönchengladbach in the playoffs but never got a chance to play.
Defender Elderson Echiejile is not having the best of time at Sporting Braga. Besides playing just a game in the domestic league so far this season, he has only made it to the bench once in the Champions League – during the playoff against Udinese.
The 24-year old does not understand why coach José Peseiro will have him warming the bench even when he is as fit as a fiddle.
“I train every time with the team and I don’t have any injury. I’ve always wanted to play in the Champions League and win but I don’t know why I’ve been left out so far,” he said.
Sporting Braga fell 2-0 at home to CFR Cluj on Wednesday and their tale may grow worse as they go away to Galatasaray in their next game.
The duo of Efe Ambrose and Rabiu Ibrahim are about the newest African members at Celtic and have yet to experience serious action. Coach Neil Lennon is not eager to hand them major roles, especially in the Champions League. While Ibrahim has only had a bench role against St. Johnstone in the domestic league, Ambrose was named in the squad against Benfica on Wednesday but was unused in the game.
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