{"id":2090,"date":"2025-03-06T08:20:06","date_gmt":"2025-03-06T08:20:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/https:\/\/thatenyimbafan.blog\/azuka\/authentic\/?p=2090"},"modified":"2025-03-06T08:20:07","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T08:20:07","slug":"a-case-for-ani-ozoemena","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thatenyimbafan.blog\/azuka\/authentic\/a-case-for-ani-ozoemena\/","title":{"rendered":"A Case for Ani Ozoemena"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Good morning!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s Thursday, and you know what that means\u2014a little throwback. But don\u2019t worry, I won\u2019t drag us too deep into the past, because what we really need is action in the present to create a future worth bragging about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, quick one: Can you name your top three goalkeepers to have ever starred for the Super Eagles? I bet Vincent Enyeama makes your list without even thinking. The man was so good that people joked Lionel Messi couldn\u2019t score against him\u2014well, until Messi eventually did. But do you know where Enyeama was when he got his first Super Eagles invitation? Right here at Enyimba FC. And guess what? Not long after, Dele Aiyenugba joined the party. Back then, if you wanted a shortcut to the national team from the domestic league, Enyimba was basically the expressway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fast forward to today. From the entire Enyimba squad, only two players made the CHAN team. Just two! Ani Ozoemena\u2014unarguably our player of the season\u2014and Imo Obot, easily our best-performing fullback. Two out of twenty-six isn\u2019t exactly terrible, considering there are nineteen other top-flight teams plus a swarm of clubs below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But now to the real gist. On Tuesday, the new Super Eagles coach dropped his 39-man provisional list for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers. Four NPFL players made the cut\u2014one for every department. Sounds fair, right? On the surface, yes. But here\u2019s where things get spicy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I have zero issues with the inclusions of Ifeanyi Onyebuchi, Papa Daniel Mustapha, and Ahmed Musa. No wahala there. But Kayode Bankole? Hmm. Somebody please help me understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nothing against Bankole. He\u2019s a good goalkeeper\u2014one of the better ones in the league, no doubt. But, respectfully, how does a second-choice keeper get picked over a first-choice keeper who\u2019s outperforming him everywhere that matters?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s check the stats (because numbers don\u2019t lie):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Ani Ozoemena started twice ahead of Bankole in the CHAN team.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ani has played more league matches than Bankole this season.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ani has played more continental matches than Bankole this season.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ani is first-choice for Enyimba. Bankole is second-choice for his club.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>So, what\u2019s the logic? How does your backup goalie get the national team call while the guy starting for his club in the same league gets a front-row seat at home?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some people like to say Ani looks jittery. Okay, maybe. But what\u2019s undeniable is that the man makes some incredible saves. And last I checked, a goalkeeper\u2019s&nbsp;<em>primary<\/em>&nbsp;job is to keep the ball out of the net. Everything else is secondary. On that front, Ani Ozoemena is ticking boxes all season long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But hey, what do I know?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As for the other invitees, I\u2019m not even going to waste energy. The list is the list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the end, I wish Eric Chelle all the success in the world. He\u2019s going to need it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Have a great day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Enyimba Enyi!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Good morning! It\u2019s Thursday, and you know what that means\u2014a little throwback. But don\u2019t worry, I won\u2019t drag us too deep into the past, because what we really need is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1929,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"breadcrumbs_single_post":"","page_title_panel":"","breadcrumbs_single_page":"","single_page_alignment":"","single_page_margin":"","page_structure_type":"","content_style_source":"","content_style":"","blog_post_streched_ed":"","blog_page_streched_ed":"","has_transparent_header":"","disable_transparent_header":"","vertical_spacing_source":"","content_area_spacing":"","single_post_content_background":"","single_page_content_background":"","single_post_boxed_content_spacing":"","single_page_boxed_content_spacing":"","single_post_content_boxed_radius":"","single_page_content_boxed_radius":"","disable_featured_image":"","disable_post_tags":"","disable_author_box":"","disable_posts_navigation":"","disable_comments":"","disable_related_posts":"","disable_header":"","disable_footer":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_rishi_post_view_count":441},"categories":[1],"tags":[3,5],"class_list":["post-2090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-enyimba","tag-npfl","rishi-post"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>A Case for Ani Ozoemena - That Enyimba Fan<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thatenyimbafan.blog\/azuka\/authentic\/a-case-for-ani-ozoemena\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Case for Ani Ozoemena - That Enyimba Fan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Good morning! 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