Former Nigeria goalkeepers Dosu Joseph and
Joe Erico have hailed Lille shot stopper Vincent Enyeama after he was named
among the top 10 goalkeepers in Europe for the 2015/16 season by the
Swiss-based CIES Football Observatory.
Enyeama, who was sixth on the list, behind
Bayern Munich’s Manuel Neuer, Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid), Gianluigi Buffon
(Juventus), Kevin Trapp (PSG) and
Claudio Bravo of (Barcelona), has also been
nominated for the best goalkeeper award in the French Ligue 1.
Behind the former Eagles keeper on the CIES
Football Observatory list are Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris, Alphonse Areola
(Villareal), Keylor Navas (Real Madrid) and Pepe Reina (Napoli).
Erico said despite Enyeama’s retirement from
the Eagles after a fall-out with erstwhile coach Sunday Oliseh, he has been
able to prove himself in Europe.
He said, “Vincent is still our own; he’s a
fantastic keeper. Whether we like it or not, he will retire from the national
team one day. So, what’s happening to him now is very good for him.
“We’ve always had good keepers in
Nigeria right from time. We had some very good ones who didn’t get to his level
but Vincent has distinguished himself. We have several right now who have not
been discovered and I believe Vincent’s performances would serve as a boost for
them in their careers.”
Atlanta ’96 Olympic Games gold medallist Dosu
Joseph said consistency has been Enyeama’s trademark. “Congrats to
Vincent for this new feat; he’s been doing very well in the past 14 years. He’s
been to five Africa Cup of Nations and was adjudged the best most times. He was
also adjudged one of the best keepers at the first World Cup in Africa in 2010.
He’s been in France for several years and he’s done very well there too.
“He was top keeper for Nigeria for 13 years.
You can’t take that away from him, he can only get better. I doff my hat for
him,” the ex-Julius Berger keeper said.
He added that Enyeama’s professionalism on
the field of play placed him a notch higher than his fellow keepers.
“Vincent is calm, he organises his
defence very well; he’s a keeper that wants to win everything. Anytime he concedes
a goal, we see him nagging and shouting at his defenders. He’s always calm in
goal, calculative and concentrates throughout the game. That gives him the edge
over other keepers,” Dosu added.
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