I quit Eagles because Chukwu didn’t like me –Agali

In this exclusive interview with ex-Super Eagles’ striker, Victor Agali, the goal poacher spoke on his career, particularly, why he quit the national team prema­turely, his involvement in a fake Nigeria passport scandal and the current national team under the guidance of Coach Stephen Keshi among others. Excerpts! May we know how you started your career? I started my career from a Nigeria division two club, Nitel F.C in Lagos. It was there that somebody came around in search of a player, whose name I won’t mention. When he saw my performance, he called my coach and said; ‘I love this guy and I prefer him to the player I came in search of. That was how the whole thing started and offers began to come from Belgium, France, Germany and hosts of other European countries but I opted for France before I ended up in Germany. How did you break into the Nigeria National team? Well, it was an unexpected experience for me. Playing for Nigeria’s national team was really tough. I couldn’t imagine myself competing for a shirt with the likes of Finidi George, Garba Lawal, Nwankwo Kanu, Julius Aghahowa, Victor Ikpeba, Pius Ikedia and a host of others. I actually started my national team career at the U-23 level, where I played at the Olympic Games in Sydney in the year 2000. It was there that I showcased my talent under Coach Bonfere Jo. After that competition, I started receiving invitation letter to the national team and that was how I broke into the senior national team. Can you recall your most painful defeat at national team? All defeats are painful, but it pains more when you crash-out in the knockout stage of a competition. The most painful and frustrating defeat I could re­member was at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, where we were beaten by Chile with a wide margin of 4-0 before we eventually scored a consolatory goal and the game ended 4-1 in favour of the Chil­eans. We actually thought that we were good enough because of our performances in the group stage, but the Chileans were better. Tell us about your greatest goal as a striker My greatest goal was the one I scored for Nigeria against Liberia and that was in our quest for the Korea/Japan 2002 World Cup. I scored earlier in the game and we needed a second goal which to reduce the pressure mounted on us by the Liberians. All of a sud­den, a counter attack came from the midfield down to the flanks, and Finidi George passed the ball to me in the middle of the box, then I just tipped ball into the net. That goal sealed our ticket to the World Cup. Who was the toughest defender you played against in your career? I can never forget Lucio. He is a Brazilian. He played in the German League, for Bayern Leverkusen to be precise. We played against each other several times. He moved to Bayarn Mu­nich and I also moved to Schalke 04. He is a very strong guy with hard tackles. We’re friends and I loved playing against him. Despite the fact that you were the highest goal scorer in the Super Eagles’ qualifiers to the Korea/Japan 2002 World Cup, you were left out of the squad to the event by Coach Adegboye Onigbinde. What went wrong? I wasn’t dropped from the team. An issue occurred. Could you believe that at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, all expenses were fully paid by me but there was no refund, I pleaded but no one heard my cry. After playing German Cup final in the year 2002, the national team called me, without flight ticket and invitation letter to my club. I felt bad and I wasn’t the only one complaining of that issue back then. Same thing also happened to Finidi George who played all the qualifying games and was doing well for his club, despite that he was dropped due to lack of proper invitation letter. I think it is high time we eradicated such practice for the development of the game. Is it true that mafia existed in the Super Eagles in your time? Yes, I think mafia existed in the team. Let me tell you this, there are players who had stayed longer in the team, and they felt they were the big boys. It also happens in clubs which I think is bad, and it is still happening till date in our present Eagles. We can’t go higher with such at­titude. It would be a thing of joy if we work in unity. Years back at the 2004 AF­CON, you were sent packing with two other players in the Super Eagles camp what actu­ally went wrong? Yes, Yakubu Aiyegbeni, Celestine Babayaro and I were sent away from the team after breaking a camp curfew and that was after losing to Morocco in our first match of the competi­tion. We were called back but I decided not to go back because I was not treated well by Coach Christian Chukwu. Why were you treated badly by a man who listed you in his team? I didn’t know what I did wrong. I had always respected him but he didn’t just like me. Does that mean the team won’t go on? Besides, the team regained form and went on to reach the semi-final stage of that competition before they were knocked-out. You were once involved in a fake passport scandal, what really went wrong? That was the worst day in my life. It happened in Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, I was told that my Nigeria passport was a fake. It was crazy when the immigration officer told me you are under arrest. It hap­pened like a movie, but I don’t like to recall the experience be­cause it was my worst moment. It was a terrible day for me, but the issue has been resolved and my family and I have forgotten about it. What’s your take on the Super Eagles’ absence at this year’s AFCON? To me, the game of football has improved so much that the tag of ‘minor teams’ has been eradicated. We are currently the African champions no doubt, but if things like these don’t happen, it won’t add unique­ness to football. A team that lacks physical preparation can’t defeat any African team. We lost that game due to lack of preparation. We never played any friendly before the game against Congo and our admin­istrative procedure was bad. I think all these cost us the AF­CON ticket and it should serve as a lesson. Is Stephen Keshi the right coach for the Super Eagles of Nigeria? Keshi is a good coach, no doubt about that. But if one wants to make it in life, one must listen to advice. Lack of advice killed Keshi. Nigeria football has gone beyond build­ing team year by year. We have players that can turn things around in a tinkle of an eye, but he refused to call them into the team. For instance, if Ike Uche had been called earlier during the AFCON qualification series, we might have made it to the competition. Things can still be better if Keshi turns a new leave. Highly-rated coaches have come and coached this country and their records cannot be compared to Keshi’s in term of success. So to me, I don’t see the Eagles’ failure as Keshi’s fault. Presently, what are you into and what should your fans be expecting from you? I have something going on which I am not ready to disclose. It’s a slow process and I want to dedicate my time to it until it is fully mature for the whole world to know about it.