by Jerry Okugbe
“I am a young goalkeeper and I feel more prepared to be the Super Eagles number 1. I am ready. I feel ready to take the Super Eagles’ top goalkeeping spot, now I’m in a top league like the Eredivisie with Sparta Rotterdam. I’ll work hard on myself. I can’t wait.” Maduka told Omasports after sealing a move to the Dutch league.
The move to Sparta Rotterdam in the summer can be seen as a step in the right direction for him to gain valuable experience at a high level which will further aid his development. He started the season as an understudy but he has gone on to usurp the first choice after given a chance.
That chance came in a league cup encounter in late October away at ADO Den Haag. Okoye impressed on the night. He made four vital saves to keep his team a goal ahead for much of the game until he was undone at the last minute. Sparta would crash out on penalties but he had done enough to keep his place for the following league game.
He conceded four in his first Eredivisie match but was hardly to blame for any of the goals. He bounced back in the next one by keeping a clean sheet, his side’s first for the season in just his third game as they secured all three points against Waalwijk to also earn a first win of the campaign.
Okoye was one of the few bright spots for Nigeria from October’s lackluster friendlies against Algeria and Tunisia. He saw the duration of both games and was convincing, to say the least.
Fresh doubts were raised about his goalkeeping ability and level of experience to be the national team’s first-choice goalkeeper going forward after he conceded four as the Super Eagles collapsed to throw away a 4-0 goal lead to draw 4-4 against Sierra Leone in the 2021 AFCON qualifiers. setbacks are part of the game and it can help shape what’s in front.
Okoye can only take it in his stride, learn from the experience, and grow from there.
His clean sheet in the second leg in Freetown did little to quash doubts over his goalkeeping abilities but that is understandable given it was a drab 0-0 encounter where he barely had anything to do.
Far bigger tests and challenges await down the line but for a 21-years old who shows so much composure, his level-headed approach suggests he will do what is necessary – rise above the challenges and prove his worth. Maduka Okoye is on track to do so.