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1958David Okoroji Makes His Mark.......
World Cup 2010: Nigeria's "Birth Right"?
 
    
 

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Going Back in Time
  1958: David Okoroji Makes His Mark .......

 This continues a series of stories on Nigerian players who influenced the national game in Nigeria from the birth of the national team in 1949 to date. Each year (except the years when the national team failed to play) will be marked by a story on a key player. No player shall be covered more than once. Below is the story on David Okoroji denoting the  year 1958.

 

1958---David Okoroji’s talent was never in doubt. He was a talent defender who played fullback, central defense, and halfback. His arrival to the national team was a surprise because in the late 1940s and 1950s most of the internationals came from Lagos clubs that dominated Nigerian soccer at the time. This is similar to the modern day when most of Nigeria’s internationals are playing for professional clubs in Europe. Thus, many analysts of those days expected David’s career at little known Kaduna to count against him as only a handful of players came from the regions.

 

In spite of the long odds, David arrived from Kaduna and promptly made his debut against Gold Coast (now Ghana) in 1954. He played all game and was to do so in all of his nine appearances for the national team. Those nine appearances are few by modern standards but in those days Nigeria only played a few games each year and thus Okoroji’s six-year career with the national team is a much better barometer of the type of player that he was.

 

David’s play was often do-or-die and it is to his attitude that throughout his six-year career he lost only one game against the then dreaded Gold Coast and even then, the loss came during the twilight of his national career. He faced the Gold Coast six times and was resolute in all those appearances against a feared rival.

 
Below are the next 4 influential players that will be covered here:

1959 Dejo Fayemi
1960 Elkanah Onyeali
1961 John Onyeador
1962 Asuquo Ekpe Sr

 

 
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