The Super Eagles
captain needs no introduction to most Nigerians. Nwankwo Kanu has had a
very successful football career, starting on our shores. He has been
written off several times, only to bounce back in the most unexpected
way. The question is: what part does luck play in this?
Kanu and the fairy god mother
Good fortune has
certainly smiled on him throughout his career. That’s not to take away
from his achievements in any way but in football as in other things in
life, sometimes you need that little bit of luck. We know of other
great sportsmen who have not achieved half as much as him or have seen
a major tournament crown elude them – German international, Lothar
Matthäus never won the UEFA Champions League despite his many other
titles; Tennis legend Ivan Lendl won many Grand Slam titles and broke
many records during his amazing career, some which still stand today
and some only recently broken by either Pete Sampras or Roger Federer,
but he never won at Wimbledon. Yet Kanu is the only Premier League
player at this time to have won Olympic Gold, the Champions League,
UEFA Cup, Premier League and FA Cup. This is no mean feat! Perhaps he
might yet win the World Cup. We shall discuss this another time,
whether Kanu should represent Nigeria in South Africa.
Going back to his
good fortune: Kanu won the Champions League at Ajax and moved to Inter
Milan only to find out about a heart condition which was successfully
treated. Any other player might have been released from their contract
or become familiar with the bench but he went on to add to his CV with
the UEFA Cup. At the Olympics in ‘96, he was our Golden Boy,
spearheading the comeback against Ronaldinho’s Brazil. Arsenal came
next and Kanu often turned out to be the match winner. Nigerians grew
impatient with him as he slowly became the Gunners’ benchwarmer (at
£20,000 a week, I would gladly warm the bench with my bare hands.)
Again, he came away with a more robust CV. Please note that Arsenal
have not won the Premier League since. Perhaps Wenger should invite him
back for a few games in the hope that his luck will bring that elusive
trophy.
The career paths
Not a few were
surprised at his joining West Bromwich Albion (WBA), newly promoted to
the EPL and prime candidates for a relegation battle. They did not
disappoint. Followers of the EPL know that any club lying at the foot
of the table at Christmas definitely ends up in the lower division.
Well, WBA became the first team to avoid the drop. Mr. Good Luck, two
words as opposed to our acting president, then moved to Portsmouth FC,
became their top scorer that season and in the next, scored the winning
and only goal in the FA Cup win, Pompey having not won it for almost
eighty years. This also put them in Europe for the first time. Kanu did
it again over the weekend, scoring Pompey’s winning goal. He has barely
played all season. This is the man that everyone loves to debate on his
‘laziness’ on the pitch. With his club’s ongoing financial troubles,
many are wondering what will happen to Kanu now but I’m sure he’ll pull
a rabbit out of the hat. It won’t be the first time.
He’s also doing his bit to help others, establishing the Kanu Heart
Foundation to treat Africans with heart ailments. That is an indication
that he is aware of his responsibility to give back to others as he has
been given so much. I will borrow from de la Rochefauld: “nature
creates ability, luck provides it with opportunity.”
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