The Netherlands 2005 U-20 World Cup silver medalist, Daniel Akpeyi, in this interview with ’TANA AIYEJINA talks on why he has played second fiddle as a goalkeeper from the junior to senior national teams and more
You moved to Warri Wolves from Heartland in the Nigerian topflight league this season. Are you enjoying your time at the club?
Sure I am. It wasn’t an easy decision to take but so far it has been good. I have been able to pick up the challenge and somehow the ground has been level for me.
At Heartland, you were first choice but you have found it difficult making the first team at Wolves despite being a keeper with the national team…
I played second fiddle during the first round of the league. You have good goalkeepers in the club, so you have to fight for a place in the team. So far so good, I have been playing in the second round. Though it has not been easy, I have been in the post for games in the second round. Let’s see how it goes from there.
Warri fans are very passionate and vociferous. Have you been under pressure from the fans since you started playing?
It’s a normal thing in Nigeria for fans to jeer you and sometimes cheer you up. It’s just the mentality of Nigerians; I don’t know what they are thinking about. Maybe if the players are about losing a game or not playing well, that’s when the pressure is high. It’s a normal thing in Nigeria for fans to sometimes bite you where it hurts. I think it’s part of their own way to try to make you get a result. It’s been everywhere and I have been facing it like that. The Warri fans are not different.
Goalkeeping is usually seen as a very difficult position in football. Was it the role you actually wanted to play?
Somehow, I would say it was by accident I found myself in goal because I never intended to be a goalkeeper initially. But somehow, I found myself being a goalkeeper today. I think it’s the right position for me. In the days when we used to play street football, people would say, ‘You are better in this area because of your height.’ You know as a tall person, they said I will be good in goal. Somehow, it became a tradition. If we gathered to play, they always pushed me to the post and I found out that I started picking up from there. Somehow, I fell in love with it and that is what I want to keep doing.
Your first international tournament was at the 2005 FIFA U-20 World Cup in The Netherlands. How was the experience like even though the coaches preferred Ambrose Vanzekin as first choice in goal?
It was awesome. Then, they made us believe that we, who didn’t have people in the board (of the NFF), would not make the national team. But it was a great experience for me because I happened to meet foreign counterparts in the game and I learnt a lot from them. I gained a lot of experience; some things we lacked in Nigeria, I found them there. I think that has made me a better goalkeeper today, though I am still growing.
You lost the final of that U-20 World Cup to a Lionel Messi-inspired Argentine side. What was the mood in camp?
It was disappointing; we felt bad because having reached the final, we were actually looking at winning the trophy but we played with a more experienced side. We had to learn from that.
You were in coach Samson Siasia’s initial 22-man squad for the U-23 team for the Olympic Games in Beijing three years later but again you didn’t play any game. Do you think the first choice, Vanzekin, was better?
The keeper in goal was doing well and there is a rule in football that says only one keeper can be in the post for a particular game. And once the keeper there is doing well, it’s always difficult to make a change, just like it’s happening in the Super Eagles at the moment. You can’t just pull out (Vincent) Enyeama and put him on the bench. That can happen in a friendly game but not in a major tournament. Except probably if he is injured or something else happens. In Beijing, someone was there and was doing well, but it didn’t mean that he was better than those of us on the bench. But he had the chance to be in the post and he was doing well. So, he had to remain there. It happens in club sides too sometimes.
Argentina beat Nigeria again in the football final of the Olympics in Bejing, with Messi inspiring the Argentines to a gold medal finish. Would you say the team, made up mostly of players from the 2005 U-20 World Cup, didn’t learn from their mistakes?
It’s not because we didn’t learn enough. Mistakes lead to goals in a game. One or two mistakes led to that goal and they capitalised on it to score. It was another sad moment for us again at the Olympics.
The likes of Mikel Obi, Taye Taiwo, Chinedu Obasi and some of your other teammates in 2005 have moved on to play for big clubs in Europe but you are still playing in the local league…
There is an adage that says 20 friends cannot be together for 20 years. Our destinies are different and we are running different races. They are field players and it’s usually easy for field players to make it abroad than goalkeepers. I am not saying that is an excuse for me to still be playing in the domestic league but I think they had their opportunities and they are using them well. Sometimes you feel bad, because everyone aspires to play abroad, especially those of us in the domestic league but we can’t force it, we can only wait for the chance to come. We are still hoping and praying that the chance will still come. Though they have been ahead, I believe that we can still catch up when that right time comes.
At the 2014 CHAN in South Africa, you were second choice to a not too fit Chigozie Agbim despite calls in the media to make you first choice. How did you feel having to sit on the bench again in an international tournament, without playing a single match?
I didn’t go there to become second choice; I wanted to play. But I am not the coach, who decides who plays or not. Whatever happened that I wasn’t in the post was due to technical reasons, which is the responsibility of the coach. All the players really wanted to play but I will keep fighting. That is why I am still there.
How did you feel when Coach Stephen Keshi mentioned you in his 30-man provisional squad for the 2014 World Cup?
It’s every Nigerian footballer’s dream to wear the green and white jersey and play for his country. It was a thing of joy when my name was mentioned because there was a lot of criticism, that I was only playing second fiddle anytime I was invited. But the coach believes in me, he believes that I can compete with the people there because he has watched me play. I really appreciate it; he has given me this chance so far to be part of his squad. I was short of words when my name was mentioned. Though I dreamt of being at the World Cup as well but for some reasons, I didn’t make the final list. But I think I learnt a lot from the camp.
The Eagles lost to France in the second round in Brazil. Do you think the team could have done better?
I think we gave our best but probably it wasn’t good enough. They (French) took the advantage and used it judiciously. I think we learn from every game and I am sure we have learnt lessons after that match. We just have to move on from there. If a mistake didn’t occur, I don’t think we would lose. I know the Big Boss (Keshi) would be working on plans to come up with a better Super Eagles.
In the national team, there is Enyeama, Austin Ejide and Agbim before you. Do you think you can still get the chance to become first choice keeper in the national team?
Vincent (Enyeama) was not the first choice keeper at a point. As a matter of fact, he was someone like me; sometimes they called him, sometimes they dropped him. Sometimes he was even third or fourth choice but he is the number one today. All it takes is hard work, consistency and focus. I think that is what I am doing. So, I am not giving up yet.
What are the challenges of a typical Nigerian goalkeeper?
Consistency is one of our challenges. From my experience in the various clubs I have played, I can tell that when a goalkeeper does well in four or five straight games and makes a little mistake in the next game, they take him off. Before he gets his chance again, he has to go back and fight. We know that the other keepers are not bad but if you are not consistent in the post, it’s a big challenge because no matter how bad you are, you become better with the more games you play, except you are someone that is not focused. So, that is one of our challenges as keepers. I usually use myself as an example. The fact that I have been laid off the post to be on the bench doesn’t make me a bad keeper because I keep working better than the person in there. I keep working for the time that I will return to the posts.
Have you had any trying times as a keeper?
Yes. There have been a lot of such times but that has made me a better keeper today. Every trying time that comes, I learn from it and it makes me better. I am the kind of person that doesn’t give up. I would say because the coach is not using me, I lose my head, because I believe that there is somewhere I am going to. The trying time is the time I need to work harder and it makes me a better keeper.
Is it true that clubs use juju and spiritual means in Nigeria and in Africa during matches?
I have seen a lot of clubs do that. In our domestic league, they do it too because that is what they believe in. But I have also seen them fail woefully because juju or whatever don’t play football. Even for us that pray a lot, God doesn’t stand in the post for you; He doesn’t play the football for you. You have to do that yourself. If you don’t work, prayers don’t score goals. We all need a little bit of luck. In everything, you still have to commit God to it, because He is the master of all. So, those things never work. I have seen a lot of clubs do it but they never won the continental trophies. Some of them were even relegated. One thing these clubs should get their mind on is how to work on the players they have to be able to get results.
What do you do before going into the pitch on match days?
I meditate on the game. It’s a normal thing that you have to rest more on that day. Basically I meditate on the game more and always assume victory for myself.
Which striker will you say have given you the toughest time?
We have great strikers in Nigeria. The major thing is trying to convert the chances and this is the difference between the strikers. On most occasions, people like Gbolahan Salami, Kabiru Umar, Abubakar Babale and Ufon Udoh are strikers you need to dread in the domestic league. They think fast on the ball and they are very intelligent with the ball. But they have their flaws too because sometimes, they lose glaring chances. So, the difference is how you convert your chances but these names I have mentioned are fantastic strikers.
Why do you think our keepers find it difficult to play in Europe?
I don’t think it’s because we don’t have the keepers to do the job over there. The goalkeeping positions always have about three keepers fighting for places. Most of the countries in Europe tend to play their local keepers in that position unlike the field players, where there are about 25 positions with four or five foreign players allowed. It’s easier for them to look for players in those positions and manage what they have. It’s only clubs that feel they need a high-quality goalkeeper that go for foreigners. It’s not because we are not technically sound in the goalkeeping department but because most of the clubs want to use their local keepers.
What are your best and worst moments?
My best time is having to keep a clean sheet in away games while my worst is conceding a cheap goal that will eventually make my team to lose.
What is your advice to young Nigerian goalkeepers?
They need to be focused, know their dreams and follow them. They shouldn’t lose concentration; they must keep working hard. Everybody believes that there is one godfather somewhere that can take you up there. There can be godfathers, but if you are not focused and hardworking, the godfathers will even get frustrated and lay you aside. They shouldn’t always expect that godfathers can get them there; their hard work can also get them there.
If you were not a footballer what would you have been?
I would have been a musician. I would have been into gospel music because I am a born again Christian.
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