Vincent Enyeama

Vincent Enyeama (born 29 August 1982) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. He was also a member of the Nigerian national team from 2002 until October 2015, serving as its captain from 2013 until his retirement from international football. With 101 caps, he is Nigeria's most capped player of all time.

Vincent Enyeama Mazigo
Enyeama playing for Lille in 2014
Personal information
Full name Vincent Enyeama
Date of birth (1982-08-29) 29 August 1982
Place of birth Akwa Ibom, Nigeria
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Playing position(s) Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2001 Ibom Stars 56 (1)
2001–2004 Enyimba 100 (10)
2004–2005 Iwuanyanwu Nationale 36 (0)
2005–2007 Bnei Yehuda 56 (0)
2007–2011 Hapoel Tel Aviv 113 (9)
2011–2018 Lille 118 (0)
2012–2013 → Maccabi Tel Aviv (loan) 27 (0)
National team‡
2002–2015 Nigeria 101 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 25 September 2016
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16 June 2015

Club career

Enyimba International

During his spell with Enyimba International F.C., he won the CAF Champions League twice, with one noteworthy distinction: He was always substituted before penalty shootouts. "I don't know why I was substituted before penalties, but it worked," he said in an interview in 2006. "In Israel I stopped many penalties and now everyone knows that I can handle penalties."[2]

Bnei Yehuda

After three seasons with Enyimba International F.C. and one with Iwuanyanwu Nationale (now known as Heartland F.C.), Enyeama moved to small Israeli club Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv. In his first season, the team qualified for the final of the Israel State Cup and, having finished fourth in the Israeli Premier League, for the 2006 UEFA Cup competition as well.

Hapoel Tel Aviv

Enyeama signed for Hapoel Tel Aviv in 2007. Hapoel endured a poor season in 2007/2008, but Enyeama helped the team avoid relegation and reach the state cup final.

During the 2008–09 season, Enyeama became Hapoel's penalty kicker, won the "Player of The Year" award, and just missed leading Hapoel to the league title.

In the 2009–10 season, Hapoel won the league and cup double, with Enyeama featuring prominently. He scored a goal in the Cup Final, but missed a penalty in the last fixture of the year, which Hapoel eventually won by scoring in the 92nd minute, thereby capturing the league title.

On 18 August 2010, he scored his first goal of the 2010–11 season with a penalty against Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League qualifiers.

Enyeama played well on the Champions League Group Stage, especially against Lyon and Schalke 04. Hapoel also won the Israeli cup again.

Lille

In June 2011 Enyeama moved to French side Lille for an undisclosed fee on a three-year contract. He made his debut on 18 October 2011 against Inter Milan in the 2012 UEFA Champions League group stage, where Inter managed a 1–0 victory.

In August 2012 Enyeama agreed a one-year loan deal with Maccabi Tel Aviv and was presented to the media by Maccabi's Sports Director Jordi Cruyff at 8 August 2012. He appeared in 27 Israeli Premier League fixtures and Maccabi went on to win the championship title.

During the 2013–14 Ligue 1 season, club manager René Girard picked Enyeama as his first-choice goalkeeper ahead of Steeve Elana, who had previously been the first-choice goalkeeper under Rudi Garcia. With the help of his two centre-backs, Marko Baša and Simon Kjær, Enyeama kept 11 consecutive clean sheets in Ligue 1 matches during the first half of the season. On 8 December 2013, Enyeama finally conceded a goal after playing 1,062 minutes of Ligue 1 football in an away match against Bordeaux, during which he was beaten by Landry N'Guémo's deflected strike in the 27th minute. He thus came within 114 minutes of equalling Gaëtan Huard's Ligue 1 goalkeeping record, set in 1993, of playing 1,176 minutes without conceding a goal.

In the 2017–18 season Enyeama did not make a league appearance having been left out of the first team due to "a disagreement between the player and the club's management".[3] He joined the first team's pre-season training in July 2018.[4]

He was released by mutual consent on 31 August 2018.[5] In January 2019 he said he was keen to play again,[6] and in July 2019 he went on trial with French club Dijon.[7] Despite not being offered a contract by Dijon he expressed gratitude to the club.[8]

International career

After making his debut for the Nigeria national football team against Kenya in May 2002,[9] Enyeama was selected for the 2002 FIFA World Cup as a cover for Ike Shorunmu. He made his competitive debut in that tournament, keeping a clean sheet against England in the third group match. Since the retirement of Shorunmu, he has been the first-choice goalkeeper for the national team, helping the Super Eagles to third-place finishes in the 2004, 2006, 2010 Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, and captaining the team to victory of in the 2013 edition. He has also participated in the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups, and the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup.[9]

In the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations, Enyeama stopped three kicks in the quarter-final penalty shootout against Tunisia, but could not prevent a loss to Ivory Coast in the semi-final. In the 2010 tournament, he was again Nigeria's shootout hero at the quarter-final stage, saving from Zambia's Thomas Nyrienda and scoring the winning kick himself.[10]

Enyeama made his second FIFA World Cup appearance in the 2010 tournament in South Africa. He was named man of the match in Nigeria's first game of the tournament, a defiant display that restricted Argentina to a 1–0 win. Enyeama, who was playing his 56th international for the Super Eagles, made six fine saves against the two-time world champions, four of them from Lionel Messi. Argentine coach Diego Maradona praised him as the reason Messi was not able to score a goal. Enyeama was also awarded man of the match in the team's next fixture, a 2–1 loss to Greece, but was at fault for Vasilis Torosidis' winning goal.[11]

At the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, Enyeama deputised for regular captain Joseph Yobo, who stayed on the bench for most of the competition.[9] On 10 February, Enyeama led Nigeria to its third continental victory, keeping a clean sheet in a 1–0 defeat of Burkina Faso in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations Final. He was named to the team of the tournament as first choice goalkeeper, conceding only four goals in six matches.[12]

In June 2014, Enyeama was named in Nigeria's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.[13] In the Super Eagles' first fixture, he kept the second FIFA World Cup clean sheet of his career as Nigeria drew 0–0 with Iran.[14] He subsequently recorded a second consecutive shutout in the fixture against Bosnia and Herzegovina, a 1–0 win which gave Nigeria its first win at the tournament since the 1998 edition.[15] He conceded three goals in the last match of the first round against Argentina, a game which ended in a 3–2 defeat for Nigeria, placing them second in the group and thus qualifying them for the second round for the first time in 16 years.[16]

On 26 March 2015, Enyeama won his 100th cap for Nigeria in a 1–0 loss to Uganda. He retired from international football on 8 October 2015 but later reinstated himself in October 2017.[17]

Personal life

A Christian from Ika Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Enyeama is married and a father of three.[18] In 2004, he was involved in a car accident in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State southern Nigeria, in which two motorcycle passengers were killed. The driver of the car in which Enyeama was travelling was left in critical condition. Despite the severity of the accident, Enyeama suffered only bruises after the car somersaulted twice as it swerved to avoid the motorbike.[19]

Honours

Club

Enyimba International F.C.

Hapoel Tel-Aviv

Maccabi Tel-Aviv

International

Nigeria

Individual

References
  1. "Vincent Enyeama". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman.
  2. "Afrofootball - Nigeria - Vincent Enyeama". www.afrofootball.com. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  3. "Lille coach explains exactly why Vincent Enyeama has been axed". Goal. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  4. "Vincent Enyeama drops hint on LOSC Lille future". Kwesé ESPN. 10 July 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  5. "Vincent Enyeama: Lille release goalkeeper by mutual consent". BBC Sport. 31 August 2018.
  6. "Vincent Enyeama: Nigeria keeper wants to play again". BBC Sport. 11 January 2019.
  7. "Nigerian Vincent Enyeama aims to return after two years out". BBC Sport. 26 July 2019.
  8. "Vincent Enyeama: Former Nigeria goalkeeper 'grateful' for Dijon chance". BBC Sport. 31 July 2019.
  9. "Vincent Enyeama". FIFA. Archived from the original on 29 June 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  10. Dave Lee (25 January 2010). "Zambia 0–0 Nigeria (Nigeria win 5–4 on penalties)". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 26 January 2010. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
  11. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2010/matches/match_19/default.stm
  12. "2013 Afcon Team of the Tournament". Kick Off. 11 February 2013. Archived from the original on 14 February 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  13. Oluwashina Okeleji (3 June 2014). "World Cup 2014: Nosa Igiebor cut from Nigeria squad". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 29 June 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  14. "Iran 0-0 Nigeria". BBC Sport. 16 June 2014. Archived from the original on 29 June 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  15. "Nigeria 1-0 Bosnia-Herce". BBC Sport. 22 June 2014. Archived from the original on 22 June 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
  16. Saj Chowdhury (25 June 2014). "Nigeria 2-3 Argentina". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 2 July 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
  17. "Uganda spoil Enyeama's 100th cap for Nigeria". BBC. 26 March 2015.
  18. Oluwashina Okeleji (17 November 2013). "Nigeria v Ethiopia: We can win World Cup - Victor Enyeama". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 30 June 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  19. "Enyeama escapes fatal crash". BBC News. 19 October 2004. Archived from the original on 21 June 2010. Retrieved 17 June 2010.
  20. PALMARÈS
  21. "Les dessous du Prix Marc-Vivien Foé 2014" (in French). RFI.fr. 12 May 2014.
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