Nigeria is blessed with a lot of talented sportspersons home and abroad. From boxing to football and athletics, the West African nation is never found wanting of sports stars.
Over the weekend, NRTC monitored some sports personalities who impressed and put smiles on our faces. In no particular order, this piece takes a look at some of these darlings.
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Israel Adesanya
Israel Adesanya reclaimed the UFC middleweight title from Alex Pereira in the main event of UFC 287 on Sunday.
The Nigerian-NewZealander claimed the victory against Pereira at the FTX Arena in Miami, Florida.
The knockout was a shocking and instant one as Pereira was initially on the offensive. Perreira was releasing some body hooks and a knee to the ribs before Israel Adesanya, the challenger, threw a right hook out of nowhere.
Catching the Brazilian Mixed Martial Artist unawares, Pereira froze as ‘The Last Stylebender’ landed another hook to knock out the holder. He was left out cold after the fist.
Although based in New Zealand, Adesanya has not been ashamed to always identify with his Nigerian roots. His resilience and never-say-die attitude has been a source of inspiration to many youths back home.
Chuba Akpom
One of the most precious football talents in Europe, Akpom once again demonstrated why he’s the Championship top scorer this season.
He scored from the spot for Middlesbrough on Friday against the now promoted Burnley for his 26th goal of the league season.
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His manager Michael Carrick cannot get enough of the former Arsenal striker and now they are more than optimistic than ever of sealing promotion via the playoffs.
Akpom’s goals have been a major reason why Boro are the second highest scoring team in the Championship so far.
Banging in the goals week in, week out, we can only hope for more successful games and seasons in the future for the 27-year-old who, in September 2019, confirmed that he intended to represent Nigeria at international level.
Josh Maja
Joshua Orisunmibare Maja, popularly known as Josh Maja is one of the most impressive players in Europe this season.
The 24-year-old scored for Ligue 2 side Bordeaux in a comprehensive 2-0 win over Bastia. This has brought his total number of goals to 13 in 30 matches. He has assisted a further five goals for his teammates.
Being the most influential player of the Bordeaux set up, Maja has been at the forefront of the team’s push for promotion to the Ligue 1.
They currently sit second on the table with 56 points, five points behind table toppers, Le Havre.
Cyriel Dessers
Cyriel Dessers helped Italian side Cremonese record a massive 3-2 away win against Sampdoria.
The home side were leading 2-1 before the Super Eagles striker assisted Georgian centre-back Luka Lochoshvili for the equalizer in the 85th minute.
Even though both teams seemed to be settling for a share of the spoils, the late drama was not over as another defender Leonardo Sernicola netted the winner for Dessers’ team.
28-year-old Dessers has scored five league goals this term. With nine game of this Serie A season to go, Cremonese occupy 19th spot on the table with 16 points.
Samuel Chukwueze
Samuel Chukwueze took centre stage in the La Liga fixture between Real Madrid and Villarreal over the weekend.
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We have always known how talented the player is especially when he announced himself to the world during the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile. He, along with the likes of Victor Osimhen and Kelechi Nwakali helped the Golden Eaglets of Nigeria clinch that title.
His trickery, pace and dribbling abilities are a menace to any defence and he’s always turned up against the ‘big boys’ in La Liga ever since joining the Yellow Submarine senior team in 2017.
Described as the ‘Nigerian Robben,’ Chukwueze has been criticised several times for not turning up for the Super Eagles as much as he does Villarreal.
His brace in his team’s 3-2 win against Madrid on Saturday – especially his second goal which was a curling shot from outside the box – reminds the world of the world class qualities the 23-year-old possesses.
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