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‘Chinese League Saved My Career’ – Ighalo

Super Eagles striker, Odion Ighalo, disclosed the difficulties he was facing with English Premier League side Watford, after his prolonged goal drought which saw him move from a regular to a once-in-several games player. He revealed that if he had chosen to stay back at Watford instead of accepting the Chinese offer, his career may have been well over by now; He chose the Chinese side, and the player is very grateful that he made the right call when the time came. In 2017, Ighalo finished as one of the 5 top scorers in the Chinese Super League, and in this season the player already has his seventh goal down and his performance for the Chinese side Changchun Yatai has been far too good these past weeks.

Ighalo grew up in Ajegunle

Odion Ighalo was born in Lagos on the 16th of June, 1989. He grew up in Ajegunle, where he started his career as a young boy enthusiastic about football and as he grew to love the sport he grew also in skill and in his handling of the ball. In 2005/2006, Ighalo played for Prime, and in 2006/2007 he was on the books for Julius Berger FC until he was discovered by FIFA agent Marcelo Houseman who recommended him to Atta Aneke, after which the youngster was take on trial by Norway’s Lyn.

Ighalo is a Philanthropist

According to reports, Odion Ighalo gives a good part of his wages to charity for widows, children and other less privileged people in the nation. Ighalo takes pride in this religion, Christianity and he is very particular about people who cannot help themselves with basic needs. His passion for the less privileged drives him to want to help out in every way that he can, especially in Ajegunle where he grew up.

Ighalo has a stadium gate named after him

Ighalo is regarded as a very crucial part of Granada’s promotion to the Spanish La Liga in 2011. The player is a legend at Granada, and in appreciation the Spanish side named one of the four gates of Granada stadium named after him. Then teammates Diego Mainz, Roberto Fernandez and Allan Nyom also have their names on the three other gates.

Ighalo is boxing fan

Ighalo is a huge boxing fan. His love for the sport was pretty clear when he took out time to watch his first ever live boxing bout, where his favorite, Anthony Joshua, took out Charles Martin to win the IBF Heavyweight championship in 2016. Watch Ighalo’s 4-goal wonder for Changchun Yatai’s in their 5-2 away win at Guizhou Hengfeng in the Chinese Super League:

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This article was first published on 30th April 2018

achem

Achem Samuel is a writer and a musician, he is passionate about God and also an ardent fan of tech, sports and music.


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