May 15, (THEWILL) – As the 2021/2022 football calendar approaches its final lap, the fortunes of a handful of Nigerian footballers in Europe have improved with no fewer than five footballers in contention to lift a major European trophy by the end of the season. The fact that it is spread across the male and female national team players, on the one hand, and all of the trophies available in Europe, on the other, makes it a promising prospect for a truly rewarding season if they all come out triumphant in their respective finals.
At the very top of the set of players ready to lift an European trophy this season is Nigeria’s former Super Falcons’ captain and Barcelona Femeni striker Asisat Oshoala, who, with her team, has scaled through their third semi-finals in three years to reach their second UEFA Women’s Champions League final in two years and this time, as defending champions. Next, there is the Glasgow Rangers Super Eagles’ trio of Leon Balogun, Calvin Bassey and Joe Aribo, who have qualified for the final of the UEFA Europa League and lastly, the Super Eagles’ Cyriel Dessers, who was largely instrumental to seeing his on-loan side, Feyenoord, reach the final of the maiden edition of the UEFA Europa Conference League, their first-ever European final appearance in 20 years. These players have all contributed to the successes of their respective clubs so far and they are poised to continue to do so. THEWILL takes a look at how they made it to these finals, their opponents and what victory might be for their careers.
In the case of Oshoala, the striker has been at the heart of Barca’s continued domination of the female game at home in the Primera Ibedrola and on the continent, in the UWCL for more than two seasons now. Her goal-scoring prowess has been on display this season again such that even though she had been sidelined by lengthy injury spells on two occasions, she still leads the scoring charts in the free-scoring Barcelona squad with 20 goals.
In the Ibedrola, they have a fear-inducing haul of 157 goals across 29 matches, of which they are yet to draw or lose a single game, while conceding only 10. This comes to an average goal-scoring range of about 5 or more goals a match.
The 20 goals Oshoala netted put her ahead of teammates including the FIFA Best Female Footballer Alexia Putellas (18 goals), Lieke Martens (17), Jennifer Hermoso (16) and Claudia Pina (15). Yet, her pair of injury layoffs, which came while Barca were prosecuting their UWCL campaign did not help her goal frequency this season, even if her impact on the team was never in question for the times when she was fit to contribute as a part of the starting XI or as a substitute.
She opened her account in this year’s UWCL when, together with her defending champions’ teammates, Barca welcomed her former side Arsenal Ladies to the Estadio Johann Cruyff in October for a Group C, Round 1 fixture. The Super Falcons’ forward scored two minutes after the second half started to take Barca up 3-0, following first half goals from Mariona Caldentey and Putellas. Oshoala was substituted in the 71st minute with her side leading 3-0. The match finished 4-1 as Barca signalled their intentions to keep the high bar they had raised the previous season when they beat Chelsea 4-0 in the final that made Oshoala the first ever African to win the biggest prize in women’s European football. They followed that victory with an away win against leading Danish side HB Koge, where Oshoala featured for only 19 minutes and, though she did not score, she did enough to preserve their 2-0 advantage to the end. That same contribution was evident against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim at home, where she played for just over an hour as Barca triumphed 4-0.
After that third round fixture, injuries conspired to keep her away from the team’s progress in the League and through other rounds of the UWCL in Europe for two months. She was only able to return to the lineup at the semi-finals stage, where she was eased back into active football with a 17-minute appearance in the first leg of the Barca versus Wolfsburg semi-final in April.
The home game at Camp Nou, with a record setting attendance of almost 92,000 fans, finished with another Masterclass Barca display that began with an opener in as early as the third minute and did not let up until the 38th minute, why which time Barcelona was already four goals up with Aitana Bonmati, Caroline Graham Hansen, Hermoso and Putellas putting Wolfsburg to the sword.
A fitter Oshoala could have started this tie and added to the misery of the German ladies but the cautious technical bench thought it wise to not rush her recovery and risk another lengthy spell on the sidelines for the talented Nigerian. Oshoala was introduced for goal-scorer Hermoso in the 73rd minute before a Putellas penalty made it 5-1, and so it finished.
In the return fixture at the AOK Stadion, the fact that Barca accumulated five goals in the home tie was to their advantage as Wolfsburg put in a conservative and tight shift to stifle their free-scoring opponents and expose the uncharitable Barca defense. The leading German side scored two second half goals to narrow the average over both legs to 5-3 before the final whistle. Oshoala, still being introduced cautiously, was a 59th minute substitute, with Wolfsburg leading by a lone goal. Her 31-minute game time did not produce a goal but she had the defense and goalkeeper busy with the strength of her football and the consistent threat she posed every time Barca advanced with the ball towards their post. It was the first and only time she played a game, either starting or as a substitute, that Barca failed to score. But, they had done enough to reach the final, where they will meet another fantastic European female side Olympique Lyonnais on May 21 at the Allianz Stadium in Turin. A more fit Oshoala will likely star and continue to ink her name, and the prestige of the club, in the annals of Nigerian football history.
For the Rangers trio, history also beckons. A first European final since 2008 had appeared to be hanging by a thread for Balogun, Bassey and Aribo, when they lost the first leg of their Europa League semi-final to RB Leipzig at the Red Bull Arena. It was as though all the struggles of Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side to balance their local League performances, where they were defending champions but trailing arch-rivals Celtic, with strong displays in Europe’s second tier competition, was all in vain.
Celtic had edged ahead in the Scottish Premier League and were hell bent on not losing any ground to Gers. Their trophy consolation for the season was to make certain of a final berth in the Europa. Yet, after the incredible results obtained against a very determined Borussia Dortmund side, which they beat away 4-2 and drew against at home 2-2 and the strong comebacks in doubleheaders against FK Crvena Zvezda and Braga, their fleeting hope was in danger of being extinguished.
However, van Bronckhorst’s side dug deep into the tenacity that has become a feature of his side so far in Europe. Away against Zvezda, goalkeeper Allan McGregor performed creditably, aided by the incredible James Tavernier and the pair of Balogun and Bassey providing cover in defense. It may not have been Aribo’s best feature but, in the 68 minutes he played, he showed enough grit to see the team through the difficult Zvezda side. It was not the only time their strength of character helped to overcome an adverse situation in Europe as they did the same thing against Braga after overcoming an away first leg 1-nil deficit to scale over the Braga challenge with a hard-fought 3-1 win after extra time. The imperial Tavernier came up with a tidy brace and Kemar Roofe refused to be denied after his first goal was struck out after a VAR review. Aribo notched up two assists, Bassey was immense at the centre of defense and Balogun came in as a late substitute to hold to their lead.
It was the confidence of this form that saw them buoyed in their home second leg semi-final against Leipzig and it paid dividends. There were mixed fortunes for the Nigerian delegation in the game as Aribo was substituted due to a knock he suffered in the final minutes of the first half while Balogun came on as a substitute in the 59th minute but Bassey held his own in the defense throughout. All their contributions were important all the same as three Scottish side defeated the German club 3-1 for a 3-2 aggregate victory that ensured their progress to the Europa League final. They will contend for the trophy against Eintracht Frankfurt in Seville on May 18. Van Bronckhorst will be counting on his Super Eagles’ trio to continue their inspired displays and Tavernier to deliver goals and defend against goals as he has done in Scotland and in Europe.
Dessers also has a date with history after rediscovering his scoring boots, especially in Europe, with Feyenoord. With that rediscovery has come acclaim and record-setting. Currently, he has scored 10 goals in 11 matches to take Feyenoord to the final of the Europa Conference League. These 10 goals also shot him into Feyenoord’s record books, as no striker has ever scored that many for the Dutch side in any European competition. Ever. For a club boasting a historical pedigree of some of Europe’s excellent strikers as Pierre van Hooijdonk, who had the previous record of nine, Dirk Kuijt, Harry Bild, and Robin van Persie, it is extra significant what Dessers has accomplished.
The 27-year-old forward scored a brace against Ligue 1 side, Olympique Marseille, in the first leg of their Conference League semi-finals to help them reach the club’s first European final in two decades. His spectacular match-winning performance earned him the UEFA Conference League Player of the Week award to add to his growing accolades. His double made him the first player in the newly formed Conference League to score 10 goals.
Dessers is also the competition’s all-time leading scorer, having previously shared the lead with AS Roma’s Tammy Abraham, who has scored nine goals and both leading strikers will clash in the finals at the National Arena in Tirana, Albania. Dessers is favoured to win the Conference League Player of the Tournament at the end of the season. It will crown a glorious season as it will be deserving of the player, who also was voted Player of the Month for November and took him the prize for Goal of the month for the same month. All these could make Dessers one of the most sought-after players when the next transfer window opens in July.
However these European finals featuring these worthy Nigerians, what is most certain is that they have thoroughly deserved what accomplishments they have garnered for themselves and their teams. Now, it is left for them to write their names in gold by clinching the respective trophies and finish the 2021/2022 season with a flourish.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
