John Ogu is holding out for one last miracle (Pulse Interview)
Nigerian midfielder speaks to Pulse Sports about his career, life in Saudi Arabia and hopes for the future.
Despite all of John Ogu’s recognisable achievements in football, the midfielder feels his career didn’t reach the heights that complimented his talent and that has left him with pangs of discontent.
Football talent in Nigeria is a dime or dozen but only a small percentage of these talents get to play for the Super Eagles, share the pitch with some big names in world football and make a huge ton of money playing football. Ogu has done all these but he wanted more. He wanted to play in one of the top leagues in Europe, compete in the Champions League and get many more appearances for the Super Eagles.
“I did expect it but I wanted more,” Ogu told Pulse Sports when asked if he expected to achieve all he had when he started as a footballer in Lagos.
“I’m a guy that always wants to challenge myself for more. I feel like the leagues that I'm playing right now I was just not lucky to find myself in the leagues that I feel I should be in.
“But every day I learn things about life and I feel that if it doesn’t happen, this is what life has for me. I want more, but I am happy that I won titles with Hapoel Be'er Sheva, not just winning titles, I moved to the club when they haven’t won the league for the past 40 years.
“To be part of the boys that won the league three years in a row for the club is something that I'm proud of.
“And for my dream to come to reality representing my country, that’s something if I look in the mirror I'm always proud of myself as well.”
After a youth career in Lagos, Ogu moved around in Europe; from Slovenia to Portugal and Spain before a move to Israel where he found a home with Hapoel Be'er Sheva F.C. With Be'er Sheva, the midfielder was an influential player in the team that dominated the Israeli Premier League with three straight titles.
After five years with Be'er Sheva F.C, Ogu hoped to move up the ladder and play in one of the top five leagues in Europe, but after a six-month stay at home without a club, Saudi Arabia was his next destination.
“I still want more, I'm still healthy, I'm still strong. If I feel like it's time to be over, to stop playing, I will stop, but right now I'm still healthy,” the 32-year-old said.
“I still feel like I can play in one or two top leagues in the world, But if they come I'll take it, I'm not afraid of challenges. I’m looking forward to what life has for me, right now life has given me Saudi to do what I love to do best and I'm happy to be there.”
Now his 30s and a few years left in his career, Ogu is hoping for one last miracle. One last move that he thinks befits his talent and his former Super Eagles teammate Odion Ighalo is a reference for that. At the age of 30, Ighalo made the backasswards move from the Chinese Super League (CSL) to his boyhood club Manchester United.
Ogu has been inspired by that and hopes that he gets to play for his favourite club Arsenal. “If I watch the Ighalo move now to Manchester, I'm positive, I'm hopeful, I believe anything can happen in football,” Ogu said.
“If I find myself there (Arsenal). I will be grateful to God. If it doesn't happen I will still look at the mirror and beat my chest and be proud of myself anytime any day.”
Tough route
Ogu should be proud of himself. It’s a hard task making it out of Nigeria as a footballer and passing through a tough route.
“Football for me just came naturally and I'm happy that I have parents who were in support, especially my dad,” the midfielder said.
“My dad never had anything against me playing football. My mum as well too, but my mom wanted me to go to school, she was like when I'm done I can go play football and I had no problem with that.
“My football started on the street, it was on the street and I picked up from there. I gave everything, I was dedicated, I knew I loved football, I knew I was going to play football. I just feel like I was blessed with talent so why not. So it's been football. Since I realised it was going to be football, I never stopped.”
He didn’t play professional football in Nigeria before he moved to Slovenia. He then went on to play in the third division in Portugal, got what he thought was his breakthrough with a move to Spain to play for Almeria only for a knee injury to ruin that chance.
“I think the toughest place for me it's still Spain because I had the chance to play in La Liga,” he told Pulse Sports.
“I signed a contract with Almeria, when I went for my medical checkup I was told I had a problem with my knee and I had to go for surgery.
“I think Spain has been the toughest country that I played because every other country that I found myself in, they were okay because I was doing my thing and I was really happy player.”
Titles with Be'er Sheva
He moved back to Portugal where he played top division football and earned a call-up to the Super Eagles in 2013. But it wasn’t until he moved to Israel to play for Be'er Sheva F.C that Ogu enjoyed some consistency and success.
A year after joining Be'er Sheva F.C, he played a pivotal role as the club won their first league title in 40 years. Regarded as one of the top players in the league at that time, the Nigerian midfielder helped Be'er Sheva F.C to win three straight league titles and one domestic cup.
After five years with Be'er Sheva, the longest he has stayed with a club in his career, Ogu now plays in Saudi Arabia with Al-Adalah.
“I miss Israel, to be honest. I spent five years there, that is the highest number of years I have spent in a country, I miss the fans, I kiss the energy I get from the fans,” he said.
“I also miss the energy I get from the opposing fans because they always feel like I'm a threat.
“I miss Israel. Before I moved to Saudi, I had an offer, like a serious offer from a team there but I was already in Saudi so there was no way I could leave.”
Despite his affiliations with Be'er Sheva, Ogu has no problem returning to Israel to play for another club.
“Be'er Sheva fans knew the dream for me was to come back to play for the club but the club knows what they want,” he said.
“For me, I don't mind, I just feel like any team that wants me, I will go play for them.
“When a team wanted me there before the one that wanted me after I went to Saudi I spoke to the coach there, he's not there anymore. I asked him because of the respect I have for him ‘this club is coming for me what do you think?'
"That was a message to him that I was still available to come to the club but he said any team I go to that he is going to bless me, he is going to wish me well.
“Obviously that means that my services were no longer needed in Be'er Sheva. If any team comes I will go. I just miss the country, the supporters, their vibe, they push you to always give your best. When you don't do well, they always encourage to come up good in the next game, so I miss them a lot.”
Six months without a club
Life after Be'er Sheva wasn’t as smooth as Ogu expected it to be. With the expectations of moving to a more respected league, the midfielder spent six months in Lagos without a club.
“It was really tough to be honest, I was just happy to have family, friends and people that love me close to me,” he said.
“It got to a point where I just couldn't sleep, I couldn’t think well. My sleeping pattern was destroyed, It was really tough because football is the only thing that I do.
“Not doing what I love to do, just watching on TV really got to me. I'm happy it was a lesson learned that is why when I got the offer from Saudi, I didn’t want to waste time.”
“One thing about football is that you can easily wake up and say you want to play in England, Spain but you don't know what tomorrow can be,” he also said.
“Obviously, when I was in the Nations Cup, the plan was to move to Europe after I left Israel to move to a better league.
“This was my cry and everything but at the end of it all I had no team for six months because people that I trusted couldn’t come up with anything and I had no way to move.”
Chat with Gerard Piqué
It was during this inactive six months at home that Ogu had a memorable encounter with Spainish football legend Gerard Piqué who out of the blue just sent him an Instagram DM.
“I woke up one day and I got a message from Piqué from his handle on Instagram. To be honest with you, I was shocked. I thought maybe it was some hacker that had sent me a message,” the midfielder told Pulse Sports.
“So I was kinda shocked and worried in a way. I was with few of my friends so I had to speak with my friends, 'look at the guy that sent me a message, this is Piqué, are you sure the account is not hacked?
“I had to even post it out on Instagram Stories that 'hacked Piqué account sent me a message'. So it was kind of weird.”
“But then he got back to me again the next day. So it was basically that he, (Lionel) Messi, (Cesc) Fabregas own a team in some country that is close to Spain and they play in the third division of Spain, so he wanted me to go play for the team and everything,” Ogu continued.
“So we spoke for a while and he told me the plans of the club, the project and everything, so I was really looking forward to it.
“I didn't hear from them, maybe obviously they felt like I might cost a lot. It was just a discussion on coming to their team, it didn’t happen.”
Move to Saudi Arabia
Ogu accepted the deal to go to Saudi Arabia in a heartbeat. He had no choice after spending six months at home but he had to speak to his Super Eagles teammate Ahmed Musa who had been playing in the western Asian country.
“When I had a call from the agent that brought the deal, I think the next day I spoke to Musa. Obviously, Musa has been here for two seasons, they were the defending champion, he told me a lot about the league," Ogu said.
“So when I spoke to him he told me next things about the league and when I got in there I saw that so many players and managers from different teams are foreigners and that is to tell you how the league is going.
“They have big sides there. The team that won the Asian Champions League last is from Suadi Arabia, so it tells you how the league is.
“So when Musa told me about the league, I got there and started working and I'm happy to be there. I just needed to get back playing, Let me just get back my mojo because missing out for six months was hell. So I was happy I got there, I was happy that I was doing what I love to do best.”
His return to easy hasn’t been smooth. Ogu has been deployed in central defence while he gets his fitness back where he has played seven games. Al-Adalah are without a win in those seven games and are languishing in the bottom of the Saudi Professional League. Ogu, however, says he is enjoying playing in that position.
“I don't think it was difficult for me because as a defensive midfielder it is easy to cope and play in defence,” Ogu said.
“I played in the role under the coach with the Super Eagles, that really helped me. When I went to Saudi, I wasn't that fit because I missed out playing football for six months, you could tell from the way I train that I wasn't that fit and sharp.
“The manager called and felt like the best position to play right now until I get my fitness is at the back and I told him 'listen if you want me to play there I don't have a problem'.
“But he assured me that I will go back to my position. That is why I took the opportunity to do it because I feel like I can pass the ball, I can control the game from a defensive way and that's what I did and I was really enjoying it before the pandemic. As a football player, I am always ready for any position and I'm enjoying it.”
Super Eagles career
Ogu made his Super Eagles under late Stephen Keshi in March 2013 and later that year played all of Nigeria’s three games at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. He has made 25 appearances for the Super Eagles since then.
For the national team, Ogu was always a dependable squad player, especially under current coach Gernot Rohr. While he might have played every game, he always put in strong performances anytime he was on the pitch. His performance at Wembley in a three-man defence system against England just before the 2018 FIFA World Cup and his outing in Constantine against Algeria in a World Cup qualifier come to mind. He made the Super Eagles squads for 2018 FIFA World Cup and the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
“It was a great experience to be part of the team. To be part of the team was a blessing,” Ogu said.
“I was very happy to be there to experience this tournament with Nigeria., I was in the World cup with the squad and I learned from that tournament as well.
“Going to the Nations Cup with the talent we have in the team was a great experience for me. I was very happy with getting a minute even though it didn't go well for me. I'm happy, I'm grateful like I say all the time, I'm grateful, I'm happy all the time to always represent my country and grateful to God to always put on that shirt."
On his most-memorable time with the Super Eagles, Ogu said; “Every day, I don't think I have any particular time.
“Any time I'm in the team, every time I come to camp, every time we sit for lunch, breakfast dinner, every time we go for tactical time. They are all memorable for me.
I love to be around these boys, these guys are one big family. Every day for me in the Super Eagles, I can’t pick out one day and say this is the day. I'm blessed, to be honest.
“I know when I was growing up I was one of those boys that would go stand on the street and stand on the roadside and be watching ex-super eagles players when they play and today I'm there so I'm grateful to God to be there. So every day for me is a memory.”
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