26 Goals, 15 Assists In 17 Matches: The Emerging Of Emeka Chinonso In World Football
By Amaechi Agbo
He has been compared to the world youngest prolific striker in today, Erling Braut Håland of Borussia Dortmund, Germany who has scored 10 goals in Champions League this campaign. He has also been compared to the one of the world football icons, Zlatan Ibrahimović of AC Milan, Italy, Bestchoicesports.com.ng can report
Those who have watched him closer and know his abilities regard him as the new Nigeria Rasheedi Yekini.
But one fact remains, whatever comparison is being made, a global football star has arisen once more in Nigeria. His name is Emeka Chinonso.
The dangling lanky 6.9 ft Water FC of Abuja striker has scored a staggering 26 goals in 17 matches for the fastest growing club in Nigeria.
If you are wondering over the stats, one shocker for you is the fact that while scoring, he is never a selfish player. With 26 goals in his boot, Chinoso, also known as “Goal Alert” assisted 15 more in the course of those goals, thus having a hand in 41 goals in 17 matches. Isn’t that mouth-watering?
Chinonso scored a total of 9 goals as Water FC whitewashed Josa FC 17-1 recently in match played in Abuja. In other matches, he netted twice against Oya FC, same number of goals he recorded against Mopol FC.
Twice Chinoso found the back of the net in Water FC’s wins against Saki FC, SiaOne FC, and a hat-trick in 7-2 demolition of Bell FC, among others.
At the national level, Chinoso played an instrumental role in Nigeria’s Flying Eagles silver medal win at the 2019 Africa Games in Rabat, Morocco.
One of his remarkable goals from three he scored in the Games was the 89th minute strike against host nation Morocco in the quarter-final which gave the Nigeria U-20 team the edge to reach the semi-final at the expense of the host country.
He was brought in at the 85th minute with the game at 2-1 in favour of Morocco but he made a great impact in the 89th minute with a collection of a through ball from the flank and his quick turn sent his markers on the wrong side before he slotted in behind the hapless Moroccan young goalkeeper.
From that moment, he became the star man of the national team and helped them win silver at the end of the Games.
He was part of Nigeria Flying Eagles team to the U-20 FIFA World Cup in Poland but his chances never came as he was beleaguered with injury which he picked up during training. The injury made it difficult for him to play a single match as the team crashed out at the round of 16 following a 2-1 loss to fellow Africans, Senegal.
The Flying Eagles striker disclosed recently that he is not afraid of playing in Europe. Stressing that he has worked hard to reach the stage he is at the moment but added that he is still learning the game.
In an interview with Bestchoicesports.com.ng, the Flying Eagles attacker spoke of his intention to play for the best clubs in Europe but noted that he was not in a hurry to move out of the country.
“I thank God for He has been faithful to me and my teammates. I also appreciate our chairman and father in the Water FC, Makànjuola Nureni. He made everything easy for us and we can only appreciate him with our performances.
“I have passion for football and scoring goals delight me. But I am not a selfish player. People call me Zlatan due to my physique and because we also play the same role on the field, he bangs goal anytime. And he is an icon in the game.
“European defenders are tactically very good and for me to meet up with them, challenge and score against them, I need to work very hard which I’m doing right now, I believe in hard work and prayers to take me to stardom.
“I am trusting God for improvement in my career. I want to play for the best clubs in the world but I am not in a rush to move out of the country yet,” he said.