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Former Nigeria international Femi Opabunmi was forced to retire in 2006 after being touted as one of the most promising players of the Super Eagles team.
Former Super Eagles of Nigeria forward, Femi Opabunmi, recently narrated how he went from grace to grass.
Opabunmi, 39, played for boys’ clubs like Greater Tomorrow, Young Star, and Cocoa Research before moving to Europe, where he had stints with clubs like Grasshoppers Zürich (Switzerland), Hapoel Be'er Sheva in Israel, and Chamois Niortais in France.
However, he retired from football in 2006 due to serious glaucoma and is now totally blind in the right eye.
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16:02 - 19.10.2023
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I tried to kill myself - Ex-Super Eagles star Femi Opabunmi recalls how he went broke
Opabunmi has now opened up on the challenges he experienced as a professional footballer.
In an exclusive interview with Vanguard, Opabunmi introduced himself as one of the players who helped Nigeria win the African U-17 Championships in 2001
He was also featured for the Super Eagles at the 2002 FIFA World Cup playing against England in the last group stage match - becoming the 3rd youngest player to ever play in the World Cup finals after Norman Whiteside and Samuel Eto'o.
However, since then, he has not been called up again for the national team.
‘My own situation cost me a lot [of millions], not 30, 40! But I thank God I’m still alive..even though I went totally broke, even to see one naira is very difficult..it got to a stage I wanted to kill myself, but I appreciate God. God restored my eyes and I can see again in life - that’s a great achievement,’ an emotional Opabunmi admitted.
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Speaking on how his first experience with glaucoma, he said:
‘When I was playing in the second division in France [Niort FC], I was playing in a game, then I went up to head the ball and I couldn’t see anything. I saw like…clouds..I saw nothing. So we had to go to a specialist, I went to Romania, I went to UK, I travelled all the way to America.
‘When they gave me the result, I went back to the eye specialist in France. Then, when he saw the result, he said my case is complicated…..that I have to go for operation - that if I don’t operate my [eyes] within 10 days, I will be totally blind.’
‘You know as a small boy, I was jittery. I didn’t have a choice, I had to go for the operation. And after the operation, I was blind for 17 days, I could see nothing. It was a very bad moment then.’
Opabumi revealed that after two operations on his eye, he had to return to Nigeria to find a solution, but there was no solution.
‘When Oyinbo man says your case is complicated, you know that…it’s not medical, you have to pray [so I prayed a lot], but I thank God. God answers prayers,’ he submitted.
The 39-year-old former winger also opened up about his early retirement and why he no longer watches the Super Eagles of Nigeria matches.
He said: ‘You know the issue affected my game and I had to quit when I was still active. It’s a painful exit in football that when you’re still active, you quit the game.
'When you see your mates playing, you feel bad. That’s why I dont watch any Nigeria match, because I always cry, I feel bad But you know, anything that happens…God knows about it.’
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11:32 - 12.09.2024
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Opabunmi, who is now the Head Coach of a Football academy in Iwo, Osun State, Alamu Football Academy, revealed that he has a CAF-C coaching license - a tikitaka coaching certificate.
He also stated his desire to acquire a CAF-B license as it is a standard requirement to coach a team in the Nigerian premiership.
Even though Nigeria has been temporarily suspended from CAF coaching curses, Opabunmi stated that he is hopeful that the new NFF president Ibrahim Musa Gasau will rectify the situation.
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Femi Opabunmi Super Eagles Career
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In his early years as a professional footballer, Femi Opabunmi became Nigeria's key player at 2001 FIFA U-17 World Championship where he scored a hat-trick against Australia and won him the Silver Shoe as second highest goalscorer and also the Bronze Ball as third best player in the tournament.
He helped Nigeria to reach the final where they lost to France but he was a target for a number of elite clubs in Europe such as Manchester United, Lyon and Celta Vigo.
He scored 6 goals in 6 appearances for the Nigeria U-17 team and one goal in three appearances for the Super Eagles between 2001 to 2002.
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