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Al-Ahram Weekly 17 - 23 February 2000 Issue No. 469 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 17 - 23 February 2000 Issue No. 469
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Focus Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Kanu's year
Wherever he goes he is mobbed, more than any of his team-mates. At Lagos Airport he drew a frightening crush and the loudest cheers when Nigeria returned home from their Spanish training camp. For Nwankwo Kanu, recently selected the 1999 African Player of the Year, the attention is phenomenal. So, too, is the player who only three years ago underwent surgery for a heart defect which threatened not only his career but his life.The Arsenal striker carried Nigeria's hopes into the African Cup of Nations (ACN), and the pre-championship pressure was palpable. "The problem with our country is that they don't want defeat. They just want you to win under any circumstances," Kanu said in an interview just before the tournament kicked off. "It's even more difficult this time because we are playing at home and what they want to hear is only winning. Nothing else."
Kanu said his countrymen were waiting for the team to make up for their disappointing exit from the 1998 World Cup. "We were supposed to get to the quarter-finals, at least. So right now we have to do something for the country," he added. Nigeria lost in the final and Kanu failed to live up to his reputation throughout the championship. Still, his achievements are plenty. He led Nigeria's Olympic team to the gold medal in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. The same year he was chosen the African Player of the Year for the first time. Last year, he renewed his contract with Arsenal which will give him £28,000 a week.
Kanu recently took some time off to watch Arsenal play champions Manchester United in a vital English Premiership clash. He admitted he wished he were at Old Trafford playing the game, even though his first thoughts were with Nigeria. "I watched how we lost to Leicester (after a penalty shoot-out) in the FA cup replay. I played the first game at Highbury where we drew 0-0 but I had to leave for our training camp in Malaga in Spain to prepare for this [ACN] tournament. After the defeat, I couldn't eat. I was in low spirits and couldn't concentrate. But here [in Nigeria] I'm serving my fatherland."
