He is undoubtedly one of the most experienced players and one of the most recognisable faces in the Nigerian domestic league, having been playing in the elite division since 1996.
Victor Ezeji broke out as a teenager in 1996 with his native side, Sharks FC of Port Harcourt.
For 19 years, Ezeji has stood among his peers and been able to record many landmarks playing in the colours of other clubs, including Eagle Cement of Port Harcourt, now Dolphins; as well as CAF Champions League seasoned campaigners, Enyimba.
A Bachelor of Science degree holder in Accounting from the University of Port Harcourt, Ezeji has shown that football was his first love with his sparkling performances over the years.
He said: “Initially, I didn’t consider football as a career and was actually playing for fun until I was spotted and signed by Sharks FC of Port Harcourt after a grassroots competition as a teenager, and that changed everything.”
Apart from being a part of the generation that won Nigeria’s first CAF Champions League trophy with Enyimba in 2003, he reckoned that the best moment of his career was in 2004, when he won a domestic double, League and FA Cup (Federation Cup), with Dolphins and was crowned the best player of the FA Cup after scoring a wonderful goal and finishing the campaign with seven goals.
Ezeji is at the twilight of his career and is presently attached to his boyhood side, Sharks FC. However, he remains proud of his achievements over the years, as he charted his path from the grassroots to the top of Nigerian football.
“At 34 now, I think my being here still playing is just the grace of God upon my life, because most of the people I started with are no longer playing. In fact, most that even started after me have all dropped off. So it’s just the grace of God that has been keeping me because I’m not really a fantastic player. If I’m fantastic, I should be playing somewhere in Europe.
“I have been lucky that I have never had any serious injury; I overcame minor ones and I’m still pushing on,” he said.
Ezeji, however, gave kudos to the Nigerian domestic league having played for several clubs since 1996.
“I think it has been fantastic, because when I started playing in the league, there was keen interest so much that as early as 1pm the stadium was full with fans.
“It was real fun until the cable satellite came with the English Premier League (EPL) and other European leagues. That was the beginning of the distraction and our stadiums gradually became empty.
“But overall, it has been a fantastic experience for me because I have seen both the good and bad sides; and I’m still pushing.”
He ascribed his milestone as one-time highest paid player on the Nigerian local league even at a very tender age.
“I think it was a reward for hard work. I’ve built myself over the years and there is no scandal attached to me. I managed to go to school and I’m a little enlightened than most of my contemporaries. My sign-on fee then was N9 million, but the monthly salary was about N240,000.
“Frankly, somebody somehow was going to be the highest paid player in Nigerian league and that was my time,” said he.
Throughout his career, his only time abroad was with Tunisian Club Africain between 2007 and 2008, and so he knows what he was saying when he said: “If it’s all about football itself or the playing personnel, we are ahead of them; but in terms of admiration, they are further ahead.
“They are well-organised and things are done in a professional way. We are not yet playing professional football in Nigeria; rather we are just trying to catch up with countries like Tunisia.”
He was quick to pick the FA Cup final of 2006 as the highlight of his career.
“I would go back to the FA Cup we won in 2006 with Dolphins FC against Bendel Insurance. The game actually ended 2-2, but we won on penalties. But I can’t forget the fantastic goal I scored when I took the ball from the centre and meandered my way through all the Insurance defenders before slotting the ball into the net. That goal gave me the Most Valuable Player (MVP) as well as the top scorer of that year’s FA Cup. I think that was the high point for me.”
