Ex-international and a member of the All Stars team in Lagos, Taiwo Oloyede, has called on up-and-coming football players not to make the same mistakes he made during his playing days.
In a chat with TheNiche at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, last week, Oloyede urged the players to always think of the future and save for rainy days.
Taiwo Oloyede
“I regret not turning professional during my playing days, despite my skills and for playing for the national Under-17 team to the senior national team.
“Up-and-coming players should not make the same mistakes. They should tread with caution in whatever they are doing and should always think of their future,” he said.
Oloyede, who retired from active football in 2004 at the age of 40, said there is a lot of difference between his playing days and modern football.
“Then we were playing for passion and pride for the country. For instance, then I wanted to be like Pele of Brazil and other world stars.
“But now, football players are playing for their future; for their pockets and for their families,” he said.
Oloyede recalled how he saved his darling team then, Stationery Stores Football Club of Lagos from going on relegation in 1988.
“We needed to win five out of our remaining seven matches to escape relegation, and with the support of my other colleagues, I ensured that we achieved that aim. I scored the winning goals in three out of the five matches, and that saw us through the relegation scare,” he said.
Why did he retire in 2004?
“I was no longer a kid or growing younger. At 40, the soul was willing to continue playing, but the body was week.
“I then realised it was better to quit when the ovation was loudest, especially when my body could not carry me again; so I called it quits with active football,” he said.
Any regrets?
“Yes, during our playing days, many of us were not thinking of turning professional, and it is the aspiration of every player to turn professional. I regret not turning pro.
“In 1997, I went to Holland for trials, but lost out due to inexperience. In 1999, I tried again at the United Arab Emirates (UAE), but I was duped by my agent. I also lost some substantial amount of money. So, I gave up the idea because I was growing older.
“Another regret was my inability to be in the national Under-17 team that won the first FIFA/Kodak U-17 World Cup for Nigeria in China in 1985.
“I was in the team that won the African tournament and qualified for the World Cup, but I was dropped from the team due to injury. It was very painful,” he said.
Oloyede, who played alongside Super Eagles goalkeepers’ trainer, Ike Shorunmu; Ajibade Babalade, Dele Bob-Manuel, Collins Ebitimi, Samson Siasia, Mutiu Adepoju, Dotun Alatishe, Austin Eguavoen, the late Uche Okafor and Oladimeji Lawal, is now a certified coach with Favour Academy, with the aim of bringing up young and talented football players to limelight.
Oloyede’s fact file
• Won the FA Cup 10 times (four with Stores, three with Julius Berger Football Club, and two with Union Bank – all of Lagos)
• Won the LG Cup with the Super Eagles in Tunisia
• Won WAFU silver medal with the Flying Eagles in 1990
• Won ECOWAS Cup with the Super Eagles in 1991
• Played for the national Under-17, Under-20 team and the Super Eagles
• Played for the Flying Eagles between 1989 and 1991
• Played for the Super Eagles between 1996 to early 1998
• Played for the Super Eagles in the King Fahd Cup in Saudi Arabia
• Won bronze medal with Super Eagles at the Nations Cup held in Morocco in 1988