At a stage in his active days as a football player, he was regarded as a rugged defender that sent fears down the spine of attackers.
Ex-international, Tajudeen Disu, has really contributed his quota to the development of sports in the country, especially football.
Recounting the experience in his playing days, the member of Nigeria’s trail-blazing Under-20 squad to Mexico ’83 World Youth Championship (WYC) believes that football administrators in Nigeria need to do more for the development of football in the country.
According to him, players in the national teams then were able to succeed because of their patriotism.
He said: “We were destined to succeed then because we were always happy to represent the country and wear the national colours.
“The reverse is the case now, despite that there is money to be thrown here and there for the players and officials.
“I’m not begrudging them because it is their time. In our time, there was no money to be splashed on us.”
By and large, he confessed that he has paid his dues in the country’s football with little or no regrets.
He said: “One of my most memorable moments with the national teams was when, for the first time, the Flying Eagles got Nigeria qualified for any FIFA-organised tournament in 1983 when we defeated Guinea 2-0 at the main bowl of the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, after losing 2-1 in Conakry.
“Another was when we beat Cote d’Ivoire 2-0 also at the same arena. The first leg match had ended 2-2 in Abidjan. That was the first time the Flying Eagles became African Champions.
“I also remember vividly our 1985 World Cup qualifier against Liberia in Monrovia. We won the match 1-0 with the goal scored by Clement Temile. The last but not the least was when we beat Russia 1-0 at the JVC World Cup in Mexico in 1983.”
He was, however, quick to recall that the defeat of Nigeria in the hands of Brazil in Mexico 1983 was a bitter pill to swallow till date.
“We lost that match 3-0. It was the worst defeat for the team. The three goals were all scored in the first half; one through a penalty kick and the other two through free kicks.
“We had a good team. We played well, but somewhere along the line, we failed to put things together against a team that paraded Dunga, Bebeto and Romario.
“Poor organisations from our administrators contributed to our defeat because our kits for the tournament arrived late; just before our match against Russia which we won 1-0,” said he.
The former Abiola Babes player also recalled how the club lost in the final of the FA Cup to Leventis United, and how his club won the FA Cup in 1985 and 1987 before he travelled out of the country.
In all, he played in four FA Cup finals in the country namely in 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1987 and lifted the cup twice – 1985 and 1987.
The ex-international disclosed that he would have been a farmer, if not for football.
Disu said: “If not for football, I would have been a farmer because I read Agricultural Economics at the Albama A&M University.
“I will like to venture into business when I retire from football administration, and will go full blast into agriculture.”
Now Director of Sports, Surulere Local Government, Disu said that with adequate motivation and organisation, football will develop in the country.
His words: “The standard of football and other sports in the country has gone down. Football in the country is not what it used to be, and it is unfortunate that it is happening in Nigeria despite the country’s abundant talents.
“Developing grassroots football is the only way to regain the old glory of football in the country.”
He noted that failure to develop grassroots football was part of the factors the Flying Eagles failed to successfully defend its title at the 19th Africa Youth Championship (AYC) held in Algeria.
“The Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) board should do a better job running the league. If they do, definitely we will have better players to recruit into the national teams.
“Grassroots football development is the only way to reposition our football. We have lots of talents not yet discovered at the grassroots.
“Nigeria should use the advantage of its large population to harness football talents at the grassroots, to regain its position as the `Giant of Africa’ in football,” he said.
The football administrator also called on the Organised Private Sector (OPS) and the public sector to also support the growth of football in the country.
Disu was full of praises for the late Moshood Abiola, whom he said turned his life around for good and made him what he is today.
He said: “The story of my life will be incomplete if mention is not made of the late Chief M.K.O. Abiola. He was instrumental in what I am today in life.
“He single-handedly sponsored by education in the United States by giving me and some other players scholarship to study abroad.
“By his death, millions of football players, in fact, Nigerians as a whole, have suffered and still suffering because he was a man in a million.
“He really meant well for our football; not only those of us that played for Abiola Babes, but others that played for other teams also,” he said.
