Asisat Oshoala: The emerging queen of the pitch

The story is the same on the pitch as the country, being the defending champions, couldn’t secure a slot at the ongoing African Cup of Nations at Equatorial Guinea.
Besides, most Nigerian foreign stars are either firing blank or warming the bench in their respective club sides.
Amidst all these, a Nigerian teenage football star, Asisat Oshoala is making the headlines for the right reasons.
From a humble beginning, Oshoala played for FC Robo from 2009 to 2013 before moving to Rivers Angels where she played between 2013 and 2015.   
Born 9th October 1994, Oshoala who left school for football against her parents’ wish, rose to prominence last year and was the best player and highest goal scorer at the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
Her tournament haul of seven goals is the most ever by a Nigerian player, taking her past compatriots like Desire Oparanozie, Ebere Orji and Cynthia Uwak, each of whom scored five FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup goals.
The Nigeria Football Federation wasted no time in elevating her to the senior national team. At the 2014 African Women Championship (AWC), in Windhoek, Namibia, she did not disappoint as she inspired the Super Falcons to winning the tournament for the ninth time.
She was also best player and second top goal scorer with the Super Falcons team.
Oshoala found success as a forward for Nigeria’s youth teams but made most of her early appearances for the senior national team as an attacking midfielder.
The 20 year old star, nicknamed “Seedorf” after male footballer Clarence Seedorf, was made a Member of the Order of the Niger by President of Nigeria Goodluck Jonathan in September 2014.
Since then, there has been no turning back for the Lagos born footballer.
Therefore, it was only normal that the African football governing body name Oshoala as the African Woman Player of the Year at the Glo-CAF Awards ceremony.
She was clearly the biggest winner of the night, carting home two awards- the
African Woman Player of the Year and the Youth Player of the Year awards.
“The two awards mean a lot to me and indeed my career and it will also encourage me to work harder,” was her response after bagging the awards.
She is already looking ahead not allowing her exploits so far gets to her head, knowing she could win more accolades with extra efforts and perseverance.
The Super Falcons will be one of the three African countries going to 2015 World Cup in Canada in June and she is hoping she would be part of the team and that Nigeria would perform well at the tourney.
“Being voted African best player does not translate to an automatic shirt for me in the Super Falcons squad to Canada 2015 World Cup. I will appreciate to be in the squad and also make a good impact as it is the dream of every player to represent her country at the senior World Cup which is the pinnacle of football,” Oshoala said.
While responding to questions from SHOT! after the best year of her career, Oshoala said there were several clubs jostling for her signature.
In spite of these several offers from foreign clubs, Oshola was not in a hurry to immediately leave the shores of the country for professional football abroad.
Oshoala noted that: “Before now, many foreign clubs have been on my trail especially after the U-20 Women’s Championship in Canada but I’m not in a hurry to leave Rivers Angels yet.”
She stressed: “For me to be recognised by FIFA and CAF shows the quality and competitiveness of female football in Nigeria.”
True to her words, Oshoala stayed back to add to her bag of achievements by winning both the Nigeria Women Professional League and the FA Cup with Rivers Angels last season.
However, the prolific scorer who has been having all things in her favour in the past year has now decided to move on. She added another feather to her much decorated cap when she signed for Liverpool FC Ladies last week Friday.
It is a recurring decimal that emerging Nigerian stars who have made name for themselves in the local scene ends up in one controversy or the other while trying to engineer a move away from the shores of Nigeria.
However, Oshoala’s situation was an “abnormal” one as no controversy has been raised thus far concerning her move to Liverpool Ladies. Others must learn from her.
Immediately she put pen to paper, Reds boss Matt Beard described her on the club’s website, as “one of the best young players in the world.”
“We beat a number of top American and European clubs to Asisat’s signature,” said Beard as he welcomed the 20-year-old striker.
Acknowledging her prowess, the coach added that: “She’s got pace, power and she certainly knows where the goal is. I watched her at the Under-20 World Cup, where she was sensational, and we had early dialogue with her about coming to Liverpool.
“There’s been plenty of other interest in her in the last few months, but she chose to join us and I’m absolutely delighted.”
After completing the deal, Oshoala said: “To be able to join the reigning Super League champions is absolutely fantastic.
She told SHOT! that her target was not only to play in Europe but in a team that will help improve on her game and Liverpool Ladies matches such ambition as they are a massive club with some fantastic players.
“It was also a big incentive to be able to play in the Women’s Champions League, which is a huge competition that I’m confident we can do well in.”
In a chat with SHOT!, she said she signed a two-year deal and will be integrated into the main team immediately, though she declined revealing the financial attachment but it was rumored to be a big deal.
The current African football queen didn’t need time to settle in as she hit the ground running immediately, scoring on her debut to help her team to a resounding victory over Aston Villa Ladies on Sunday, two days after joining the team.
Asisat scored a goal in the enthralling game that ended 4-1 in favour of Liverpool.
A renowned sports analyst, Ajibola Ayomiku while reviewing the dramatic rise of Oshoala, submitted that she could end up winning the World Best Player award in the nearest future.
“She made the right decision in moving to Liverpool where she could develop her skills. I’m convinced that she will be named the best player in the world very soon,” he observed.
Her coach at both club and national team, Edwin Okon, indeed believe the CAF awards won by the Super Falcon and Oshoala would be crucial at the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada.
Speaking specifically about Oshoala, he assured that the player will show at the World Cup that her feats in 2014 were not a fluke.
It is pertinent to note that inspite her exploits in the round leather game, Oshoala remain humble and dedicated.
The general consensus among sports analysts is that if she keeps being humble and continue to learn, she will rule the world of women football for a long time to come in Africa and the world at large.