Dele Aiyenugba, a former goalkeeper for the Super Eagles of Nigeria and Israel, is still active in goalkeeping and is working to help his son Daniel, who is a rising star, surpass him, according to ABIODUN ADEWALE.
‘Dan Goalie’ was the name on the phone number Dele Aiyenugba, a former Super Eagles goalkeeper and current Kwara United player, gave our correspondent.
It was anticipated that Aiyenugba would either type out the phone number by memory or that his name would appear on the contact as “Daniel Aiyenugba,” “Daniel,” or—even more predictably—”My Son.”
Aiyenugba gave an explanation for why he tagged him “Dan Goalie”: “Aside from being my son, that’s the way I see him.”
I consider him a junior colleague or mentee in the same field as me. It only strengthens our bond because it doesn’t change the fact that he is my son.
Aiyenugba doesn’t require an introduction in Nigerian football after a 25-year career.
Aiyenugba moved to Israel in 2007 after spending six years with Enyimba in the Nigerian league, where he won four NPFL championships in 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2007 in addition to two CAF Champions League titles in 2003 and 2004 and two CAF Super Cups in 2004 and 2005.
He played for four different teams in Israel, including Bnei Yehuda (294), Hapoel Ashkelon (62), Hapoel Iksal (34), and Hapoel Afula (13), totaling 402 appearances before returning to Nigeria in 2020 and signing with Kwara United, where he is currently playing.
Before an NPFL match between Enyimba and Kwara United in Aba in January, the club honored him for his contributions to Enyimba by presenting him with a jersey plaque.
It’s time for the 39-year-old goalkeeper to step down from the spotlight after more than 20 years in the position or share it with his 14-year-old son, Daniel, who has recently gained notoriety for helping Remo Stars’ youth team, Beyond Limits FC, move up from Nigeria’s third division, the Nationwide League One, to the Nigeria National League, the second division.
The proud father watched from the stands in Osogbo, Osun State as Beyond Limit defeated First Bank FC 4-1 to earn promotion to the NNL. Daniel was playing goal for Beyond Limit.
“Daniel was excellent for his team, making some outstanding saves. He is bravely taking over the heavy gloves from me, and I’m a proud father. After watching the crucial playoff match in Osogbo, Aiyenugba expressed his confidence in the player’s future.
Aiyenugba’s son has followed in the footsteps of other football players before him. There are many well-known football players whose sons are currently active in the sport. There aren’t many household names in goalkeeping, but Aiyenugba may soon be taken seriously.
Peter Schmeichel, a former goalkeeper for Denmark and Manchester United, is a prime example. In his eight years with the Red Devils, he won five Premier League championships, three FA Cups, and the UEFA Champions League. Schmeichel was also a member of the storied Denmark team that won the 1992 European Championship.
In the Premier League, his son Kasper Schmeichel also enjoyed success. He was a member of the Leicester team that shocked everyone by winning the EPL in 2016. He also led Denmark to the European Championship semi-finals, where they were narrowly defeated by England in extra time. He also won the FA Cup with the Foxes in 2021.
Pepe Reina, a seasoned goalie who has also won a European Cup, is the son of Miguel Reina, a former goalie for Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.
The son of legendary Manchester United player and former Dutch international Edwin van Der Sar in The Netherlands is Joe Van Der Sar.
Joe, who is 25 years old, is also eagerly awaiting his big break to match and even surpass his father’s heights and accomplishments as a keeper.
Although the Dosus are a brotherhood line of goalkeepers in Nigeria, they are also examples. Along with Joseph Dosu, who won the gold medal at the Olympics in Atlanta in 1996, David, Abbas, and John were goalkeepers as well. Prior to them, there were the renowned Patrick and Emmanuel Okala brothers, who both represented Nigeria internationally.
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Regarding Aiyenugba, one of the similarities between father and son is their youth at the beginning of their careers in football. Daniel began making headlines in 2021, when he was 12 years old. His father’s records indicate that he started playing amateur goalkeeping with Kwara Stars in 1998, when he was 15 years old.
This came after the Ramat Cup in Kano, where the goalkeeper of the competition award was given.
The young man began playing football as an outfielder, which is interesting.
“I began playing football in Ilorin with a team called Future Stars. That’s when I began considering switching from being a striker to becoming a goalkeeper. Before enrolling in Kwara Football Academy, where I met my coach, coach Oluyori, I played for Future Stars, the young Aiyenugba said.
Making the switch from an outfielder to a goalkeeper, especially among young players, may be a clever way to carve out a spot for oneself on a roster loaded with talented players.
Daniel, however, maintains that he was a very good striker before being motivated to try goalkeeping by watching videos of his father and observing him train while he was in Nigeria.
Even now, I still watch a lot of videos of my father. After seeing him too, whenever he returns home during their offseason, he trains for goalkeeping alongside my brother and I on the same field.
I had to occasionally stop playing in order to focus on his techniques. I became interested in goalkeeping because of that, he claimed.
Daniel’s father was aware of his curiosity.
“I think my career played a role in how Daniel developed because I can recall that, despite playing as a striker, whenever I returned home for a break, he was also thinking about my routine. Thank goodness, he had a coach named Oluyori who taught him the fundamentals and is still instructing him today,” the father said.
Aiyenugba, a former football player, had no problem with his children playing the sport as a career, but he had second thoughts about Daniel choosing to be a goalkeeper.
He said, “I wanted to make sure he was ready, so I asked his coach to keep sending me his clips while I was in Israel. The job of a goalkeeper is not as simple as one might believe.
“My father was there for me too when I first started. He watched my game and drove me to the stadium to train, but he wasn’t a goalie. Therefore, it was simple for me to lead him even though I also wanted him to enjoy himself, according to the former Super Eagles goalkeeper.
There are high expectations for the son of a two-time CAF Champions League champion and 17-cap Super Eagles goalkeeper.
The young man, however, is not one to let his last name encourage or pressurize him. He stated to our correspondent that he prefers to move at his own pace.
Like his father, he is already an expert at preventing penalties.
When the game was likely to end in penalties during the earlier Aiyenugba’s time with Enyimba, he was frequently substituted for the opposing goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama in the 118th and 119th minute.
And he wouldn’t let you down! The shot stopper still leaves a bitter taste in the mouths of North African teams.
Daniel led North Central to victory in the 2017 U-13 NFF Zenith Future Eagles tournament by saving two penalties for his team in the championship game.
His father, who keeps an eye on him at all times, wants him to enjoy the game.
“I love seeing my son get better as a goalkeeper every time he plays. The goalie for Kwara United was told, “The only thing I expect from ‘goalie’ is to keep having fun doing what he does, without any expectations, to remain humble, and to pray.
Daniel, who is in SS2, has been coached by Kwara Football Academy since 2019, and he just joined Beyond Limits three months ago.
He has been fusing football and education for about four years, and despite how challenging it is, he knows he must continue.
It hasn’t been simple. We train from 7:30am to 10am from Monday through Friday. Then, from 11 am to 1 pm, we attend class. There is also a class in the evening from 5 pm to 7 pm. We also have time in between these periods to visit the gym and maintain our fitness levels. Sundays and Saturdays are for resting, but we do play league games, and occasionally we play friendlies,” the young man said.
The team, which was made up of schoolboys, completed the NLO campaign and was one of the eight clubs that won promotion to the NNL with such a demanding schedule.
Three clean sheets were recorded by the Young Aiyenugba, who started six of their games in net. He mentioned that he had missed a few games because of school exams.
Daniel’s father claims that he is driven to balance school and football and that he has faith in the educational system he has been placed in to prepare him for a better future.
The young man also declared his intention to attend college and study Human Kinetics.
The desire to represent their country at the highest level is always present, even in men who don’t have any football-playing parents, barring extenuating circumstances. Although the young Aiyenugba may not have watched his father in his prime, he does have video to look at and he feels it is enough to motivate him to work hard in order to one day play for Nigeria and represent his country.
“I’m very proud of my dad, not because he supports me or anything, but because having him around makes me better. Even just thinking about him makes me want to do more for Nigeria than he did. I want to play football at the highest level and represent my country at every level, Daniel continued.
