My parents starved me because of football — Agali
MAY 26, 2013
Victor Agali
Victor Agali’s goals helped Nigeria qualify for the 2002 World Cup but he was dropped from the squad to the Mundial. He tells ’TANA AIYEJINA about his miraculous breakthrough, mafia in the Eagles, racism, why he married a Nigerian woman and lots more
How is life after retirement?
I have been trying to cool off from the heat you get playing football. After all the years in football, I am just trying to bring down the steam a little bit and relax more with my family.
What are you doing now?
I have something going on, which I don’t want to let out of the bag. It’s a slow process and I really want to take my time to run it and when it’s fully mature, the whole world will get to hear about it.
Why did you end your career at a relatively young age of 32?
I have been nursing an injury since 1999 and with the help of my doctors in France and my personal adviser, I was able to play another 12 years with the injury. It was well managed by a renowned doctor and after that, I felt I should relax. I last played in China. The football there is less experience and more of physical game and with the injury I was suffering, I felt I would be cheating on the other players, if I continued playing with it. That was why I decided to stay away.
Do you still feel like playing again?
Football is tempting; you never want to leave. If the Nigerian league was better than it is now, I would probably have joined a team here and have fun. It’s not for the money. It’s sad though, but one day, you must end your career no matter how good you are.
How did you feel playing in your first Africa Cup of Nations in 2002?
I give glory to God for giving me the opportunity to serve this great football nation because we have millions of players, who could have been picked ahead of me. I wouldn’t say I was the best then but I was given the chance and I was able to deliver. It was great playing for the country. I had wonderful colleagues; we had great players in the team. At that time, it was easy for a young, new player to come into the team and blend fully. It’s like when you get into Barcelona; you will fit in immediately because the team is functioning well. That was how the team was then. I was already playing topflight football in Europe for my club sides. I was ready for the task.
You didn’t score a goal during the competition. Is it true that your teammates sabotaged your efforts by refusing to pass the ball to you knowing that you were deadly aerially?
In Germany, they see me as a complete striker. I didn’t usually score with the head while I was playing there. But in the national team, because of the way we play, I could finish up with the head. I heard of the complaints though; my friends told me and my teammates watching from the bench said, “Guy, they don’t give you the ball.” But I really didn’t look at those things because football is a collective responsibility; it not a one-man job. It does happen and I dealt with it maturely and I don’t think too much about it.
You were Nigeria’s top scorer to the 2002 World Cup with five goals but you were dropped from the trip to Korea and Japan. Did you feel neglected?
Actually, I wasn’t neglected. There were series of things that happened that didn’t go well. At the 2000 Olympics, all expenses were fully paid by me but there was no refund. I pleaded but nothing was done. After the German Cup final in 2002, I was called for the World Cup. They said, “When are you coming?” And I felt you cannot just call me like that without a flight ticket for me. There must be an official invitation letter sent to my club. There was no ticket and you call me to come and play. I felt things had to be done more professionally. It was easy, I could easily buy my ticket and come down but again, some of the key players that needed to be respected were not. They were knocked out of the team for personal reasons. How can you have a player like Finidi George, who played all the qualifying games and was looking forward to his last World Cup, and when you got to the World Cup, you deemed him not fit? The captain, Sunday Oliseh, was also dropped because of personal grudges and these things are not good for players. If the way to reward footballers who have sacrificed for the country is to push them aside when they are about to retire, then others would not be happy. So from that, I knew we were just going there to appear for appearance sake; we were not going there to get anything out of it. I felt it was going to be a failure and I didn’t want to be part of it.
Then Rivers State governor, Peter Odili, gave the Eagles plots of land for qualifying for the 2002 World Cup but some people have encroached on the land. How do you feel?
It’s sad because Nigeria is a place where you are not allowed to complain much because if you do, people will turn the table against you. They could use the press against you. It’s sad, so, a lot of players stayed away even if they were being cheated. But we are thinking about life after football; it’s important, you have to come back home and integrate with the people. In our society, there is always someone who is not decent, who will turn the table against you. It was just a reward and if another person wants to take it over, then I will let it go.
Is it true that a mafia existed in the team when you played for the Eagles?
There are people, who stayed longer in the team, and its normal for the coaches to have a word with them before taking a decision. It happens in club sides too. It’s normal for the coaches to seek the opinion of the senior players but people see it as mafia, it is not. These players contribute on the field of play. They are older, more experienced and the coach has better contact with them. For me, its normal but if it is affecting a particular player, he may consider it as a mafia group working against him.
Is it football you actually wanted to play as a young boy?
I was cut out to play football. While growing up in FESTAC, I got starved as punishment for playing football but I still went out to play the game. Sometimes the coaches would come home to plead on my behalf so that I could play matches but my parents still proved stubborn. However, I was never discouraged.
How did you achieve the breakthrough from second division NITEL to a big club like Olympique Marseille in France?
They say God’s time is the best and when it’s time for your breakthrough, it doesn’t really matter where you are; you will just be picked out. That was what happened to me. I was playing for NITEL in Lagos and someone from nowhere came to take a look at another player and instead he said, “Hey, I prefer this guy (Agali) to the player I came to see.” That was how the whole thing started and I had options from Belgium, Germany and France but I opted for France first before I ended up in Germany.
Was it easy settling in Marseille initially?
It was really easy because I was really young and there was no responsibility. The only challenge I had was to succeed. There was nothing like people looking up to me. So the pressure was less. I was playing football with the coaches and scouts around. There was no pressure.
Were you a victim of racism when you played in Germany?
Racism is everywhere in the world. Sometimes, even blacks are guilty of it. These things happen when you have one or two persons who are crazy. But if you are able to control your emotions, you will overcome it. I had one incident with a player on the pitch but I am someone who reacts sometimes and lets go some other times. I didn’t understand how a professional player could have such mentality.
After playing in seven countries, where did you play your best football?
It was in Germany because I believe the country made me a complete person; not only the football but the way of life and being a man. The discipline on-and-off the pitch is amazing. Their league has always been strong and teams from the Bundesliga have reached the final of the Champions League in the last two seasons.
What attracted you to marrying a Nigerian woman?
When I got to France for the first time, I met a lady and we were together for 15 years. She was really good to me and we have a daughter. But I saw myself after football coming back to Africa. There are pretty ladies everywhere; in Africa, Europe, Asia, but there is something about Nigerian women’s beauty. That was the drive. I have a lovely daughter with my wife.
Can you recall your greatest goal?
I will pick the second goal I scored against Liberia in the qualifiers for the 2002 World Cup in Port Harcourt. It’s not about how the goal was scored, but the importance of the goal. I had scored the first goal but we had a lot of pressure from the Liberians and we knew we needed to score a second one to be comfortable; we needed a win in the game. The goal came off a nice run from Finidi from the right and I was in the middle and he picked me and I slotted home and that sealed our ticket to the World Cup. I consider that as my greatest moment.
Who is the toughest defender you played against?
It was the Brazilian Lucio. He played for Leverkusen while I was at Hansa Rostock. We played against each other about six times. He moved to Bayern Munich and I moved to Schalke and I still had to confront him. He’s a strong guy and it was good for me as a striker playing against him. He also knew that he had to be up and doing playing against me. It was a big fight whenever we played against each other but it was good.
After a bright start at the 2000 Olympics, the U-23 team lost 4-1 to Chile in the quarter-final. What went wrong?
We came out of our group very well and we were thinking we were good but before we knew it, we were already 4-0 down and looking for a miracle. It’s a sad game because I felt the coach Bonfrere Jo deserved better than to be knocked out just like that after winning the gold in the previous tournament. For some of the players, it just didn’t go well and sadly, we didn’t have a second chance.
What are your best and worst moments?
The day my first daughter was born on June 12, 2000, remains my best moment in life. My worst was getting stuck at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam and they were telling me that my Nigerian passport was fake. For me, it was crazy when the immigration officer told me, “You are under arrest, you have a right to remain silent.” And he asked me, “Do you want to say something?” And I said, “I only see this in the movies.” And he said, “This is not a movie; this is reality.”
Do you have any regrets?
Yes. Definitely, I made some mistakes but they are teenage mistakes. I had no one close to me, so it was normal to make such mistakes. I am happy I realised my mistakes, made adjustments and carried on with my career and life.
Can you recollect how you spent your first big money as a footballer?
Right from the first time I entered Europe, every money I earned was big. You can imagine playing for NITEL in division two in Nigeria and all of a sudden someone tells you, “This is $50,000 for you; it’s your sign-on fee.” I am not the party type, though I go to club sometimes with my colleagues. Luckily, I was able to put some money aside and plan for my future. I am a car freak and I spent a lot of money on cars.
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