Paul Onuachu has spent the last year giving Nigerian football fans plenty to talk about, but the 32-cap Super Eagles striker has now revealed how close he once was to walking away from football altogether and looking for a job in Lagos, Footynaija.com reports.
Onuachu is now an established name in European football, but his route to the top did not begin with a big academy or an obvious path into the professional game. Before Midtjylland, Genk, Southampton and Trabzonspor, there was FC Ebedei and a young player trying to convince himself that football could become a career.
That decision looks very different now. Onuachu scored 26 goals in 36 appearances across all competitions for Trabzonspor last season, finished joint-top scorer in the Turkish top flight and helped the club win the Turkish Cup.
The latest chapter has also come with interest from elsewhere, with Trabzonspor receiving a reported offer from a Saudi Pro League club for the Nigerian striker. The club’s decision to keep him shows how much his value has changed since he first arrived in Turkey.
The moment football almost stopped
Speaking in an interview published by Trabzonspor Magazine, Onuachu looked back at the period before FC Ebedei gave him his first real route into professional football.
“My parents supported my football career for a long time, but at a certain point, my father said I was growing up and tired of supporting me.”
The message was for Onuachu to start contributing at home.
“I needed to stand on my own two feet and bring home something, because that’s what our circumstances demanded.”
He was preparing to apply for a job in Lagos when an opportunity arrived through a coach who asked him to attend trials at FC Ebedei, the Nigerian club with links to Danish side Midtjylland.
“I was preparing to apply for a job in Lagos. I believed in football, in myself, and in my abilities, but my father’s pressure was increasing.”
He accepted the trial and eventually earned his route to Europe.
But getting the opportunity was only the beginning. At Ebedei, Onuachu realised that being talented was not enough. During a break from training, while some of his teammates went home, he chose to work harder.
“Instead of going on vacation like my teammates, I did extra training camps. I trained hard and did extra running.”
That decision helped move him from around 10th in the pecking order into the top three or four.
“Definitely, talent alone doesn’t get you anywhere; you need some support too.”
