The story of how Maduka Okoye ended up between the posts for the Super Eagles did not begin with a formal scouting report or a federation letter, Footynaija.com reports.
Victor Agali, who represented Nigeria as a striker and later served as a national team scout, has revealed the detail of how he identified Okoye and personally pushed the case to then-head coach Gernot Rohr.
Nigeria’s goalkeeping department had been left in disarray following Carl Ikeme’s forced retirement after being diagnosed with leukaemia in 2017, and Rohr was actively searching for solutions. And Agali, who played in Germany during his career at clubs including Hansa Rostock, was watching a Fortuna Düsseldorf reserve team game when he spotted Okoye.
The Düsseldorf first-team coach at the time had previously worked with Agali at Rostock, giving him direct access to the coaching staff and to Okoye’s father, who was present at the game.
‘The boy said yes, but not the Super Eagles’
Speaking on Bet9ja’s Home Turf Podcast, as revealed by Punchng, Agali described what happened.
“I was with his father in Düsseldorf. I watched him keep for the second team in Germany, because the coach at Fortuna Düsseldorf at that time was my coach in Rostock,” he said.
“I speak German very well, so I spoke to the coach, and I spoke with the father.”
Okoye was open to Nigeria, but not yet to the senior team.
“I spoke to the boy, and he said yes, he would love to, but not for the Super Eagles at that time. He was still young, playing at U-17 or U-20 level.”
Agali took it further.
“I spoke to Gernot Rohr about him, and he reached out to the coach of his club. They spoke with the boy and told him they could only bring him in if he was playing for a top-flight team,” he added.
That conversation proved to be the turning point. Okoye moved to Sparta Rotterdam in the Netherlands, earned his senior debut as a substitute against Brazil in October 2019, replacing the injured Francis Uzoho in a 1-1 draw, and has since earned 19 caps for Nigeria while currently keeping goal for Serie A club Udinese.
