Dessers: "I Can Already Sing the Nigerian Anthem...."

[Enugu II]

'I Can Already Sing The National Anthem' - Belgian-Born Striker Dessers Reveals Ahead Of Potential Cap-tying Game
https://www.allnigeriasoccer.com/read_n ... ?nid=35523
Published: March 07, 2020


Heracles Almelo striker Cyriel Dessers has boasted that he can recite the Nigerian national anthem correctly ahead of a potential debut against Sierra Leone on March 27, a game that could see him become cap-tied to the Super Eagles for life.

It has been noted that the foreign-born players in the Super Eagles ranks such as Leon Balogun, Joe Aribo and Ola Aina, and even the Nigerian-born Alex Iwobi who was raised in England, find it difficult singing the Nigerian national anthem during pre-match formalities.

Born in Belgium twenty-five years ago, Dessers admitted that he has hardly visited Nigeria, so he must have learnt the lyrics to the national anthem from his Nigerian mother.

Reacting to his maiden call-up to the Nigeria squad, Dessers told Tubantia : "It is very special for us. We have always followed the Nigerian team, I can already sing the national anthem.

"We used to want to go that way, but there was negative travel advice. Now I am still going, but then in the protected world of football.

"My distant dream and ambition was to play for Nigeria one day, but that was not considered real".

Dessers is battling Lille's Victor Osimhen and Leicester City's Kelechi Iheanacho for a starting spot against Sierra Leone.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

[EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA]

Very good. A lot of people here can't do that.

[asabatex]

this is type of guy we want....not tami-tami

[Eaglezbeak]

this is type of guy we want....not tami-tami

Lets forget about Tami it ain’t about him, he made bed let him lie in it.

[Bigpokey24]

So he can sing the anthem? What am I missing here?

[Dammy]

Dessers enthusiasm is infectious. We need this sort of commitment, not those who identify with Whizkid, Davido, Burna boy etc but cannot make a commitment to their fatherland!

[ohenhen1]

Overated

[Eaglezbeak]

Overated

What the anthem or the player?

[Damunk]

Overated

What the anthem or the player?

[ANC]

Overated

What the anthem or the player?

I need glasses o,
I had to read that one too many times.

[Odas]

Very good. A lot of people here can't do that.

People like Bigpokey24,

[Odas]

So he can sing the anthem? What am I missing here?

You are missing your so called 'critical thinking skills.'

[Odas]

Overated

Eeeeeh, Ohenhen1 still dey here?

[mcal]

...who told him it's prerequisite to wear GWG?

[Damunk]

Translated from Dutch

Finally Dessers goes to Nigeria, the country where he previously could not come

It was once a dream for Cyriel Dessers: becoming Nigeria's international. Now it is reality. The coming international matches will be the striker of Heracles for the first time in the selection of the country where his roots are.

Fardau Wagenaar 06-03-20, 19:32

His mother asked him to check it extra. She couldn't believe that son Cyriel Dessers is now really selected for the national team of her home country Nigeria. The country where a lot of family lives and where their roots are. Although she was not born there herself, her children were born in Belgium and never traveled to the African country, which was torn for years by a civil war. "It is very special for us. We have always followed the Nigerian team, I can already sing along the national anthem, ”says Dessers.

A street with family
It is two days before the match of Heracles against RKC Waalwijk when he talks about the adventure that awaits him. For the first time in his life, he travels to Nigeria in late March, to Lagos, where part of his family lives on a street. “We used to want to put it on the side, but there was negative travel advice. Now I still go, but then in the protected world of football. My distant dream and ambition used to be to play for Nigeria at some point, but that was not considered real. ”

Green-white
So it was. Dessers did not go unnoticed this season with his fifteen league goals for Heracles. He has been leading the top scorers list of the premier league with a small break since November. In Nigeria, they follow the striker closely through all kinds of live streams and fans often leave a message on his social media channels.

The country is crazy about football, he already knew that, but he is now experiencing it himself. And it will not diminish once he wears the green and white. "The people of the union told me before that I was doing well, but they made no promises. Very nice that it will come anyway. ”

Dries Mertens
Belgian attacker Dries Mertens reacted under a photo of the election of Dessers on Instagram. His aunt immediately called the Heracles striker. "To say that my nephew was completely impressed that Mertens responded," he says with a broad grin. "I have had more reactions from the Belgian corner. It is a pity that I will not play for Belgium, but I was not busy with the Red Devils. ” The attacker concluded earlier that this is unfeasible.

His uncle in Lagos wants to teach him some words via Facetime in Yoruba, one of the spoken dialects in Nigeria. "I am certainly going to do that. English is the working language, also in the team. ”

Dessers would like to return to the Netherlands at the beginning of April with great experiences and playing minutes in his legs. "Ultimately that's why it is. It's been a great journey, but I want to actually wear that shirt, prove to me. ”
Nigeria plays at home and against Sierra Leone for qualification for the Africa Cup. "We are not playing against a high flyer, but that is also difficult. The game is very physical in Africa. ”

https://www.tubantia.nl/heracles/eindel ... ~a897f5d7/

His enthusiasm s infectious.