YAKUBU USED TO BE A PAINTER!
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YAKUBU USED TO BE A PAINTER!
...given that he is now "twenty years old"....he must have started painting young......
note also that Aghahowa was signed in 1996....given that he was 17 years old in 2000....I guess he must have been only 13 years old back in 1996.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/200 ... 12004.html
Aiyegbeni was a painter, coach Izilien reveals
By Emma Amaize, Benin City
Monday, January 05, 2004
TWENTY-FOUR hours after he was retired from the Edo State Sports Council in 2000, Coach Godwin Izilien was snapped by Dolphine F.C. of Port Harcourt and because of his magical wand, the Rivers State government soon drafted him to the Sharks F.C. But at the end of the 2002 season, Izilien bolted for his own safety.
He has not told anybody the reasons for his exit since then. However, the ex-Insurance F.C. handler decided recently to unveil his Port-Harcourt experiences to Sports Vanguard.
Izilien also spoke on how he discovered Super Eagles dependable hitman, Yakubu Aiyegbeni at Okomu in Edo State. He stated that Yakubu used to be a lazy player. Find out the details in this revealing interview. Excerpts:
What were your experiences in Dolphin F.C. and Sharks F.C. Port Harcourt?
My experience in Port Harcourt was just a wonderful one. I got into Dolphin F.C. unknown, I started my work just like that. Discussed with the management I was given a place there, though it was not encouraging but I manage to cope and took it as a challenge. I started the job in October 2000, I had what I will call a crowd and the people were watching how I would get the best out of the multitude. In my usual way, I gave everybody a chance and I had a target of two weeks to make something and I got what I wanted. Of the over 400 players we assembled, I got 54, the team was relatively unknown so we embarked on rigorous work. We had wonderful outings and we started competing, we got to the quarter finals, we moved into the semi finals, Sharks had problem , it was an internal problem, that was what frustrated coach Alphonsus Dike out of the place. And I was approached by the government of Rivers State through the commissioner. I was skceptical then, thinking what my colleagues would say that it was unprofessional, which they actually said thereafter. But I said no, if this team goes on relegation Dike will suffer but if I help to pull this team from relegation it is a plus for Dike and myself , why not let me do it. I decided to go ahead, we played some matches and won seven out of these matches and drew one, and why we drew that match was that a night before the match we were robbed, armed robbers dispossessed us of all our things including boots, money and all. But we were lucky to be alive, the Rivers State government came to our rescue by sending in money, paid our hotel bill, and when we played the match it was 1-1. It was a shocking result, it was then I knew that we were out of relegation. So what enlivened me most was when I was told to remain as the Technical Adviser of Sharks at the end of the day. We were now into 2002, there were a lot of stories here and there you now see people getting interested in Sharks. I was afraid of that and said I hope I won’t suffer the same faith like my friend, Dike. So many groups; Ogoni people, Okrika people were interested in Sharks, it became so terrible for me. There was one nights I was held hostage for four hours and thereafter I was given military men to guard me. I did not mind, I felt it was a crusade I was into, I raised a team though we did not have the total support as it concerned the release of funds to meet our demands, and then the season started, we ran into problem. My first one and half years in Port Harcourt were excellent. When the problem started I had to leave.
You left on your own?
Yes, I told them, I complained. But I was a bit reluctant in taking that decision because two of my children were there doing their National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and they were staying in my house, and I said if I leave, they may throw them out, so I wanted them to finish what they were doing. To mention one good thing they did, the commissioner said that I should retain my house until the payment for the house expired so my children were lucky, they finished their Youth Service in December and the rent expired February. So that was my stay in Port Harcourt.
You had almost a two-year stint in Port Harcourt with two Rivers State teams, how did you get there?
I did’nt apply, my students in the University of Benin who knew my worth made recommendations to the former Eagle Cement and I got a phone call and it tallied with my compulsory retirement in 2000 in Edo State. I got retired, September 30th and on the 1st of October, I got a phone call from Rivers State.
So with your two years stay there, what would you say is wrong with the attitude of Nigerian players at the club level?
With due respect to the players I met in the camp, the players never believed in any change whether they were doing well or not but I insisted on what I wanted in the team. I had the backing of the commissioner up to a time before the pressure here and there started.
In what way did the managements of Dolphin and Sharks F.C. help you in your job with them.
Management of these clubs became complex in th sense that they completely rested in the hands of politicians, which should not have been. Most of these politicians believe in what they can get and not what they can offer. And in an attempt to spend the little funds that were made available to a team like Dolphin they squandered it. It became difficult to run the club, and when you now complain, it was difficult to get a positive answer in return. Infact , I suggested that if we wanted the best for this team, neutral people who are sports-oriented should be given the opportunity to handle the affairs of management of the various teams instead of giving it to politicians.
Let us know how you succeeded in Sharks before your exit?
I got a team that was in total frustration and then, I got a team that had a coaching crew that were fighting for who would take over from Coach Dike. And as soon as I came in, I decided to address the whole thing. First of all, talking to the players that there was need for them to get out of relegation. Then I got the coaching crew left by Dike, I said look gentlemen, this is not a time to fight for supremacy , what is paramount was how to get out of relegation, who leads is secondary and I got a wonderful assistance from John Ogu. He was marvelous, submissive, obedient and hardworking and through him, we mapped out a well-tailored training programme for the team and then making sure that the boys believed in themselves, that is what we did. Even when we had that wonderful episode, the armed robbers attack in Kwara, the first one hour after the lucky escape, I did a lot of talking, letting them know that they should be the luckiest people on earth because they survived and then for us to make a good case when we get back , we should win and it worked. and then with the support of some friends who gave us unexpected support in Kwara, in terms of supply of kits and even other subsequent matches with Insurance F.C. , I told them that there was nothing in Insurance. By then, I just left Insurance because I believe wherever I am is my best home. I told them, look, there is nothing in Insurance, it is just a name. Just approach the game the way you will win, I told them that if you score an early goal in the first half, you will beat Insurance and we won 2-0. And my friends in Insurance said I used magic, but it was a simple psychology that did it.
Talking about magic or voodoo, do you believe it works in football?
I have been so lucky with my approach to issues when it comes to fighting a cause. I told my boys I have this slogan that believe in yourself and nothing more and then have it in mind that only God will assist you. And I told the commissioner if you have anything extraordinary, why not feed the boys well and pay their allowances and bonus and get the result. After that I will blame myself if they do not win. And that was the magic.
Tell us more about what happened the day the team was attacked by armed robbers?
In the first instance, I will plead with teams not to travel late anymore. I just lost my mother that period. Somebody travelled late on Monday, this was about 10.00pm in the night before they left Port Harcourt, what was the reason for coming late, they said the money was not released on time and before they got to Benin it was around 2.30AM and I was doing burial at Irrua. That night they dispossessed the players of all th money they were given, they took the players and allowances and other personal effects like boots, clothes. Unlike me, I had enough money. I cannot really remember the amount it was well over N40,000 because I just came from home with the hope that once I finished, I will just go straight to Port Harcourt and all these money, I gave out all in an attempt to save my life. Because it would have been suicidal, in fact a national calamity if my team were killed the same dy my mother was being buried. The money for the hotel was about N150,000 and funny enough, I told the man, do not pay me my feeding allowance until I get to Port Harcourt. Things in the bags were taken, so we cannot exactly quantify the total financial loss we had. But we told the boys to relax that their things would be refunded to them but I do not know whether they have been refunded their money by now.
But why did you leave Dolphin for sharks F.C. What was the politics behind it all?
I did not apply to go to Sharks. It was out of sheer interest and the belief that I have the support of the government, that was why I went into the place. Little did I know that it is a highly political and complex club and coupled with the intrusion of the area boys who were continuously at the neck of all of us, that gave me a little bit of what my predecessor saw.
Back to your state, Edo State what are your plans for football?
I initiated a lot of good programmes here when I was the head coach at the Edo State Sports Council. For example, the grass-root programmes I took to various areas. I went to Okomu F.C. then I believed that if I brought up a younger club beside Insurance and Bendel United, they would do fine, they thought I was joking. I attended one of Edo Football Association meetings and my request was granted. We raised a team, we destroyed some teams in the first division during the Challenge Cup and the discovery of Yakubu Aiyegbeni and co. We moved from amateur to th first division with Yakubu Aiyegben. I am not surprised at his rise because I told him that the sky would be his limit as long as he continued to be disciplined.
Are you saying you were the one that discover Aiyegbeni?
Yakubu was an unknown player when I discovered him. When I saw him, they were not serious, they were playing relaxation football there at Okomu, just to keep their soul and mind moving, they had the urge. And I felt that was a good place for one to start a good training programme and I had the support of the white man, an English man at the helm of affairs in Okomu Oil Palm Company. And I told him that this is a very good environment for my programme, that he should allow me to build a team there and he gave me a very good accommodation and all necessary support and the only way to prove that we knew what we were doing was to win the Challenge Cup. And we got into the quarter finals, it was Kwara United that used their wayo to remove us. If not we won that match, our goal was disallowed.
Yakubu Aiyegbeni was working as a casual painter at Okomu. And before then, Julius Aghahowa was one of the ones I discovered in the Academical in 1996.
So, what kind of player was Aiyegbeni at the time you met him. Did you see his potentials at that stage?
The only thing I saw then was that he was almost a lazy man and I told him that you must do it because I have seen something in you, you may not know now but let us do it, it may take some years. I would take him in the evening then with the help of one man who helped me a lot. We worked on him a lot, I always played Aiyegbeni as the top nine. Once he get the ball, he knew what to do with it. Then Kano Pillars started coming for him, and I called him one day and said, look do not be in a hurry to go into a club. When I now took a job with Insurance, they wanted me to bring him, but I went to him and said boy, Insurance is not strong enough to take care of you. That was how he went to Julius Berger, and unfortunately we met in one of the league matches. And I said Aiyegbeni, you are playing against me today, I know your tricks and I will deal with you. In that match what I succeeded in doing was that he could not score any goal. But it was a memorable one.
note also that Aghahowa was signed in 1996....given that he was 17 years old in 2000....I guess he must have been only 13 years old back in 1996.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/200 ... 12004.html
Aiyegbeni was a painter, coach Izilien reveals
By Emma Amaize, Benin City
Monday, January 05, 2004
TWENTY-FOUR hours after he was retired from the Edo State Sports Council in 2000, Coach Godwin Izilien was snapped by Dolphine F.C. of Port Harcourt and because of his magical wand, the Rivers State government soon drafted him to the Sharks F.C. But at the end of the 2002 season, Izilien bolted for his own safety.
He has not told anybody the reasons for his exit since then. However, the ex-Insurance F.C. handler decided recently to unveil his Port-Harcourt experiences to Sports Vanguard.
Izilien also spoke on how he discovered Super Eagles dependable hitman, Yakubu Aiyegbeni at Okomu in Edo State. He stated that Yakubu used to be a lazy player. Find out the details in this revealing interview. Excerpts:
What were your experiences in Dolphin F.C. and Sharks F.C. Port Harcourt?
My experience in Port Harcourt was just a wonderful one. I got into Dolphin F.C. unknown, I started my work just like that. Discussed with the management I was given a place there, though it was not encouraging but I manage to cope and took it as a challenge. I started the job in October 2000, I had what I will call a crowd and the people were watching how I would get the best out of the multitude. In my usual way, I gave everybody a chance and I had a target of two weeks to make something and I got what I wanted. Of the over 400 players we assembled, I got 54, the team was relatively unknown so we embarked on rigorous work. We had wonderful outings and we started competing, we got to the quarter finals, we moved into the semi finals, Sharks had problem , it was an internal problem, that was what frustrated coach Alphonsus Dike out of the place. And I was approached by the government of Rivers State through the commissioner. I was skceptical then, thinking what my colleagues would say that it was unprofessional, which they actually said thereafter. But I said no, if this team goes on relegation Dike will suffer but if I help to pull this team from relegation it is a plus for Dike and myself , why not let me do it. I decided to go ahead, we played some matches and won seven out of these matches and drew one, and why we drew that match was that a night before the match we were robbed, armed robbers dispossessed us of all our things including boots, money and all. But we were lucky to be alive, the Rivers State government came to our rescue by sending in money, paid our hotel bill, and when we played the match it was 1-1. It was a shocking result, it was then I knew that we were out of relegation. So what enlivened me most was when I was told to remain as the Technical Adviser of Sharks at the end of the day. We were now into 2002, there were a lot of stories here and there you now see people getting interested in Sharks. I was afraid of that and said I hope I won’t suffer the same faith like my friend, Dike. So many groups; Ogoni people, Okrika people were interested in Sharks, it became so terrible for me. There was one nights I was held hostage for four hours and thereafter I was given military men to guard me. I did not mind, I felt it was a crusade I was into, I raised a team though we did not have the total support as it concerned the release of funds to meet our demands, and then the season started, we ran into problem. My first one and half years in Port Harcourt were excellent. When the problem started I had to leave.
You left on your own?
Yes, I told them, I complained. But I was a bit reluctant in taking that decision because two of my children were there doing their National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and they were staying in my house, and I said if I leave, they may throw them out, so I wanted them to finish what they were doing. To mention one good thing they did, the commissioner said that I should retain my house until the payment for the house expired so my children were lucky, they finished their Youth Service in December and the rent expired February. So that was my stay in Port Harcourt.
You had almost a two-year stint in Port Harcourt with two Rivers State teams, how did you get there?
I did’nt apply, my students in the University of Benin who knew my worth made recommendations to the former Eagle Cement and I got a phone call and it tallied with my compulsory retirement in 2000 in Edo State. I got retired, September 30th and on the 1st of October, I got a phone call from Rivers State.
So with your two years stay there, what would you say is wrong with the attitude of Nigerian players at the club level?
With due respect to the players I met in the camp, the players never believed in any change whether they were doing well or not but I insisted on what I wanted in the team. I had the backing of the commissioner up to a time before the pressure here and there started.
In what way did the managements of Dolphin and Sharks F.C. help you in your job with them.
Management of these clubs became complex in th sense that they completely rested in the hands of politicians, which should not have been. Most of these politicians believe in what they can get and not what they can offer. And in an attempt to spend the little funds that were made available to a team like Dolphin they squandered it. It became difficult to run the club, and when you now complain, it was difficult to get a positive answer in return. Infact , I suggested that if we wanted the best for this team, neutral people who are sports-oriented should be given the opportunity to handle the affairs of management of the various teams instead of giving it to politicians.
Let us know how you succeeded in Sharks before your exit?
I got a team that was in total frustration and then, I got a team that had a coaching crew that were fighting for who would take over from Coach Dike. And as soon as I came in, I decided to address the whole thing. First of all, talking to the players that there was need for them to get out of relegation. Then I got the coaching crew left by Dike, I said look gentlemen, this is not a time to fight for supremacy , what is paramount was how to get out of relegation, who leads is secondary and I got a wonderful assistance from John Ogu. He was marvelous, submissive, obedient and hardworking and through him, we mapped out a well-tailored training programme for the team and then making sure that the boys believed in themselves, that is what we did. Even when we had that wonderful episode, the armed robbers attack in Kwara, the first one hour after the lucky escape, I did a lot of talking, letting them know that they should be the luckiest people on earth because they survived and then for us to make a good case when we get back , we should win and it worked. and then with the support of some friends who gave us unexpected support in Kwara, in terms of supply of kits and even other subsequent matches with Insurance F.C. , I told them that there was nothing in Insurance. By then, I just left Insurance because I believe wherever I am is my best home. I told them, look, there is nothing in Insurance, it is just a name. Just approach the game the way you will win, I told them that if you score an early goal in the first half, you will beat Insurance and we won 2-0. And my friends in Insurance said I used magic, but it was a simple psychology that did it.
Talking about magic or voodoo, do you believe it works in football?
I have been so lucky with my approach to issues when it comes to fighting a cause. I told my boys I have this slogan that believe in yourself and nothing more and then have it in mind that only God will assist you. And I told the commissioner if you have anything extraordinary, why not feed the boys well and pay their allowances and bonus and get the result. After that I will blame myself if they do not win. And that was the magic.
Tell us more about what happened the day the team was attacked by armed robbers?
In the first instance, I will plead with teams not to travel late anymore. I just lost my mother that period. Somebody travelled late on Monday, this was about 10.00pm in the night before they left Port Harcourt, what was the reason for coming late, they said the money was not released on time and before they got to Benin it was around 2.30AM and I was doing burial at Irrua. That night they dispossessed the players of all th money they were given, they took the players and allowances and other personal effects like boots, clothes. Unlike me, I had enough money. I cannot really remember the amount it was well over N40,000 because I just came from home with the hope that once I finished, I will just go straight to Port Harcourt and all these money, I gave out all in an attempt to save my life. Because it would have been suicidal, in fact a national calamity if my team were killed the same dy my mother was being buried. The money for the hotel was about N150,000 and funny enough, I told the man, do not pay me my feeding allowance until I get to Port Harcourt. Things in the bags were taken, so we cannot exactly quantify the total financial loss we had. But we told the boys to relax that their things would be refunded to them but I do not know whether they have been refunded their money by now.
But why did you leave Dolphin for sharks F.C. What was the politics behind it all?
I did not apply to go to Sharks. It was out of sheer interest and the belief that I have the support of the government, that was why I went into the place. Little did I know that it is a highly political and complex club and coupled with the intrusion of the area boys who were continuously at the neck of all of us, that gave me a little bit of what my predecessor saw.
Back to your state, Edo State what are your plans for football?
I initiated a lot of good programmes here when I was the head coach at the Edo State Sports Council. For example, the grass-root programmes I took to various areas. I went to Okomu F.C. then I believed that if I brought up a younger club beside Insurance and Bendel United, they would do fine, they thought I was joking. I attended one of Edo Football Association meetings and my request was granted. We raised a team, we destroyed some teams in the first division during the Challenge Cup and the discovery of Yakubu Aiyegbeni and co. We moved from amateur to th first division with Yakubu Aiyegben. I am not surprised at his rise because I told him that the sky would be his limit as long as he continued to be disciplined.
Are you saying you were the one that discover Aiyegbeni?
Yakubu was an unknown player when I discovered him. When I saw him, they were not serious, they were playing relaxation football there at Okomu, just to keep their soul and mind moving, they had the urge. And I felt that was a good place for one to start a good training programme and I had the support of the white man, an English man at the helm of affairs in Okomu Oil Palm Company. And I told him that this is a very good environment for my programme, that he should allow me to build a team there and he gave me a very good accommodation and all necessary support and the only way to prove that we knew what we were doing was to win the Challenge Cup. And we got into the quarter finals, it was Kwara United that used their wayo to remove us. If not we won that match, our goal was disallowed.
Yakubu Aiyegbeni was working as a casual painter at Okomu. And before then, Julius Aghahowa was one of the ones I discovered in the Academical in 1996.
So, what kind of player was Aiyegbeni at the time you met him. Did you see his potentials at that stage?
The only thing I saw then was that he was almost a lazy man and I told him that you must do it because I have seen something in you, you may not know now but let us do it, it may take some years. I would take him in the evening then with the help of one man who helped me a lot. We worked on him a lot, I always played Aiyegbeni as the top nine. Once he get the ball, he knew what to do with it. Then Kano Pillars started coming for him, and I called him one day and said, look do not be in a hurry to go into a club. When I now took a job with Insurance, they wanted me to bring him, but I went to him and said boy, Insurance is not strong enough to take care of you. That was how he went to Julius Berger, and unfortunately we met in one of the league matches. And I said Aiyegbeni, you are playing against me today, I know your tricks and I will deal with you. In that match what I succeeded in doing was that he could not score any goal. But it was a memorable one.
Hey guys so what if he is painter all of us in here at one point in time have held different jobs to just to make into the next day... He is no different from anybody else....
Last edited by MI5 on Mon Jan 05, 2004 2:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Soldier of Fortune...
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ruff'n'tuff
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There are some funny things in this interview.
He stated that Yakubu used to be a lazy player.
When I saw him, they were not serious, they were playing relaxation football there at Okomu, just to keep their soul and mind moving,
How can yo be "almost lazy"?The only thing I saw then was that he was almost a lazy man
I've heard that before.uzoma007 Da CE Virus wrote:Jag was a policeman in benin so i wonder at what age he joined the force since he was 17 at 2000.
Well it aint ma bizz, ma worry be say make dem dey bang in goals, if they are older than shearer and sheringham combined dats dey cup of garri and palm kernel.
Your new avarar is just as offensive.
Last edited by 27 on Mon Jan 05, 2004 3:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Lol funny u. Common man don't be a coward name them!!!!!27 wrote:I don't want to name names.Ijapa wrote:Den which player dem say bgi Armed Robber before?
Hope ma Avatar is cool now, no offense for d former.
U can paste me a link 4 good once, av spent like 2 days searching and havent come up with anyone cool.
Peter Obi For President 2023
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SylverEagles
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SylverEagles
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Gotti
UZOMA (& 27):uzoma007 Da CE Virus wrote:Jag was a policeman in benin so i wonder at what age he joined the force since he was 17 at 2000.
Without prejudice, Aghahowa was NEVER a policeman at any time in his life. He played for Police Machines and one does not have to be a policeman to play for Machines (as I have friends who played for the Lagos version).
WISEONE:
Again without prejudice, Aiyegbeni is listed as being born in 1981. Accordingly, simple arithmetics will make him 23 years old and not 20.
PS: Btw, the Nigerian Amateur League is crammed full of teenage (often secondary school) players -- although there are some other factors that has left me with PERSONAL doubts regarding Aghahowa.
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mufu baba iyabo
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Owen was a delivery boy 
Rivaldo was an "area boy" in Brazil 
why Taribo was "ajantala" in Port Harc 
go siddon my friend 
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VINDAVE
Though I find it very difficult to doubt your post, but a senior Fuga man who once based in Benin and now my christian brother once told me recently that Aghahow use to be at Wasotan Junction with Police Uniform then. I still find it difficult to accept.Gotti wrote:UZOMA (& 27):uzoma007 Da CE Virus wrote:Jag was a policeman in benin so i wonder at what age he joined the force since he was 17 at 2000.
Without prejudice, Aghahowa was NEVER a policeman at any time in his life. He played for Police Machines and one does not have to be a policeman to play for Machines (as I have friends who played for the Lagos version).
WISEONE:
Again without prejudice, Aiyegbeni is listed as being born in 1981. Accordingly, simple arithmetics will make him 23 years old and not 20.
PS: Btw, the Nigerian Amateur League is crammed full of teenage (often secondary school) players -- although there are some other factors that has left me with PERSONAL doubts regarding Aghahowa.
Does this brother use glasses? 
VINDAVE wrote:Though I find it very difficult to doubt your post, but a senior Fuga man who once based in Benin and now my christian brother once told me recently that Aghahow use to be at Wasotan Junction with Police Uniform then. I still find it difficult to accept.Gotti wrote:UZOMA (& 27):uzoma007 Da CE Virus wrote:Jag was a policeman in benin so i wonder at what age he joined the force since he was 17 at 2000.
Without prejudice, Aghahowa was NEVER a policeman at any time in his life. He played for Police Machines and one does not have to be a policeman to play for Machines (as I have friends who played for the Lagos version).
WISEONE:
Again without prejudice, Aiyegbeni is listed as being born in 1981. Accordingly, simple arithmetics will make him 23 years old and not 20.
PS: Btw, the Nigerian Amateur League is crammed full of teenage (often secondary school) players -- although there are some other factors that has left me with PERSONAL doubts regarding Aghahowa.
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VINDAVE