Super Eagles Goalkeeper, Maduka Okoye Reveals Why He Chose Nigeria Over Germany

Published: January 15, 2020

Germany born Nigerian Super Eagle’s goalkeeper, Maduka Okoye has revealed why he decided to represent Nigeria professionally instead of Germany, the country of his birth.

Okoye is not Nigeria’s first choice keeper but still decided to accept the call from Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to serve his fatherland.

He made his debut for the Super Eagles in a friendly match against Brazil three months ago and was also part of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Benin and Lesotho.

During a recent interview with the Super Eagles Media Team via YouTube, Okoye revealed that the reason why he chose Nigeria over Germany was simply because he followed what his heart convinced him to do.

“My opinion and my advice is to follow your heart, you have to feel it, where the love is. I felt the love in Nigeria and I feel like a Naija boy, that’s why I chose Nigeria over Germany,” he said.

Speaking on how he felt when he was called to come and represent the eagles, Okoye said:

“I felt great after I got my first call-up to the Super Eagles, it was a pleasure. It’s a big step for me in my football career.
“With the first call-up I had a bit of problems but after that for the Ukraine game everything was set up and I prepared well.
“I couldn’t wait to get to the Super Eagles, everything went well. Thank God.”

Okoye, who keeps for Fortuna Düsseldorf II in the Regionalliga West, was first called up by Coach Gernot Rohr for their first match of the 2019-2020 season, a friendly against Ukraine last September.

The20-year-old goalie, who is a favorite amongst Nigerian females due to his handsome looks, has been part of the Goal keeping squad following the Super Eagles’ search for new goalkeepers since Carl Ikeme retired from football over health issues.