I don’t know what Alex would’ve done without football– Chuka Iwobi

Before now many Nigerians may have been wondering what really enticed Arsenal’s youngster Alex Iwobi to opt to play for the Super Eagles, rather than England who also wanted him to represent them. All that puzzle may have been unravelled after Sports correspondent,  Jude Opara  caught up with Mr.

Chuka Iwobi, the father of Alex Iwobi in Abuja recently. The senior Iwobi, among other things, revealed that despite living in London, he formed the habit of teaching his children how to eat Nigerian foods especially garri (eba) with delicious Okro soup to go with it. How did it all begin for Alex Iwobi? I will say that Alex started developing interest in football right from the cradle and if you asked him what he wanted to do, he will tell you he wanted to play football. In fact if you say he should tell you what he would have loved to do if not football, his response will still be football. So honestly, I don’t know what else he would have done without football and that is why I decided to encourage him to live his dream. He has always seen himself as a footballer and nothing else, it has been so and God has been great.

So why did he go to Arsenal and not any other club in England? Arsenal has a robust youth programme and any talented player that goes to the Arsenal Academy will surely develop into a successful footballer, there are a lot of examples we all know to buttress that point. About choosing Nigeria ahead of England, we heard that former Nigerian captain, Jay Jay Okocha played a vital role, but why did you support that? First and foremost, I am a Nigerian and will always choose my country ahead of any other one, so it was not difficult for me to encourage Alex to go for Nigeria instead of England. Secondly, Okocha as mentioned also encouraged him but I must not forget the input of former Arsenal legend, Nwankwo Kanu. Kanu spoke to him personally to play for Nigeria and that actually helped in shaping him. Alex sees these two great Nigerians as his heroes and that is why it was easy for him to listen to them. But do you see your son playing for a club like FC Barcelona tomorrow? Well in football you can never say but today Alex is happy at Arsenal, it is about development. If tomorrow a team like Barcelona comes with more money, I don’t see him going yet because it is about developing his game and improving and not about money now. For me he is at the right place at the right time. But looking at Alex on the field of play he is very strong despite the fact that he did not grow up in Nigeria where we eat akpu and garri to develop such strength, what is the secret?(laughs) Well we are Nigerians and as an Igbo man, I thought my children how to eat garri with Okro soup, we always cook it in my house and that is how Alex got used to eating it and I tell you, he really loves that food. We equally heard that Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger wanted Alex to play for England instead of his country Nigeria, is that true? Well I am not in a position to speak on that because I don’t think he wanted to spite Nigeria. But all I can say is that like every other manager out there, they will prefer their players to play closer to them in Europe. If you look at the travels and other issues like if anything happens to the player. So it is not just about Africa but elsewhere in Brazil and Asia. Any coach will tell you that he prefers his players to play in Europe. But when you make up your mind, no coach will stop you. Wenger never stopped Alex and today he is happy that he is playing international football because it is a different experience. So as for whether he would have preferred him to play for England, it is possible but I don’t think it was for any selfish reason. Nigeria is a massive football playing nation; things are not as high as they ought to be but very soon we will return to where we should be. As a Nigerian fan and not as Iwobi’s father, what do you expect the Eagles to do in Saturday’s (today) match with Algeria? To me it is very difficult to call because Algeria is a highly technical team, a lot of them are playing in Europe also and when you look at our own team, the Super Eagles is also a mixture of stars with experience and speed. It is going to be a difficult game, but as I am told, we have a good coach and a huge crowd. I see Nigeria winning the game. Let me ask you this, apart from Alex do you have other children and do they also romance football? Alex is my first son and I also have another daughter, but initially she, like most girls, was not interested in football but because her brother has become a good footballer, she has started showing interest in watching it. She is currently in the university.