The defender has impressed as Mainz remain on course for a European place next season; have Nigeria found an heir to Yobo?
It was in March 2014, with the World Cup on the horizon, and Stephen Keshi seeking solutions, that Leon Balogun finally made his bow for the Super Eagles. Touted as a solution to a right-back problem that had seen Efe Ambrose act as a stopgap with varying degrees of success, a kind of permanent placeholder, Nigeria could not wait to unwrap its newest gift.
What followed was a freak injury after barely a quarter of an hour, ruling him out of contention for the big show in Brazil. It is a theme that has replayed itself over and again since then though: the Mainz defender missed out on September’s drab stalemate away to Tanzania, then produced a performance of consummate assurance in October’s friendly trouncing of Cameroon, only to crumple again and miss the two-legged rollercoaster against Swaziland.
If he seemed eternally destined to be the bridesmaid, such fears have been largely dispelled by a series of excellent displays in the Bundesliga with Mainz. Led by Martin Schmidt, Karnevalsverein sit in fifth, level on points with Borussia Monchengladbach, who currently occupy the Champions League play-off spot, after 23 games, and have prospered with Balogun pairing Stefan Bell at the heart of the defence.
The post Leon Balogun: Nigeria’s new defensive leader appeared first on AfrikMouth.
from AfrikMouth http://ift.tt/1QoVItO
via JimiVaey
No comments:
Post a Comment