Two brothers, Suleiman and Aliyu Ibrahim are fast manifesting the traits of the football maestro of our time, the famous “Mathematical Segun Odegbami” of the 80’s.
He was so called because of his mastery of the game and particularly, his smooth ball control which almost always resulted in marvellous goals.
Suleiman, 18 and Aliyu, 15, have already conquered Ebira land, the Kogi Central Senatorial Area; subdued Kogi State and are set to go national as well as international.
The brothers who play for AL- Bayan, a local Football Club in Okene, Kogi State, recently led the club to win the Kogi State BESS Championship Cup competition and were rewarded.
The team played its semi final with Idah football team from Kogi East, where Suleiman scored a goal and Aliyu scored the second goal to send Idah team to sleep and moved to the final.
At the final, Aliyu and Suleiman put a smile on the face of their Club, AL-Bayan FC, by thrashing their opponent from Lokoja, the State Capital, with a goal each at penalty shootouts after 90 minutes goalless sweat.
Aliyu emerged The-Man-Of-The-Match while Suleiman went home with Best-Player-Of-The-Tournament.
The two started their football playing at a tender age and gradually grew to be one of the best footballers in the area within which they practiced the trade.
They are often called “twins” by people encountering them for the first time. Suleiman and Aliyu have the ability to dribble their ways into the net with little effort.
While Aliyu plays mainly on mid-field wing, Suleiman plays on right wing attack with jersey numbers 8 and 7 respectively.
They stormed Abuja over the last week looking for a strong Football Club to register with and determined to use it to climb the ladder to the zenith of their chosen trade.
When they were both asked what their trade of ambition was, Suleiman said: “My ambition is to be a professional footballer like great Nigerian footballers such as J.J Okocha, Ahmed Musa of Russian Premier League, Victor Moses of the same Russian Premier League. And to play in bigger Clubs at international level like Arsenal, Barcelona, etc”.
Aliyu said: “My ambition is to become a professional footballer and wish to be part of the Nigerian national team as soon as possible. My Nigerian model as a midfielder is Alex Iwobi. I also desire to play for international football clubs, like Chelsea, Dortmund, etc.”
It was gathered that Suleiman and Aliyu have been striving through practices each passing day to improve their playing prowess by seeking inspiration from legendary footballers who have left a lasting mark on the sport.
As 18-year-old and 15-year-old footballers with immense potential, Suleiman and Aliyu are set to make a significant impact on the global football stage.
With their technical abilities, tactical intelligence and unwavering determination, they have all the qualities required to become future footballing sensations.
Football enthusiasts and experts are lurking around and eagerly seeking for their bubbling promising professional acumen with the round leather game. They are imbued with youthful stamina, calculative brains while on the pitch and hunger to be on top soon in their chosen career.
Their father, a lecturer at the Federal College of Education, Okene, Kogi State, Malam Ibrahim Ovansa Usman has been supportive of his sons’ vaulting ambition and assured them that they are in the football playing world for good.
