According to punch:
"Ex-Super Eagles left-back, Ifeanyi Udeze, speaks to ’TANA AIYEJINA on his World Cup experience, racism and his plans to set up an orphanage
What are you doing now that you are retired?
I am not in the picture now because I am not playing and I don’t know if I will play again because I have this injury which I picked up with the national team against Angola in 2005 in a World Cup qualifier. Right now, I am into oil and gas.
Are you enjoying life in retirement?
I am enjoying life right now. It is not a good thing to stay away from what you know how to do best. But since I got injured, I have to move on. Now I have more time for my family and no more moving from one place to the other all the time.
How were you able to manage the wealth and fame that came with playing football?
The truth of the matter is, it wasn’t really easy because if you don’t control yourself when you see football money, you will miss your steps. In times like that, you need God’s intervention; if you have good friends, fine. I made some mistakes because of friends. I thought they were my friends but they were not. They were all hanging around because of what they wanted to gain from me. It was a very big lesson and I thank God that I was able to move on.
There was a report recently that you had taken to gambling and became broke. How true is it?
Like I said before, some of my friends I didn’t want to associate with any more went to the press and started writing all sorts of rubbish about me. God knows I don’t gamble. Walk into any casino and ask them if they’ve seen me there before. I don’t even know where a casino is. How can I make money and go to a casino to throw it away. Does that make sense? Casino is not for boys growing up; it’s for big men. How can a small boy with N10m say he wants to go to a casino to gamble with N1m? Is that not nonsense? Anyway, I am filing a case and I am going to sue the website. They have to bring proof that I go to casinos. We are all human. That report almost broke my home but thank God my wife knows the kind of person I am. I don’t smoke, gamble or go out searching for a girl to carry. I hang out a lot with my friends. I have a 15-year-old daughter and the issue made her feel very bad. One day, they had a computer class in school, she googled my name and the story appeared in front of her classmates. It was demoralising for her, so I am going to take it up.
You came into prominence as a member of the Golden Eaglets team that won the UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup in 1997, beating Spain with Xavi Hernandez in the final. How do you feel seeing the Barcelona star still playing at the top while you retired abruptly?
It’s not a good thing to get injured but that is not the end of the world. As long as you believe in God, you can also make it in other fields. I wouldn’t say I had a bad career; it was a good one and I give thanks to God.
Are you fulfilled?
I will say I am grateful but I am not really fulfilled. I have been out of football for several years and it’s not easy.
Where you ever a victim of racism while playing in Europe?
Racism is everywhere. I encountered it while at PAOK. There was a time we were playing a game in Greece and the opponents’ fans threw bananas at me, calling me monkey. I was mad; really mad. I stopped playing and the ref had to stop the game for about 20 minutes because I pulled off my jersey and playing shorts, I was left with just my panties. I was very mad that day and everybody was consoling me.
Would you advise racially abused players to walk out of the pitch?
For me, if a player is racially abused, the decision depends on the player to stay or walk out. People are different. Some can control anger, some can’t. When you can’t control it, that is when you react like me. Normally when you are abused, you need to stop playing because it will affect you psychologically. So there is no point going ahead with the game. It is better you stop the game and go out.
What sort of punishment would you recommend for racist fans?
You don’t have to punish the clubs. It’s the fans that can control themselves. The best thing is to ensure that once the camera picks them out, you ban them for life from going to watch matches at the stadium. How can a fan commit an offence and you punish the club? A fan is there to buy his ticket and watch games. He is on his own, so punishing the clubs is not right.
You played for West Brom in 2003 on loan from PAOK Salonika and although the club was relegated, what was your experience playing in England?
The EPL is very tough. But going to West Brom was a big career experience for me because it showed me things I didn’t know before. They wanted me to stay but PAOK wanted me back in Greece, so there was no way I could stay. It was a beautiful experience anyway.
Osaze Odemwingie is having problems at WBA right now. Would you advise him to stay?
I know him (Osaze) very well; he was my teammate in the national team and he is not a bad person. But the only thing is that he cannot control his emotions and temper. Staying or leaving West Brom depends on him. Right now, he is not in the best psychological state and the best thing is for him to leave; go to another club and have a new mentality.
You were part of the Eagles to the 2002 AFCON in Mali. A clash between officials and players split the camp. What actually happened?
Everything was going on smoothly until our semi-final game against Senegal. The officials came and were talking to us and because of the time, (Sunday) Oliseh said, “We need to train tomorrow.” Everybody got angry and there was a clash, which shouldn’t have happened. All over the world, when you give a team to a coach, you give him the chance to manage the team. We don’t need a delegation coming to see the team after every match. It cost us the defeat to Senegal because some players were unhappy and they had the picture of what happened in their heads, but we were still happy we came third; it wasn’t easy.
How do you view the exclusion of Oliseh and other senior members of the team from the 2002 World Cup?
Honestly, I didn’t know why that happened.Changing the team few weeks to the World Cup was not a wise decision. It was all new players; no understanding and it made things difficult.
Then Rivers State governor Peter Odili gave plots of land to the team for qualifying but we learnt you are having trouble getting access to the land.
It’s crazy. They gave us the certificates of the land but if you go there right now, you will see people building houses on the land. If you go there now, the community people will pursue you with machete and all forms of weapons. Some people are lucky because they have been able to sell their own plots to the community at a reduced rate. Some players don’t even have access to the land. I have mine but I don’t have access as well. It’s better to leave the land than one taking unnecessary risk.
What was the feeling like playing at the World Cup?
It’s every player’s dream; the height of football. I had the opportunity to meet players from all over the world. It was a great feeling.
But the Eagles failed to qualify for the 2006 edition in Germany
That’s football. We lost against Angola in the qualifiers and we were out. We tried to qualify but since we didn’t make it, maybe that’s how God wants it but for sure, the team did their best.
Were your parents in support of your playing football?
My parents didn’t encourage me to play football. My father was a retired military man and we lived in Ajegunle. When I came home after going out to play, I received strokes of the cane. But I still tried to make out time to play and I was ready for the flogging. If not for football, music and comedy in Ajegunle, there would have been a lot of bad boys out there right now. There would still have been guns everywhere on the streets but football changed a lot of things.
When did the breakthrough to Europe come?
It wasn’t easy. I was part of the Eaglets team that won the UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup in 1997 in Portugal. We defeated Spain 3-2 in the final. After then, I signed for Bendel Insurance and played three games before I got hooked up to this white guy through my friend. That is how I moved to Kavala.
When were your best and worst moments as a footballer?
My best and worst moments happened on the same day, when we qualified for the 2002 World Cup. It was the same day I lost my dad. Why I was very angry about his death is that he really wanted Nigeria to qualify for the World Cup; he wanted to see me there but it was unfortunate he didn’t make it. I was busy playing the World Cup qualifier against Ghana, which we won 3-0, and my dad was lying at the hospital. Immediately we qualified, he gave up the ghost.
As an Ajegunle boy, do you still visit the place, now that you have attained global status?
That is my hood for life. That is where I grew up; I will always be an Ajegunle boy to the core. There is no week I don’t go to Ajegunle once I am in town. I go to see friends I haven’t seen for a long time and as long as it is you, everybody will gather and they must drink something.
How did you meet your wife?
I started dating my wife while in secondary school; she took in and we tied the knot. Right now, I am married to my beautiful wife and we have three kids; a boy and two girls.
Is it true that you had an affair with actress, Halima Abubakar?
For me, those are stories. How can I buy a N50m house for a woman that is not my mother or wife? There is no iota of truth in that story.
How do you hope to give back to the society?
I have a very big plan and that’s why I am trying to get things right. I want to set up an orphanage. That has been my plan since I was a kid and I know I will get started very soon.
What is your advice to up-and-coming footballers?
They should beware of bad friends because that is the easiest way to pull you down. I was lucky because when I realised that I had bad friends, I started cutting them off. Today, I have dropped all of them. So the younger players should be prayerful, focused and they shouldn’t think they have arrived. They should always think of improving their game."
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