People often let players who are on the less flamboyant side of the game slip their mind once their career is over. One such star is Nigeria's Victor Ikpeba!
The 2023 CAF Awards took place in Morocco on Monday night, with fellow Nigerian Victor Osimhen winning the coveted Men's Player of the Year prize, beating Moroccan fullback Achraf Hakimi and Egyptian striker Mohammed Salah to the punch. The Napoli striker is the highest goalscorer in the TotalEnergies AFCON 2023 qualifiers with 10 strikes and had a sublime year during which he helped his side lift the Serie A title for the first time in 33 years. While celebrating Osimhen's achievements, we feel it is only fair to remember the player who won the same individual prize all the way back in 1997.
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Ikpeba represented various clubs around Europe while he was at the peak of his powers, scoring goals in France, Germany and Spain while picking up some impressive individual accolades along the way.
The former Super Eagles striker's professional career really kicked into gear after his displays at the 1989 FIFA U17 World Championship were noticed by Belgian side RFC Liege. After making the move to Europe, he took a while to settle in, scoring just two goals in 10 appearances in his first season, and three in 18 in his second, and managed to net just five times in 29 matches during his fourth season at the club. However, he really came into his own in the 1992/93 campaign, netting 19 times in 32 encounters.
His new-found vigour in front of goal did not go unnoticed, and the Nigeria international was snapped up by French side Monaco, who were coached by a certain Arsene Wenger at the time. He ended up making 223 appearances and scoring 77 goals for Les Rouge et Blanc, in a tenure that would see some label him as the "Prince of Monaco". It was during this time that he won CAF's Men's Player of the Year award. During the 1996/97 season, Ikpeba blessed supporters with memorable domestic and European performances. He netted 13 league goals to help Le Rocher become champions and scored on seven occasions in the UEFA Europa League (then known as the UEFA Cup) too.
When he left France for German side Borussia Dortmund in 1999, the attacker was by then regarded as one of Africa's best strikers and arrived at Signal Iduna Park with the burden of expectation weighing heavily on his shoulders. The pressure seemed to unfortunately get to him as the move to Germany marked a sad, steep decline in his career. He just could not recapture the magic that once saw him become recognised as the best player in Africa. His glory days looked to be behind him.
In 37 appearances, the forward managed to find the back of the net only four times in 37 appearances for the Black and Yellows. Despite sealing a loan move to LALIGA side Real Betis in 2001, he could not recapture the magic touch he had once possessed. After leaving Dortmund in 2002, he played for various clubs in different areas of the world, including Libyan side Al Ittihad, Belgian team RSC Charleroi, and Qatar's Al Sadd SC, where he decided to hang up his boots in 2005.
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Ikpeba will, however, always be remembered for his blistering pace, his ability to play anywhere in the frontline, his on-field IQ and the way he read the game to get himself into promising attacking positions. He will also always hold a place in Nigerian history as a member of the iconic squad that won the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations.
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