Owubokiri: Nigeria’s goal-merchant supremo

Owubokiri began his professional education with Nigerian club, Sharks as a schoolboy in 1978 when he joined form Okrika Grammar school in his final year alongside other schoolboys Benji Nzeakor and Rowland Orufe. Ricky recalled: “At Okrika Grammer School, I was assistant captain games captain and I was always on fire for the school team. […]

Owubokiri began his professional education with Nigerian club, Sharks as a schoolboy in 1978 when he joined form Okrika Grammar school in his final year alongside other schoolboys Benji Nzeakor and Rowland Orufe.

Ricky recalled: “At Okrika Grammer School, I was assistant captain games captain and I was always on fire for the school team. I once scored six goals against Government comprehensive secondary school, Borokiri.

“It was through my exploits then that Coach Monday Sinclair gave me an invitation to join the Sharks team. I was able to score because I have always liked training even when I was a child…I would always train and train and train and train till I could train no more. In every profession or endeavour, that should be the guiding principle.”

He made his debut in 1979 and was top scorer in division two in 1980 with 23 goals as they won promotion back to the top flight and also 6 goals as they got to the finals of the Wafu cup losing 1-2 on aggregate to Police of Senegal.

In 1981,Ricky was one of the most feared Strikers in the Nigerian league as he teamed up with Adokiye Amiesimaka and his goals again inspired Sharks who stormed to the Challenge cup Semi-finals with defending champions needing a replay to prevent them from reaching the finals.

He was transferred to ACB of Lagos in 1981 as well as St Gregory’s college, Lagos for his A-levels, same year he would earned his national cap including representing Nigeria at the 1982 African cup of Nations in Libya and would spend just one season before rejoining Sharks in 1983.

Ricky’s return to Sharks co-incided with the arrival of Brazilian coach Luciano Abreu and new strike partner Paul Uzokwe, and with it the introduction to the Brazilian playing style similar to what he learnt from his mentor Monday Sinclair. He would again be top scorer as Sharks narrowly missed promotion that year The deadly striker, precociously gifted and far above his peers in the technical appreciation of the game, was never going to spend too much time in the domestic scene as he became the first Nigerian to play in Brazil when he joined Rio de Janiero club, America in 1983 with the help of Coach Abreu who returned to his native country.

He then moved on to another Brazilian club, Esporte Clube Vitoria when his remarkable 35 goals in his first and only season at the club saw the European fat cats scrambling with their cheque books for his signature.Another thing that comes to mind about Owubokiri was his playing exploits in Brazil in the early eighties. How did he feel playing in Brazil at a time when not many African players did and what was the reaction from other players?

“I was well received because that was a novelty. It had never happened before so people were curious. In one of the first games I played in Rio (a Brazilian Cup game) all the fans were cheering my name. My first touch was a goal.

“It was an assist by my co-striker and I used my movement to beat my marker before thumping a firt time shot into the back of the net. The fans went wild. It was a great for me. I was top scorer in Brazil in 84 (15 golas in 18 games) and 85 (22 goals in 26 matches) alongside Zico, Careca, Socrates, Falcao, Casagrande, Junior, the Argentine goalkeeper, Fillol, Georginho, Dunga, Bebeto, Romario and other legends. It was an importnant  moment in my career.

“My worst memory was been left out of the 1994 Fifa World Cup at a time when I was among the best time at the world. My best memory was when I scored 30 goals and became the second top scorer in Europe. No African player has ever done till this day so it is a big record and I thank God because without God, I wouldn’t have been able to achieve.

It was a good moment for me, and my family.

“On that performance, I received a recommendation from the Nigeria Football Association to play for the Super Eagles.

“The best coach I worked under was Monday Sinclair, my former coach at Sharks. He believed when I was a 17 year old. Without him, I would never have succeeded as a professional. He is a father, a leader and a motivator…always advising. He was a complete coach and it was unfortunate he never had the opportunity to manage the national team for a long time…he was the perfect coach and a gentleman.

“I also worked under Aimore Moreira (a Brazilian, his brother, Jose Moreira was a former Coach of the Brazil national team) he was directly behind my success in the Brazilian national team.

“He waited for me for two months before signing me. Manuel Jose brought me to Portugal in the best moment in my career. I was scoring from all angles.

Manuel Jose was a highly intelligent coach who knew how to get the best out of me when I was at the peak of my powers.

“They are extremely important in my career and I will be grateful to them all through my career.

“One of the finest moment in my career is in Doha. I won the hearts of the Arabs…I had achieved so much earlier in my career and they exoected so much from me. I did not let them down!”

After his sojourn in Brazil, ‘Ricky’ moved to the French Championnat with the Stade Lavallois Mayenne Football Club where he scored 10 goals in the 1986/1987 season.

Big guns, Metz were suitably impressed and signed him on for the 1987/1988 season.

Portugal was next for the 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1/2 in) attacker as he went on to enjoy the best years of his professional career with Benfica, Estrela Amadora, Boavista, Vitoria and Belenenses between 1985 and 1995.

Owubokiri scored 81 goals during his time in the Portuguese Super Liga. “I recall a situation when I was in Boavista; the German goalkeeper at the time was Oliver Kahn. A lot of the strikers were scared of him. We (Boavista) were playing against His (Kahn’s) club at the time Karlsruhe in a European game. I scored against Oliver Kahn. I also scored against the French number one at the time, Bats. Even Victor Baia; I scored against him too. It was all down to hard work.

“My best goal was against SS Lazio in the European Cup. We had lost the first leg one-nil and we needed to win the return leg by two clear goals to advance. Before the game, the President of the club (now a Mayor in Portugal) Valentin Loureiro came into the dressing room with a bag filled with hundreds of thousands of pounds. He said the money belonged to us if we qualified by beating Lazio. I scored both goals…the second goal against Lazio was my best goal. The Lazio team had a great defence and the second goal was pure class!

“I received a pass from my Brazilian national team, Marlon Braodao and I feinted spectacularly, selling a dummy to the Lazio defenders and came face to with the goal keeper.

No one (not even me) expected this…I then sent the keeper the wrong way with a cool finish. It was one of the happiest moments in my career. I picked up an injury in that game because of the the move I made leading to the goal.”

He enjoyed stints in Asia in the twilight of his career with Al Arabi (Qatar) where he scored 27 goals in 26 games.

“I was highest goal scorer in Qatar…I scored 27 goals in 26 matches.

“I love Qatar as it was an important moment in my football career. They (the Arabs) called me a funny ame (Gbokiri…whatever that means…..hahahahahaha)…I will be in Doha in April 2012.

“Unfortunately, I won no honours with Nigeria but I played at the 1982 Africa Cup of Nations and was part of the qualifying process for the 1994 World Cup in the United States.

Owubokiri represented Nigeria between 1982 when he played at the African Cup of nations in Libya and 1992; famously becoming the first person to score a goal against South Africa’s Bafana Bafana following their re-admittance into international football in a qualifying game for the 1994 Fifa World Cup.

“My last game for Nigeria was the 1994 World Cup qualifier against the Bafana of South Africa…we won the game 4-0,” he said.

Ricky finished his career in Brazil and has continued to live in Brazil with his wife and kids. He set up the Ricky Soccer Academy and also coached at fluminenese but is now working full-time as a FIFA Agent.

On the kind of contribution he will render towards the development of the game in Nigeria, Ricky has this to say, “I have been active in football as a football. I have been involved in football as an international football agent. I have been doing business in that regard in the middle East, South America and Europe. I want to do more in Nigeria too. My first job will be to enlighten people who manage football in the country. To enlighten the representatives of our football so they can have a responsible and accountable attitude. If we put personal interests on the back seat, we will have a great chance of moving our football forward.”

He is excited about the Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup and he speaks Portuguese, French, Arabic and his native Wakrike languages fluently.