Nigeria Player of the Year.

The people’s choice, the only choice: why the Super Eagles stopper had to win the Goal Nigeria gong

I doubt it came as a surprise to many that Vincent Enyeama was named as the Goal Nigeria Player of the Year.

A sample of some of the reader comments that were sent to our Twitter handle after the announcement was made indicate that it was a result that had been expected by many.

In a vintage year for the Super Eagles, the goalkeeper might have had more competition for the award. In 2013, for example, the likes of Victor Moses, Emmanuel Emenike, Godfrey Oboabona and Ogenyi Onazi might all have hoped to have claimed the Goal Nigeria prize (which was eventually lifted by John Obi Mikel).

Over the last 12 months, however, the aforementioned players haven’t excelled and questions must be asked about the reasons and cure for such a decline.

The Goal Nigeria team will be dissecting these issues over the coming weeks and months, but right now, we revel in the achievements of a player who would have been a POTY contender in any season.

Enyeama was consistently excellent throughout 2014 and, as importantly, he excelled in the year’s key moments.

Make no mistake, 2014 was a disappointing one for Nigeria, but it would have been a lot worse without the unswerving brilliance of Enyeama.

Enyeama | Unswerving Brilliance

Nigeria’s showing at the 2014 World Cup was perplexing. On the one hand, the Super Eagles ended their long wait for both a victory over European opposition and a place in the last 16 on the grandest stage of all.

Beyond both of those achievements, there was also the composed showing—for an hour at least—against France, Ahmed Musa’s brace against Argentina and Emenike’s powerful forward play against Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The team hardly flourished, however, and largely struggled to find their rhythm.

I would argue that Keshi’s side were lucky to escape the group stage.

Indeed, Edin Dzeko will probably still be asking himself how his point-blank effort in the second group game didn’t find the net.

Keshi had Enyeama to thank. The stopper’s incredible reactions managed to thwart the Manchester City man and guaranteed a victory for the Super Eagles. That save was as important as Peter Odemwingie’s goal.

Superb showings on the grandest stage of all

His shot-stopping skills were also on show during Nigeria’s ill-fated Cup of Nations qualification campaign.

He made two superb saves from Thievy Bifouma (one from a penalty) in the vital qualifying victory over the Republic of Congo away in Pointe-Noire, keeping the Super Eagles’ qualification campaign alive for a few days longer.

As I wrote shortly after that match: “Amidst the euphoria of the day, the elation of the moment, we must not forget Enyeama's two crucial saves - ultimately decisive.”

It is tantalising to imagine what might have been had the LOSC Lille Number One been present for the first two matches of the qualifying campaign. Nigeria conceded three at home against Claude Le Roy’s Red Devils with Austin Ejide in net…is it too much to assume that Enyeama would have done a better job than the hapless Hapoel Be’er Sheva keeper?

Afcon Qualification - What might have been?

On a broader level, the keeper deserves great credit for organising Nigeria’s defence.

The Super Eagles were the last team to be breached in the summer and kept clean sheets against both Bosnia and Iran. Over four games, Lionel Messi, Marcos Rojo and Paul Pogba were the only opposition players to beat ‘The Cat’.

This was despite first-choice left-back Elderson Echiejile being injured ahead of the tournament and Oboabona being lost in the opening match.

Nigeria’s defence impressed, despite the presence of the ageing Joseph Yobo and the previously-untested Juwon Oshaniwa.

Enyeama was instrumental in the make-shift defensive unit being so composed on the grandest stage of them all.

Enyeama | Giving Messi nightmares since 2010

Finally, while Enyeama excelled for the Super Eagles on the grandest stage of all, and in the intensity of Pointe-Noire, he has also demonstrated his class week in and week out for his club side LOSC Lille.

At the tail end of 2013 he fell short of breaking Gaetan Huard’s long-standing Ligue 1 record for consecutive clean sheets. After a slight blip, he soon returned to his impermeable ways.

From the start of February until the end of April he conceded only eight goals. As I noted recently with Goal Nigeria, from New Year’s Day to the end of the season, he kept eight clean sheets.

His excellent work between the sticks provided a platform upon which Lille secured qualification for the Champions League play-off round. Their defensive record was key to this achievement—they conceded only 26 goals all season, second only to champions Paris Saint-Germain.

Enyeama was rewarded by being named the Ligue 1 African Player of the Season, and was recently named the Best Goalkeeper in France during 2014.

He has also been honoured by CAF and has made it to the final three in the confederation’s Footballer of the Year award. Yaya Toure and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang stand in his way, but Nigeria fans, at least, will have no doubts as to who should be recognised as Africa’s finest in 2014.