There are others still who were in the game at the same time and before who are also coming for the final testimonial of a modern legend of the game.
Top of the list are four-time African Player of the Year Samuel Eto’o of Cameroon, his compatriot Rigobert Song the former Cameroonian skipper and the younger Alex Song of Arsenal.
Ghana’s Samuel Essien, who revealed Kanu’s role in his move to Chelsea from Lyon, will be on hand to honour his friend as will national team mates- Asamoah Gyan and Sulley Muntari.
Emmanuel Adebayor who bears a resemblance to Kanu in height and style and who looked up to the great Nigerian as a youngster while growing up in Togo is ready to come to Lagos to honour his idol. Senegal’s El Hadj Diouf as well as the trio of Cote d’ Ivoire’s Didier Drogba, Yaya and Kolo Toure are billed for the showpiece, although it has emerged that Drogba will not attend as the Chelsea striker is getting married the next day in France.
Kanu’s Portsmouth team mate Aaron Mokoena, together with South African compatriot Siphiwe Tshabalala, are also expected to play.
Tshabalala who got the stunning opening goal of the 2010 World Cup could not hide his excitement at being invited for the testimonial.
“I was not surprised at all when I got the invite. I think it has to do with playing in the World Cup and my performance for the national team – that got me noticed the world over,” enthuses the Kaizer Chiefs star.
“I’m delighted to have been invited to Kanu’s testimonial match and this is great for my profile as a player and it is great that it came from someone I grew up idolising, so I have to make the most of it.”
Still others expected for the match, which takes place at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos on Saturday, are Kanu’s team mates from the great Ajax side of 1995 which won the UEFA Champions League- The De Boer twins, Frank and Ronald, Frank Rijkaard and Patrick Kluivert.
Former World Footballer of the Year, Geroge Weah, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Lucas Radebe, Kalusha Bwalya, Hossam Hassan and other greats of the game have indicated intention to come to Nigeria.
Kanu deserves no less. He has been a model professional footballer who won almost everything the game had to offer. Champions League, UEFA Cup, FA Cup, Premier League, U-17 World Cup in 1993 qualifiersand of course the Olympic gold medal in 1996 when a young Kanu captained Nigeria to triumph in the United States, are testaments to his glittering career.
Although he may not have won the Nations Cup or the World Cup, where he represented Nigeria six and three times respectively, it doesn’t detract from his stature in the game.
His off field involvement in efforts to help indigent African kids with heart condition to access surgery and live better lives will be remembered perhaps as his greatest legacy. This involvement stemmed from his 23own close shave when it was discovered following his movement from Ajax to Inter Milan in 1996 that he had a heart condition. After surviving to continue to play the game, Kanu established a heart foundation which has helped taken care of several kids with related ailments.
Saturday will be a celebration of a footballer who brought so much happiness to Nigerians with his guile, clever and languid style of play.
Although his best time will probably be at Arsenal where he won the Premier League and FA Cup, his time at Portsmouth where he also led them to another Cup glory, is worth recalling especially as he continued with the South Coast club until finally calling it quits No less a personality than the governor of Lagos state Babatunde Fashola will captain a Super Eagles All-Star side against the Friends of Kanu in the testimonial match which promises a packed house at the 25,000 capacity stadium which the governor has graciously given out free.
Fanny Amun who was Kanu’s coach at the U-17 World Cup winning side in 1993, captures the essence of the player he says still calls him father to this day.
“Anything that has a beginning must have an end and I am happy that Kanu is having a glorious end, he has had a fruitful career. He is humble person, shy person. Indeed I never thought that Kanu or Wilson Oruma will get married because they were so shy in camp. But look at them today and it makes me so happy having played a role in their lives,” says Amun.
“I am very happy for him. He is an honest and exceptional talent. I recall when I converted him to a striker then people cried that he was a midfielder not a striker, but look at everywhere he later played he was used as a striker. My prayer for Kanu is that God be with him as he enters another phase of his life.”
Indeed, that is the wish of everybody for the two-time African Player Award winner who brought excitement, joy and succour to millions of Nigerians.www.mannamart.com
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