Fortune sometimes finds its own unsolicited way of rearranging the pieces on the board, and Nigeria striker Aaron Samuel is the latest benefactor in that regard.
Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr has moved CSKA Moscow forward Samuel up from the standby list to the main squad, in the wake of Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi being forced to withdraw with a leg injury.
Under normal circumstances, losing a first team player would be a weakness, a blow to the squad, especially as they are facing African champions Cameroon in a set of 2018 World Cup qualifiers this coming week.
But these circumstances are not normal, and this small piece of misfortune could well turn out to be a blessing in disguise for the Nigerians.
Make no mistake, Iwobi is a fine, tidy, skilled, and cerebral football player. There is a reason he plays for Arsenal, after all. But games between Nigeria and Cameroon have historically not been about finesse.
Intelligence, yes. Nwankwo Kanu’s visionary pass to find John Utaka for the winner at Afcon 2006, for example. Skill, perhaps. Here, that sublime Samuel Eto’o finish in Lagos in the 2000 Afcon Final comes to mind.
There are numerous other examples where brilliance, skill, and intelligence have decided the games. But they have, for the most part, happened after brutally physical skirmishes with no quarters asked and none given.
While polished Iwobi would certainly have been an asset, 6ft2in Samuel’s style appears better suited to this particular opposition, and in light of what is at stake, this particular set of games.
The CSKA man is big, burly, and quick, and would sooner stop breathing than shy away from a scuffle. Putting himself in harm’s way in search of goals comes as second nature, and it’s how he got his first of only two goals for Nigeria.
Against Sudan in 2014, he found himself amidst a sea of bodies and instinctively threw out his favoured left peg into the fray to stab home a close range rebound.
He would be the perfect muscle foil or substitute for any of the starting forwards, whether it is Odion Ighalo or Kelechi Iheanacho. It would not be at all inconceivable to see him as a starter.
Samuel is not lacking in the skills department, and can match almost any of the other forwards for speed of foot and thought. But where he takes the edge is in his ability to get into, and come out on top of, a good scrap.
It is a characteristic the Super Eagles missed against South Africa in June, and it is one they will sorely need against the Indomitable Lions on 1 and 4.
Credit: ESPN
