Femi opabunmi biography of donald
What happened to Nigeria's youngest ever World Cup player is simply heartbreaking
When Femi Opabunmi made his debut for Nigeria in 2002 as a 17-year-old, it seemed the footballing world was at his feet.
The winger had made an impression for his country's under 17's, scoring six goals in six appearances.
There was clearly a big hype surrounding the teenager, and that hype only increased after he scored on his debut for the Super Eagles against Kenya just prior to the 2002 World Cup.
And, although he sat out of his side's opening two group games in Group F, he was rewarded with a start against England in their final group game, in which ended 0-0.
The Super Eagles exited the tournament having finished last in Group F, but they had reason for optimism with Opabunmi.
At 17 years old, he had become Nigeria's youngster ever player to represent them at a World Cup, whilst also becoming the third youngster player in the tournament's history, behind Norman Whiteside and Samuel Eto'o.
DISASTER STRIKES
But then, Opabunmi's career took a massive hit.
The Nigerian would suffer from a disease called glaucoma, causing his eyesight to deteriorate in his right eye.
Understandably, this did not bode well for Opabunmi's hopes of becoming one of the world's most talented footballers, and he revealed all in a heartbreaking story with the BBC.
Opabunmi explained: "My eye problem started. I went for surgery. They said I have glaucoma. Everything changed. Things just got worse and worse and worse. I only see with one eye now.
"I woke up one morning and found out that I couldn't see well. I just saw cloud and had to go the specialist to check. That's when they told me I had to have an operation. After the operation, the problem remained the same.
"Now I can only see with my left eye. I can't see anything with my right.
"Giving up football is a very painful thing. Sometimes you think that maybe you should kill yourself. You think a lot, especially when your mate Former Super Eagles of Nigeria forward, Femi Opabunmi, recently narrated how he went from grace to grass. Opabunmi, 39, played for boys’ clubs like Greater Tomorrow, Young Star, and Cocoa Research before moving to Europe, where he had stints with clubs like Grasshoppers Zürich (Switzerland), Hapoel Be'er Sheva in Israel, and Chamois Niortais in France. However, he retired from football in 2006 due to serious glaucoma and is now totally blind in the right eye. Opabunmi has now opened up on the challenges he experienced as a professional footballer. In an exclusive interview with Vanguard, Opabunmi introduced himself as one of the players who helped Nigeria win the African U-17 Championships in 2001 He was also featured for the Super Eagles at the 2002 FIFA World Cup playing against England in the last group stage match - becoming the 3rd youngest player to ever play in the World Cup finals after Norman Whiteside and Samuel Eto'o. However, since then, he has not been called up again for the national team. ‘My own situation cost me a lot [of millions], not 30, 40! But I thank God I’m still alive..even though I went totally broke, even to see one naira is very difficult..it got to a stage I wanted to kill myself, but I appreciate God. God restored my eyes and I can see again in life - that’s a great achievement,’ an emotional Opabunmi admitted. Speaking on how his first experience with glaucoma, he said: ‘When I was playing in the second division in France [Niort FC], I was playing in a game, then I went up to head the ball and I couldn’t see anything. I saw like…clouds..I saw nothing. So we had to go to a specialist, I went to Romania, I went to UK, I travelled all the way to America. ‘When they gave me th Femi Opabunmi was born on March 3rd, 1985 in Lagos, Nigeria. He is a former Nigerian footballer. Femi Opabunmi Age Femi Opabunmi is 39 years old. Femi Opabunmi Early Life Opabunmi studied at Methodist High School Ibadan and played for the Methodist High School Ibadan Old Boys. Femi Opabunmi Career Opabunmi scored a goal to help Nigeria win the African U-17 Championships in 2001. Then 16, he finished the 2001 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Trinidad and Tobago with five goals to take the Silver Shoe as the second highest goalscorer and the Bronze Ball as the third best player of the tournament, helping Nigeria to reach the final where they lost to France. Huge things were expected from the left-footer who reportedly caught the attention of the likes of Manchester United and Lyon. He made his international debut in 2002 against Kenya scoring the second goal in a 3-0 win. At 17 the next year, he was part of the Super Eagles to the 2002 FIFA World Cup and played that group game against England becoming the 3rd youngest player to ever play in the World Cup finals after Norman Whiteside and Samuel Eto'o. He played for a few clubs, including Shooting Stars FC, Grasshoppers Zurich (Switzerland) and Chamois Niortaris in France. Although he never hit the heights expected of him, Opabunmi was enjoying a steady football career until tragedy struck in 2006 when he devoloped eye problems which forced him into early retirement. “I just woke up one day and I just saw the cloud, I was not seeing well,” the former Super Eagles player told BBC Pidgin English channel. Femi Opabunmi Personal Life In 2006, Opabunmi became blind in the right eye, a condition that mysteriously could not be cured by the best medical practices. In 2016, it was rumoured that he had significantly turned into a beggar in Ibadan. According to sources, he resorted into begging when help failed him from every corner. Femi Opabunmi Awards Opabunmi finished the 2001 FIFA U-17 W I think back. I think a lot about when I was the second top goalscorer at the Under-17 World Championship in 2001 - and third best player. And I was the youngest player to play in the World Cup in South Korea and Japan. Sometimes I think: "What is this life about?' I summon up the courage and I say: "When there is life, there will be hope one day." I put my hope in God. I keep on going. There's nothing you can do. Sometimes I will say: "I don't think there is God in this world." But my wife will give me the courage and say I should not say a bad word towards God, that God knows the perfect time and will answer everybody. Maybe God protected you from some dangers, you don't know. The lowest moment for me is when I have my challenges - that I can't play football when I'm still active. It's a painful thing. I've learned a lot of lessons because nobody knows tomorrow. You can say you can play this game for a long time - and something will come up and shorten our career. I made a lot of money - true - but it's money I spent on my eye problem. I want to tell the young players coming up that they should always think of tomorrow in life, whatever they do. And they should always invest - and take my own story as an example, to learn. Femi Opabunmi was speaking to Oluwashina Okeleji for this week's World Football show, presented by Mani Djazmi. Former Nigeria international Femi Opabunmi was forced to retire in 2006 after being touted as one of the most promising players of the Super Eagles team.
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