Kanu's Final
Posted by Gringo Maclure in FA Cup, Kanu, Portsmouth | 19 May 2008
As an Arsenal supporter, I found it hard to be impartial watching the FA Cup final with so many old boy Gunners on display for Pompey. Tony Adams was sitting next to Harry Redknapp, Sol Campbell was the captain who lifted the trophy and the squad included the likes of Diarra and Lauren. But, more than any of these it was the sight of one of my favourite ever football players supposedly in the twilight of his career, putting in a man of the match performance and grabbing the goal that won the game. A standing ovation for the enigmatic Kanu!
Enigmatic is a good way to describe Kanu. One of the reasons I enjoy watching the lanky 6ft 5in Nigerian is that his story includes some astonishing highs and disastrous lows. He is both the most decorated footballer in African history and something of a circus clown. His game includes flashes of dazzling intelligence, creativity and vision and yet he is guilty of some cringeworthy clangers and wastefulness in front of goal. It is impossible to predict what will happen when Kanu is on the ball.
A brief look through some of his career gives an indication of what I mean. On the upside, he won the Champions League with Ajax in 1995, won Olympic gold with Nigeria in 1996, scooped the African player of the year award for 1996 and 1999 and scored some goals of a quality that no footballer at the time could match in Arsenal’s 98/99 season as he went on to win League and FA Cup winners medals with the team in subsequent years. On the downside, he missed the penalty that cost Nigeria the 2000 African Nations Cup and he endured an unsuccessful spell at relegation-threatened West Bromwich, the nadir of which was the so-called miss of the season on 14th November 2004 which left his then manager Bryan Robson, caught on camera, screaming “How did he miss that?”. Sometimes Kanu can be frustratingly absent and he has never had the finishing ability to put him in the top league of international strikers, a possible reason for Wenger looking elsewhere for Arsenal’s firepower in the 2000s. Occasionally, the two sides of Kanu can be seen in a single match. On his Portsmouth debut in August 2006, Kanu came on as a second half subsititute against Blackburn and promptly netted two goals. Then, having won a penalty he stepped up to secure his hat-trick. His effort was palmed up by Brad Friedel and with the goalmouth gaping Kanu wildly fluffed his headed rebound into the advertising boards.
All this can make it frustrating for supporters, managers and team members to watch, but it is compulsive viewing. One of the funniest pieces of commentary I ever heard came from the mouth of Ron Atkinson during coverage of an Arsenal Champions League match. Kanu had waltzed on a mazey run into the area leaving a wake of sprawled and tangled defenders behind him. With the goal at his mercy he tamely side-footed his shot at the keeper. “We have been denied the greatest goal ever!” exclaimed a belligerent Atkinson.
On Saturday, the two sides of Kanu showed themselves again. After 20 minutes, Kanu picked up Utaka’s low cross, turned his marker, rounded Enckelman the Cardiff keeper and with an angled tap-in all that was needed to finish the move, he prodded his shot against the outside of the post. I was out of my seat shouting, “We have been denied the greatest FA Cup Final goal ever!”. I felt certain that would be the end of Kanu’s big day and I imagined that Redknapp might substitute the old horse soon after half-time. But on 37 minutes, Kanu latched onto Enckelman’s spill and lifted the goal into the empty net. Kanu’s effort won’t be remembered for as long as his non-goal a quarter of an hour earlier might've been, but it proved decisive. The rest of his performance was imperious and the Nigerian looks set to enjoy an Indian summer with a contract extension and UEFA Cup football next season.
Kanu’s career is all the more astonishing for the fact that it so nearly ended with severe heart problems in 1996. For me, what makes Kanu even more an attraction is the Christian faith I share with him that informed his response to that crisis and continues to inform his charity work, his lifestyle and his joyful approach to the game he plays.
Emmanuel Adebayor, who shares with Kanu a similar height and gallop, claims the Nigerian was his childhood inspiration. Adebayor wears the same shirt numbers as Kanu does for his national side (4) and did for the Gunners (25). The Togo striker has a great future ahead of him and the consistency he has shown this season indicates he is likely to outscore his idol in the coming years. But, for sheer out-of-nothing ingenuity, Kanu still has the edge on his protégé.
Comments
So you are a christian and you devote all your time writing about Arsenal. Dont you think that Arsenal is an idol in your life. Imagine Arsenal vs Lyon, Championship final and your vicar/pastor call for a prayer meeting.....I know which one you will choose.
Regards
Kanu is a special talent. He's won everything in football except the World Cup, though he actually took Nigeria to an U-16 World Cup victory in 1993. You wonder how awesome he'd have been had he not had the heart problem. It certainly affected his game. I felt Wenger should have kept Kanu....he's a player with immense attitude, personality, and an awesome person for the kids to learn from. You can't have won all he has in football with so many teams without being a special guy, and an extraordinary talent. In 1996, Ronaldo actually said he felt Kanu was better than him.
LOL to Fadders... yeah, football and church have crossed at various times. The final for Euro 2004 was on a Sunday night and my church decided to compromise. A 'football' themed mini-service of 45 minutes (or one half) followed by the match on a big screen for all to watch!
Country:Nigeria
Honours won
FIFA U-17 World Cup
1993 Winner(Gold Medal)
FIFA World Cup
Appearances: 1998(Second Round), 2002(Second Round)
African Cup of Nations
Appearances: 2000(Silver Medal), 2002(Bronze Medal), 2004(Bronze Medal), 2006(Bronze Medal), 2008(Quarter Finalist)
Olympic Games
1996 Olympic Games (Gold Medal)
Club & Honours Wons
Nigerian Premier League: 1
1992-93, Iwuanyanwu Nationale F.C
Eredivisie: 3
1993-94, AFC Ajax
1994-95, AFC Ajax
1995-96, AFC Ajax
UEFA Champions League: 1
1994-95, AFC Ajax
UEFA Cup: 1
1997-98, F.C. Internazionale Milano
English Premier League: 2
2001-02, Arsenal F.C.
2003-04, Arsenal F.C.
FA Cup: 3
2001-02, Arsenal F.C.
2002-03, Arsenal F.C.
2007-08, Portsmouth F.C.
FA Community Shield: 1
2004, Arsenal F.C.
Awards
1996, African Footballer of the Year
1999, African Footballer of the Year
culled from wikipideia
it was a really boring final in my opinion, nice to see someone different winning though
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