Captain of the all conquering Nigeria U-17 team of 2015 Kelechi Nwakali might not have skippered the team if not for the departure of FC Porto exciting teen defender Chidozie Awaziem owngoalnigeria.com can reveal.
Awaziem who is excelling as a central defender for FC Porto is originally a defensive midfielder and during the early stage of the U-17 camping was the coaches preferred choice in midfield ahead of Arsenal new teen signing Nwakali.
However shortly before the team went to the WAFU invitational tournament Awaziem was discovered to be ineligible for the U-17 team due to his date of birth which was few months ahead of the competition requirements for players.
The disappointments made him leave the camp and shortly after he excelled at a scouting tournament organised by Geelec Football Academy where he was spotted by FC Porto scout and the rest as they say his history.
After Awaziem departure,Nwakali was made the team’s anchorman in midfield and he never looked back, he took full advantage of Awaziem departure and ended up as captain of the team where he excelled and won the U-17 most valuable player at the World Cup in Chile.
