Super Eagles and Mainz 05 defender Leon Balogun has revealed the secret behind his strong central defence partnership with William Troost-Ekong for the Nigeria national team.
The partnership referred to as “Oyibo Wall” has blossomed since the first game under new manager Gernot Rohr when the duo paired to keep Tanzania at bay during a dead rubber AFCON 2017 qualifiers.
It was broken, with Balogun missing through injury when Nigeria defeated Zambia 2-1 in their first World Cup 2018 Qualifiers in Ndola, the partnership however resurfaced again when Nigeria thumped Algeria 3-1.
The duo were also paired by Rohr in the Eagles last friendly game, and Balogun widely regarded as the senior colleague in the partnership has revealed the secret of their strong pairing for Nigeria.
“William is my brother and both of us have played a couple of games together and we have formed a good partnership on the field of play. Off the pitch, we are friends and that is having very positive impact on our game when we play together in the back-line for the Super Eagles” , he told the official website of the Nigeria Football Federation.
“We know each other and we know what the other is thinking, that has helped our game a lot. On the choice of the the training camp in France, it is a beautiful idea by the NFF as it will be good to be together for 8-9 days before we leave for Uyo.”
Ade Emmanuel
