The decision of FC Porto rave of the moment Samuel Omorodion go snub the chance of playing for Nigeria in favour of continuing his rise through the ranks with the Spanish team has been narrowed to the influence of his mother, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Born in the Spanish town of Melila to Nigerian parents, the 20 year old is eligible to play for both nations, but has so far represented Spain at various youth levels and recent reports suggest he could be in line for a first time call up to the senior national team of Nigeria.
Like we exclusively reported and confirmed by the striker, interim coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Austine Eguavoen had a chat with the 20 year old before he was called up to the Spanish U23 team that won gold at the last Olympic gams, but he declined the offer.
Now at FC Porto where he has found the net seven times in as many games, he showed his predatory instincts yesterday for the Spanish U21 by scoring four goals in their 4-1 mauling of Malta yesterday in the Euros qualifiers.
It was stated in the press in Spain that he feels no attachment to Nigeria due to the absence of his father, who wasn’t there for him all through the rough and tough times before his rise to the top, leading to the discussion about his international future.
He granted an interview to Spanish outlet Marca, where he spoke about the role his mother played in his becoming a professional footballer, without making any mention of his Nigerian father.
“My childhood has been quite hard. Many times, my mother didn’t have money for me to go to training and we had to walk, sometimes we didn’t have to eat. It’s hard”, he said.
“I was able to get my mother out of work… I also was able to buy her a house.”
Speaking further he revealed that he has decided to drop his father’s name Omorodion for his mother’s maiden name Aghehowa. “Everything my mom did for me..it doesn’t have a price. I want to honor her by using her last name. People know me as Omorodion, but I want to be known as Agehowa.”
