Interview with Atta Aneke, the man behind Odion Ighalo

Atta Aneke sammen med Odion Ighalo på The Lowry Hotel i Manchester

 

Dette intervjuet er skrevet både på norsk og engelsk, scroll lengre ned for engelsk versjon.

This interview is written in both norwegian and english, scroll down for english version.

 

På transfer-vinduets siste dag signerte Manchester United lånesoldaten Odion Ighalo, han kommer fra kinesiske Shanghai Greenland FC. I den forbindelse har jeg tatt en prat med hans fotballagent Atta Aneke for å bli bedre kjent med Man Utd. første nigerianske spiller gjennom tidene.

 

Gratuler så masse med denne overgangen, det må ha vært en hektisk dag for deg på overgangvinduets siste dag?

Takk for det, det har virkelig vært noen hektiske dager, men jeg trives med hektiske dager. Selve overgangen var kjempe spennende og jeg hadde jobbet med denne i noen dager før jeg fortalte han om at Manchester United var en mulighet for han. Klart det er jo ekstra spennende for han som er United fan fra barndommen av. I starten så det ut som det ikke skulle bli en overgang, men midt på dagen på selve “deadline day” begynte ting å skje, det som ga det litt ekstra utfordringer var at klokken var 2300 på kvelden i Shanghai så man var jo litt bekymret for at man ikke skulle rekke det, men heldigvis falt at på plass.

Hvor lang tid tok det før overgangen var i boks fra Manchester United viste interesse?

Selve overgangen tok ikke så langt tid, men jeg tok kontakt med Manchester United ca. en uke før overgangsvinduet stengte hvor jeg lanserte Ighalo som et alternativ. Etter et par dager skjønte jeg at dette kunne bli en realitet, men det var ikke før overgangsvinduets siste dag ting virkelig ble hektisk. Man kan trygt si at fra det ble “go” midt på dagen så ventet det noen hektiske timer for at alle forhandlinger og det nødvendige papirarbeidet skulle falle på plass.

Hvordan tok Odion Ighalo nyheten da han fikk vite at en stor klubb som Manchester United var ute etter han?

Han ble selvfølgelig veldig glad over at en stor klubb som United ville ha hans tjenester som fotballspiller, men han ville prøve og ikke tenke så mye på det før alt med overgangen var i boks. En setning jeg bemerket meg var at Ighalo sa at hvis en slik overgang falt på plass ville han bli meget lykkelig og en barndomsdrøm ville gå i oppfyllelse. Da selve overgangen var i boks var klokken fem om morgenen i Shanghai og han hadde ikke sovet noe den natten, så og si at han var en lykkelig mann da var det ingen tvil om. Du ser kjærligheten han har for United i øynene hans og det at han måtte ned i lønn ga han blaffen i. Bare fiks denne overgangen var hans egne ord.

Du hentet Ighalo fra Nigeria til Norge hvor han spilte en sesong for Lyn, kunne du forutsett en slik reise for han?

Her må jeg svare både ja og nei, det startet veldig bra hvor han tok tippeligaen med storm med Lyn og han gikk til Udinese hvor man trudde han skulle fortsette denne utviklingen. I Udinese ble det flere utlån før han virkelig blomstret igjen og da ble det en overgang til Watford, her hadde han flere gode sesonger og det var ventet at karrieren hans skulle ta av på nytt, men så ble det Kina og da ble det kanskje en litt mer anonym karriere sett med europeiske øyne.

Nigerianere har veldig stor selvtillit og har ingen problemer med å fortelle hva deres drømmer er fra dag en. Her er jeg sikker på at hvis man hadde spurt Ighalo når han spilte for Lyn om han kom til å få spille for Manchester United en dag så ville han uten tvil svart ja.

Han blir den første fra Nigeria til å representere Manchester United og debuten hans er bare ett spørsmål om tid, hvor stolt er Odion av dette?

Det er virkelig en stor ære for han, når han ringte hjem til moren og skulle fortelle henne om dette sa hun: “Gratulere min sønn, dette har du drømt om siden du var en liten gutt”. I Nigeria bor det ca. 200 millioner mennesker hvor majoriteten er fotballgale så dette er virkelig stort for Igahalo, men også for Nigeria. Tipper United- interessen vil eksplodere ytterligere i Nigeria, selv om United er en meget populær klubb allerede.

Ighalo hadde tre sesonger bak seg i Premier League- klubben Watford før han satte kursen for Kina, hva tror du Manchester United fansen kan forvente seg av han i denne låneperioden?

De kan forvente seg en spiller som vil spille med hjertet, man vil se en spiller som skal bevise at han hører hjemme på dette nivået. Han er meget god i boksen hvor han spiller med en ekstrem ro, han er god på avslutninger i tillegg. Men klubben får også ett fantastisk menneske både på og utenfor banen.

Tilslutt, hvis Odion Ighalo skulle uttalt seg nå til Manchester United fansen, hva ville han sagt?

Han ville sagt at det er en ære å være i en slik klubb som det Man Utd er, og han skal vise seg tilliten verdig hvor han virkelig skal ta vare på denne muligheten.

 

Tusen takk for at du tok deg tid Atta i disse meget travle dager, og masse lykke til videre til dere begge to, Manchester United fansen gleder seg 🙂

 

English version

Atta Aneke together with Odion Ighalo at The Lowry Hotel in Manchester

 

On the final day of the transfer window, Manchester United signed the player Odion Ighalo, who came from the chinese club Chinese Shanghai Greenland FC. I’ve spoken to his football agent Atta Aneke to get to know Man Utd. first Nigerian player of all time

 

Congratulations with this big move for Odion Ighalo, it must have been a busy day for both of you on the last day of deadline day?

Thank you, it’s really been some hectic days, but I enjoy the hectic days more than the quitet ones. The move between the club`s itself was very exciting and I had been working on this for a few days before I told him that Manchester United was a possibility for him. Sure, it’s gives an extra boost for him who is also a United fan from childhood. In the beginning it first it looked like it wasn’t going to be a move for Ighalo, but suddenly in the middle of the day on “deadline day” things started to happen. What gave this move some extra challenge was that the time was 11 PM in the evening in Shanghai so you were a little worried not to reach everything with the paperwork etc, but fortunately everything were done on time.

How long did it take before the deal was done, from Manchester United showed interest in Odion Ighalo?

The move itself did not take that long, but I was in contact with Manchester United for about a week before the deadline day where I launched Ighalo as an alternative for the club. After a few days, I realized that this could become a reality, but it wasn’t until the last day of deadline day things became really hectic. You can safely say that from all the negotiations and paperwork started in the middle of the day, there was quite a busy day before that the deal could be done.

How did Odion Ighalo take the news when he got the message that a big club like Manchester United wanted him in this January window?

He was of course very happy that a big club like Man United wanted his services as a football player, but he wanted to try not to think so much about it until everything with the move was in place. One sentence I noticed was that Ighalo said that if such a move fell into place he would be very happy and a childhood dream would come true. When the move itself was finished, it was five o’clock in the morning in Shanghai and he had not slept anything that night, so to say he was a happy man then, there was no doubt about that. You can see the love he has for United in his eyes and the fact that he accepted a cut in his wages without hesitations shows that i really wanted this move. Just fix this move was his own words to me.

You brought Ighalo from Nigeria to Norway where he played a season for the Norwegian club Lyn, could you predictet such a journey for him?

Here I have to answer both yes and no, it started very well for him. He started fantastic in the norwegian league with Lyn and then he went to  the italian club Udinese. In Udinese it did not work out as planned right away and he played for different clubs on loan, before he really flourished again. Then he moved from Italy to Watford and here he had several good seasons with the club, and then he moved to China were he lived a little more anonymous career seen with European eyes. Nigerians have very high self-esteem and have no problem telling what their dreams are from day one. Here I am sure if Ighalo had been asked when he played for Lyn that if he was going to play for Manchester United one day he would undoubtedly answer yes.

He will be the first from Nigeria to represent Manchester United and his debut is only a matter of time, how proud is Odion of this?

It is really a big honor for him, when he phoned his mother and told her about this move she said: “Congratulations my son, this have been your dream since you were a little boy”. In Nigeria it lives approx. 200 million people where the majority loves football, so this is really big move for Igahalo but also for Nigeria. I reckon the interest for Man Utd will expand further in Nigeria, although United is a very popular club already there.

Ighalo had three seasons behind him in the Premier League at Watford before heading to China, what do you think the Manchester United fans can expect from him during his loan-spell at Man Utd?

They can expect a player who will play with his heart in every game and you will see a player who will prove that he belongs at this level. He is very good inside the box where he plays with an extreme calmness combined with great finishing skills. But the club also gets an amazing person both on and off the pitch

If Odion Ighalo were to speak out to the Manchester United fans right now, what would he say?

He would say that it is an honor to be included in such a big club as Man Utd, and that he will show this trust worthy. He will truly “grab” this opportunity with both feet and perform 100% from day one.

 

Thank you so much for taking the time Atta, I know it`s  very busy days for you and good luck to the both of you. The Manchester United fans are looking forward to seeing Igahlo on the pitch 🙂