By Jacob Ajom

Amidst a dearth of outstanding defenders in the national team, a  young Nigerian defender, Tobi Adewole is making waves in the United States where he plies his professional trade. The 22 year old centre back who plays for Riverhounds in the USL has been in top shape and the youngster capped his man-of-the-match performance with a late goal against Ottawa Fury that sealed victory for his side penultimate weekend.

Tobi Adewole

Matt Grubba of DK Pittsburgh Sports writes, “For 80-plus minutes, the Riverhounds appeared to be getting dragged into another scrappy draw by an opponent on their heels. This time, however, they got the late heroics they needed from one of the least-likely sources.

“Tobi Adewole, the Hounds’ 22-year-old center back, touched a Kevin Kerr cross into the net in the 85th minute for the only goal, giving the Riverhounds their second consecutive win, a 1-0 final over the Ottawa Fury on Saturday night at Highmark Stadium.”

It was a rarity to see Adewole whose defensive duties have raised his claim to the starting eleven score. And to prove his performance against Ottawa was no fluke, Adewole put up a performance last week that got him picked among the USL Team of the Week.

His coach at Riverhounds, Dave Brandt said, “For

Tobi, a first year player, to show the consistency in the back is impressive. He has good athleticism in the air and has shown the ability to be strong in his one-on-one defending,”

Tobi has said his biggest dream is to receive a call to play for Nigeria.

“I want to play for Nigeria,” he told this reporter. I’m just 22 and believe I can contribute a lot to the national team.”

The young lad who is having his first full year as a professional with the USL side said of his resolve to play for his fatherland and not the USA, “It would have been an honour to play for the United States, but definitely, an even bigger honour to play for Nigeria; the land of my roots. Nigeria had always been a part of me.

I have always had a strong feeling for Nigeria even though I was not born there both my parents were born there and I come from a very strong Nigerian background, constantly being influenced by the culture..”