Few African-born players have decided to make a go of it in Brazil, but as Richard Owubokiri has shown, it can be a perfectly logical and successful career move.
Now a players’ agent and the head of a real estate office in north-eastern Brazil, the former striker left his native Nigeria in 1983 to try his luck in the so-called spiritual home of football. After several successful seasons in his homeland, where he played for Sharks and ACB of Lagos, the then 21-year-old was persuaded to make what was an unusual move by two Brazilian coaches.
As it turned out, his journey across the Atlantic proved to be a vital step in his 19-year career as a penalty-box predator, which would later see him end one season as Europe’s second-highest marksman. It was so vital in fact, that after moving on to Portugal, France, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, he decided to return to Brazil and settle in the northeastern city of Salvador, the capital of Bahia state, where he is known to everyone as Ricky.
“Things are going nicely here,” he told FIFA.com. “Nobody knew me when I arrived but I pursued my goals and reached them. Salvador is a second home for me and I feel great here.”
The two Brazilian coaches who instigated Owubokiri’s move to Brazil three decades ago were Luciano de Abreu, who coached him at Sharks, and the legendary Otto Gloria, who made his name in Portugal, enjoying trophy-laden spells with Benfica and steering the Portuguese national side to third place at the 1966 FIFA World Cup England. Together they convinced the young Nigerian to make the journey that would change his life.
The striker’s first port of call was Rio de Janeiro side America, who had enjoyed great success in the first half of the century before gradually losing ground to the Rio elite. In the early 1980s, however, they remained a competitive outfit, with the young goalscorer from a faraway land finding first-team opportunities hard to come by.
Nevertheless, he used his time wisely, studying Portuguese with the help of his mentors and teachers. In 1984, resisting the urge to cut his losses and return back home, he decided to make the 1200-kilometre journey up the coast to Salvador to sign for Vitoria.
“It’s a place with a climate all of its own. It’s special,” said the Nigerian in fluent Portuguese, spoken with an unmistakable Salvador accent.
Source: Vanguard
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