Finidi George Names 2 Ex-players Who Should Be Regarded as Nigeria's Most Successful Stars

Finidi George Names 2 Ex-players Who Should Be Regarded as Nigeria's Most Successful Stars

Akan Anwankwo
updated at April 12, 2023 at 7:49 PM
  • Finidi George believes himself and Austin Okocha deserve to be the greatest Nigerian players that played in Europe
  • The Ajax legend added that though Nwankwo Kanu and Mike Obi had more silverware than them, they contributed more to their respective teams
  • The former Real Betis, Mallorca, and Ipswich Town star was recently named the new boss of Nigerian side Enyimba

Finidi George is one of Nigeria's most successful players in Europe but the former Ajax legend has not been regarded as the most successful.

He won the Champions League trophy with the Amsterdam giants back in 1996 making him the first player from the country to do so.

Nwankwo Kanu was also a member of the team but the former Super Eagles winger was a regular in the then Loius Van Gaal's squad.

Finidi says himself and Okocha should be regarded as Nigeria's most successful stars in Europe not Mikel, Kanu
Finidi believes himself and Okocha contributed more their respective European sides than Kanu and Mikel. Photo by Stuart MacFarlane and Darren Walsh
Source: Getty Images

Today, history favours Kanu and John Obi Mikel as two of the most successful Nigerian players that ever played in Europe following their exploits with Premier League sides Arsenal and Chelsea.

Mikel and Kanu's career in Europe

Mikel won two Premier League titles, two FA Cup, the Champions League and the Europa League during his lengthy spell at Stamford Bridge.

On the other hand, Kanu won the Champions League, Europa League with Inter Milan, two Premier League titles, and three FA Cup with Arsenal and Portsmouth.

Speaking to LegitSports on Instagram, the Finidi who recently became coach of Nigerian Professional Football League side Enyimba had a contracting view with the notion.

Finidi's opinion on himself and Okocha

The former Real Betis and Mallorca star believes himself and Austin Okocha contributed to their respective teams more than any other Nigerian players that plied their trade in Europe.

He told Legit.ng:

"In terms of winning trophies, I will give it to Kanu and Mikel Obi but when it comes to being a major part of your teams' success, I believe myself and Okocha deserves the accolade."

Okocha helped Bolton Wanderers escape relegation twice and played in the League Cup final where they fell to Middlesbrough during his spell at the Reebok Stadium under Sam Allardyce.

Finidi also lifted Betis in competing in the Copa del Rey final where they lost to Barcelona and made them qualify into the Champions League

Osihmen and Benzema lead in top Europe's leagues

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had earlier reported that Victor Osimhen is officially the joint highest goalscorer across the top five leagues in Europe including the Premier League, Serie A, Ligue 1, La Liga and the Bundesliga, Instagram.

The Nigerian international who had a slow start in the campaign has scored six goals in Serie A and he is tied with Real Madrid's Karim Benzema.

The 22-year-old was given a straight red card in their season opener against Venezia following an off-the-ball incident with a defender.

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