Nigeria international Adebayo Adeleye is a goalkeeper for Israeli Premier League club Hapoel Jerusalem. He made a huge leap when he landed the Israeli league in 2018 straight from the B-United Football Academy in the Alimosho area of Lagos. The former U-17 and U-20 star says he is cool with life in Israel even as he looks up to the Hills and across to Europe for greater glory in future. He spoke exclusively with Afrik Foot.
You have been in Israel for about five or six years now…that place should be like a home to you now…
Yes, it’s lovely here for me; I have truly settled down indeed. I thank God that everything has worked well for me since I arrived here.
Aren’t you such a lucky player moving from a Nigerian academy straight to the league of Israel and without the rough edges of the NPFL (the Nigeria Professional Football League)? I don’t know how other players made it like that from Nigeria.
Ahhh, it’s the Lord o. I don’t really know to capture this in words. It is God o. It is all by God’s help. He actually made this possible for me.
Looking back now, how was the feeling like when the deal worked out? What year did you leave? I guess 2018?
You mean to Israel?
Yes.
I have been here for about six years now; yes, since 2018.
So how did you receive the news then, given your age? How did you leap from Alimosho straight to Europe? I know you have spoken about the help of God but which men or man did He use?
Actually, a lot of people were involved. You know how it usually is for young footballers in that kind of environment starting up…a lot of people get involved.
But there was this guy, his name is Aminu and he lives in Abuja. And there’s an agent here in Israel who works with Aminu. So this is the way it works.
If any clubs needs a player they give him the full details of the kind of person they want, and he contacts Aminu. And that was how I got the opportunity.
They wanted a young ‘keeper with some level of exposure and so Aminu contacted my academy and eventually everything worked out.
Quite a remarkable opportunity you got for a junior footballer going to Europe. Yours is good but there are a lot Nigerians and other Africans scattered in Europe who have been defrauded about getting contracts when they land over there. I have seen a lot of them in Greece. Do you have Nigerians, or others with such dead dreams hanging around in Israel?
I don’t think such people come into Israel in numbers so I don’t know of any. All the Nigerians and African footballers I know here are with clubs and the others not directly into sports here are fully engaged with jobs.
The rise from the Under-17 national team through the U-20 and then the national team was quite swift. Some others had to wait for years through the NPFL and then getting to Europe before getting the opportunity for a Super Eagles call up. It was a big call up for you. I say big because of your age then…so how was the feeling?
I felt very good and I was so glad for that opportunity. It was like opening a big door for others around me, knowing the calibre of players I was going to play with. And when I got there, I was well-received by the coach and the players and so it was huge feeling for me. You know how it is with something that you were not really expecting.
You hit the big headline with that Eagles call up and actual play but it has been a while now and you have not made it back to the goal post. What can we attribute this to? Sincerely, could it be a drop in form or we just have too many good Nigerian goalkeepers all over the place?
The fact is that we have a lot of players; Nigeria has 1,001 players and these include goalkeepers, so whenever you are called, it is really a privilege. It is the coach that selects the players he needs for any particular assignment, and that’s the way it works. I am not worried about that now, and as I said before, everyone has his own time; it is not everybody that can play at all times.
I am here doing my own thing and I will answer the call whenever I am called. I will say I am not in a hurry and will allow things to follow the normal sequence. It is a process, and I am glad that I am still playing for my club and I am okay.
I am young, and I am still coming up, and so I believe that I still have a lot of time ahead of me. There’s really nothing to be anxious about at this stage and that’s it.
Were you in any way a part of the early camping ahead of the last AFCON (African Cup of Nations)?
For AFCON? No. You know I am in Israel and when the war started, we had to stop playing for some time. And after that friendly match in Portugal, I had a thigh injury, and so I was off the goalpost for some time. By the time the league was put together again, AFCON was already starting.
Finidi George has just been announced as the new Coach of the Super Eagles. We would like to get a feel of a player’s thinking…does his appointment portend greater opportunities for professional players in the Nigerian league? As a coach who played in that same league do you think there could be some emotional attachment or it is a 50/50 and that is for players to earn their place outrightly?
I know he is a very experienced manager who has played at home and abroad, but I think that he would want to make a big mark for himself, and that is setting emotions aside, but will be going for whatever is good that will help him achieve his set goals.
The war in Gaza is still on but I guess the league is on smoothly…
Yes, we are rounding off already. We have just few matches to round off the season.
Have you won any trophy with your club and what’s your position on the table now?
Yes, I won a trophy with them when we were still in Division Two – the one we know in some other places as the FA Cup, and for now we are seventh on the table.
You have been with this team for six years now. Do we see Israel as a place you can make a final bus stop or you are looking across to mainland Europe?
Like I said before, I am in the early stages of my career, and I am working everyday to make something very good out of it. This place is just a starting ground for me.
So where are you looking at? Which place is your ideal league? Would that be South America, the Spanish League, the German or EPL? And why that choice?
The Spanish League, and that is because of the way they play there. I love their football style; I love the way they move the ball around. I am really fascinated by the style of football there and I would love to be a part of it.
Say something to your fans in Nigeria and indeed across the world. I followed quite some arguments during the Nations Cup concerning you. Some thought you deserved to be in the team while some others argued that you were not very active in the preceding period. They would love to hear from you.
Let me say a big thank you to everyone one of them in Nigeria and across the world for their support. I’m still here doing my thing, and I can say the future is bright. I love them all.