Gbenga Arokoyo: I Dream Playing at Brazil 2014 World Cup

gbenga-arokoyo-kogi-boy1
Sweden-based defender Gbenga Arokoyo says he dreams of featuring for Nigeria at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Arokoyo won the 2011 African Youth Championship with the Flying Eagles in South Africa and his career has moved several steps forward since his transfer to Swedish club Mjallby AIF.

The full interview:

MTNFootball.com: Gbenga, how has it been for you in Sweden?

Arokoyo: It’s has been great, everyday a dream comes true for me.

No complaints about the cold weather?

It could get very cold but it is a lot warmer in the summer, which suits me very well.

How good is your Swedish and how are you coping with the food there?

I will say my Swedish is about 60% all right now, I have a daily language teacher. It was difficult at the beginning but it’s now fun.

For food, I love to eat chicken pasta.

How are you faring in the league?

We are not doing badly and we hope by November, when the league will end, we would be able to finish in the top three and so feature in the UEFA Europa League.

Tell us a little more about your club.

We are a small club but we work very hard, play for each other and are very ambitious.

Many expected you to quit Mjallby for a bigger club in Sweden before the transfer window closed in Sweden this past weekend. Why didn’t you?

The club did not want to sell. There were several offers for me from Portugal, Holland and France, but they were all turned down by my club. And so for now I’m still at Mjalby.

When is your contract at the club up?

That will be November 2014, but it is possible I could now move in January.

If you were to choose, where would you wish to play soon?

I will love to play for mighty Real Madrid in Spain.

What has changed in your game since you left Nigeria?

A lot of things because the system of play in Europe is very different from what we are used to back in Nigeria.

I have learnt to play for the team, control my defence and I am even scoring goals.

I have learnt every day and so I’m a lot better player now.

Alhaji Gero from the Flying Eagles class of 2013 has just moved to Sweden. What do you expect of him?

It’s a very good move for him. He only needs to stay focused and work hard for him to move to the next level of his career.

You have been in the national team setup in Nigeria with the Flying Eagles. What next for you with Nigeria?

There is the Under-23 team and also the Super Eagles. Before I finally left for Sweden I was involved with the Eagles and I wish to be involved again.

My biggest dream is to feature at next year’s World Cup in Brazil and I believe I can make it as several of my mates from the Flying Eagles like Ahmed Musa, Kenneth Omeruo and Ogenyi Onazi have already proved themselves at the senior level.

Omeruo, for one, took his chance in the team very well.

The main target therefore for me is to keep doing well at my club and other things will follow because we are the future of the Super Eagles.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *