10 Nigerian players participating in this season’s UEFA Champions League
Again, some Nigerian players will be looking ready to star in the Champions League just like we have had in the past.
By Enitan Abdultawab
The UEFA Champions League is upon us!
This season, the tournament will be played in a different format known as the Swiss Format. It will be a single-league format: each team will play 8 different teams.
The top 8 teams qualify for the round of sixteen, while the teams finishing in 9th to 24th place will compete in a two-legged knock-out phase play-off to secure their path to the last 16 of the competition. Teams that finish 25th or lower will be eliminated, with no access to the UEFA Europa League.
Again, some Nigerian players plying their trade abroad will be looking ready to star in the competition just like we have had in the past when the likes of Finidi George, Kanu Nwankwo, and John Mikel Obi have succeeded with their respective clubs.
In this piece, some Nigerian players who will be playing in the UCL will be looked into.
Nigerian players featuring in this season’s Champions League
Victor Boniface (Bayern Leverkusen)
Victor Boniface was part of the Bayern Leverkusen squad that won the German Bundesliga title, one which they have never won in their history. With this triumph, Bayern Leverkusen booked a place in the UEFA Champions League.
Samuel Chukweze (AC Milan)
Samuel Chukweze has won a Europa League trophy with Villareal in the past and will be looking ready to help AC Milan in this competition this time, having failed to qualify from the group stage, which had Borussia Dortmund, PSG, and Newcastle.
Nathan Tella (Bayern Leverkusen)
Tella might not have the maximum of minutes he would desire, but his playing abilities are what Bayern Leverkusen can still bank on. Now that he has featured in all of Xabi Alonso’s men’s matches this season, he will be looking forward to featuring in the UCL, too.
Ademola Lookman (Atalanta)
The current most in-form African player of the year will be pivotal for Atalanta in their Champions League quest this season. Lookman scored all of Atalanta’s three goals in the Europa League final versus Bayern Leverkusen last season.
Raphael Onyedika (Club Brugge)
Having failed to secure a move to Galatasaray, Onyedika will be hoping to secure his rightful place in the midfield for Netherlands’ side Club Brugge again as they begin their Champions League quest.
Elvis Isaac (Slovan Brastislava)
Elvis did not feature for Slovan in all their eight UCL qualifying matches but might stand a chance to feature this time around given the demanding format of the competition this time.
Victor Olatunji (Slava Prague)
Victor played a big role in all of Prague’s eight qualifying matches as they made it to the UCL league stage for the first time in 19 years. Since joining Slava Prague, Victor has won the Czech league and Czech Cup.
Peter Olayinka (Red Star Belgrade)
Peter Olayinka was part of the Red Star Belgrade team that finished bottom of Group G last season. This season, he has scored two goals in four matches for RSB and will be am important player this season in the UCL.
George Ilenikhena (AS Monaco)
Ilenikhena will forever be remembered in the history of Monaco for his late goal against Barcelona last year to secure a 3 – 2 win – first win for Royal Antwerp in the UCL in their first appearance in the competition. Now at AS Monaco, Ilenikhena will be playing in the UCL this season.
Victor Eletu (AC Milan)
Victor Eletu is a young player who has a lot of potential. He has been included in AC Milan’s UCL squad and will be hoping to get some minutes as he plays for the team’s youth set-up.
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