A member of Nigeria’s Under 23 squad who plies his trade in Europe, Joshua Akpudje has revealed that his road to success was rough and tough.
Featuring on the BCOS TV Weekend Morning Sports programme Saturday Breakfast Sports Show, from his base in Europe via Skype, Joshua Akpudje said things were so bad and discouraging at the beginning of his football career that he was totally written off by one of his coaches.
Akpudje, who currently plays for BFC Daugavplis in Latvia, while recalling his challenging days in Iyana Oworo in Lagos, made it known that he once hawked bottled water on Lagos highways when he was struggling to make headway in football.
“It was tough because my mum was the only one my siblings and I got. There was no one else to help. So I tried to get a small business and finally began to sell bottled water in Lagos traffic every evening after school hours”, he narrated to SBS Show anchor Boluwaji Ogunmola.
“In 2015, I was invited to Golden Eaglets camp in Abuja but was not selected in the final list. However I stayed back in Abuja and lived in a yet to be completed building for three months, washing plates in food canteens to feed myself”, he further recalled.
In February 2016, luck smiled on Akpudje as he was taken to Eastern Europe by an agent who came to Nigeria to recruit players for European clubs. But his journey to success suffered setbacks as he was rejected by clubs in Slovenia, Croatia, and the Czech Republic. It was in one of these countries that a football coach told him to quit football but rather go and learn a trade.
“When I heard this demoralizing statement, I cried like a baby. I called my mum and she comforted me with words of motivation. I returned to Nigeria and thereafter joined MFM of Lagos”, Akpudje narrated on SBS Show.
At MFM, Joshua played 28 games as a Central Defender and scored two goals before jetting out of the country again to Latvia in February 2020.
In a twist of fate, Joshua Akpudje, the stone once rejected by some builders, has now become the cornerstone in Latvia. However, he is not resting on his oars, as he is planning to move to Belgium, though his ultimate dream is to play in the English Premier League.
“Now I’m playing for the best side in Latvian League but my next goal is to move to Belgium. However, my dream club is Manchester United but I need to work on my lapses before moving to England. I’m also looking forward to the invitation to Super Eagles camp”, the Lagos-born player said.
Joshua Akpudje, who started his football career with Femmark Academy shortly after completing his secondary school education, joined MFM in 2019 before moving to Latvia where he currently plays the game.
He also played for Nigeria’s U 23 football team against Libya a couple of years ago.
Joshua Akpudje’s surprising breakthrough in the round leather game is similar to the rise of Poland and Bayern Munich’s prolific scorer Robert Lewandowski who was also, at a time in his career, advised to quit football.
Interestingly, Akpudje’s desire is to play football at the highest level and make his mark as the shinning Polish football star.
